Watchability Index: Ranking all bowl games by interest level

34. Gasparilla Bowl: South Florida vs. Marshall (Dec. 20)

If this game had been taking place a year or two ago, it would be a far more watchable contest. As it is, though, South Florida and Marshall lack the high-powered offenses that have defined the over the previous few years, which will likely limit the entertainment value of this matchup. Working in its favor, though, is that the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl is the only game available on December 20.

Blake Barnett has been no Quinton Flowers, as the offense still produced plenty of yardage but scored nine fewer points per game this season. The defense picked up enough of the slack to get South Florida to a bowl game this year, but they have no shot at reaching the 10-win mark for the third straight year.

Marshall was even better than the Bulls at generating turnovers this year, snatching 23 takeaways to 21 for USF. Three of those turnovers were returned for touchdowns, putting the Thundering Herd into the top 20 in defensive scoring. Given an offense that struggles to hit 28 points per game, they have needed all the assistance the defense can offer.

The oddsmakers expect this to be a close game, with the point spread putting South Florida as a two-point favorite to open and quickly shifting toward the Marshall side. It remained within a field goal over the first week of betting. If you’re not doing anything on the Thursday night before the long Christmas weekend, at least it is football.