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Eagles battle Trojans in Emerald Bowl

NCAA Football Betting Lines

12/26/2009 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The USC Trojans are playing in a non-BCS bowl game for the first time since 2001, as they are set to clash with the Boston College Eagles in the smaller staged Emerald Bowl.

The Trojans have enjoyed quite a run under head coach Pete Carroll, but due to some shaky play down the stretch, USC won't be participating in a BCS bowl game for the first time since Carroll's initial season with the program. In each of the last seven seasons, USC won at least 11 games and a share of the Pac-10 title, while ending those campaigns in the Rose Bowl or the Orange Bowl. The Trojans however, were unable to continue that streak, as they lost three of their final five games to finish just 8-4. Furthermore, USC also dropped out of the Top 25 for the first time since the conclusion of the 2001 campaign.

As for the Eagles, they completely overachieved this season after being picked to finish at the bottom of the ACC. BC fought its way to an 8-4 finish under first-year head coach Frank Spaziani, who didn't have the talent to get the program to a third straight ACC title game. Still, the Eagles did plenty to make their 11th straight bowl and garner an opponent like USC. BC will also look to start a new streak, as they had won eight straight bowl games prior to a 16-14 loss to Vanderbilt in the Music City Bowl last year.

BC was defeated by USC in both prior encounters in 1987 and '88, and these two schools are set for another home-and-home series in 2013-14.

Because of inconsistency at quarterback, the Eagles were rather shaky on offense this season and they failed to score over 19 points in four of their final five games. With no quarterbacks with college experience on the club prior to the season, BC turned to 25-year-old freshman Dave Shinskie to run the show. Shinskie, a minor league baseball player prior to joining BC, was erratic and threw 13 interceptions against just 14 touchdowns.

Due to the lack of experience under center, the Eagles relied heavily on sophomore tailback Montel Harris, who rushed for 1,355 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The team's main threat through the air is Rich Gunnell. A steady wideout, Gunnell made the most of the his opportunities and hauled in 54 passes for 750 yards and six scores.

Defensively, the Eagles had to play without linebacker Mark Herzlich and that was a big loss. Herzlich, the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, has been fighting bone cancer and is hoping to resume his career next season. With Herzlich out, the door opened for Luke Kuechly and he took advantage of the chance. The true freshman linebacker jumped into the starting lineup and was this unit's best player, finishing with 142 tackles and 12.5 TFLs.

As whole, the defense was strong for the Eagles and limited foes to only 19.4 ppg and just 318.4 total ypg. The unit was especially tough on the run, holding opponents to a measly 104.4 ypg. BC though, could have done a little better creating some big plays, as the defense forced just 21 turnovers and recorded only 17 sacks.

Much like BC, USC was a bit rocky on offense this season due to an inexperienced quarterback. Matt Barkley, a 19-year-old freshman, took over the starting reins for the departed Mark Sanchez and he had mixed results. The rookie threw for 2,385 yards in 11 games, but with just 13 touchdowns against 12 picks. He also struggled more towards the end of the regular season, averaging just 169.0 passing ypg over the final five games.

Damian Williams is clearly Barkley's first choice through the air, as he accounted for a good chunk of the team's catches. He led the team with 821 yards and six touchdowns and his 58 catches were more than double any other player on the roster.

In the backfield, Joe McKnight averaged 6.1 yards per carry and he led the team with 1,014 rushing yards and eight scores. Allen Bradford is another weapon and he added 596 yards and eight touchdowns to a ground attack that averaged 173.3 ypg.

The Trojans' defense was all over the place this season, holding opponents to single digits five times, while allowing over 35 points on three separate occasions.

Overall, the defense is giving up 131.0 ypg on the ground compared to 211.8 ypg through the air. The Trojans have allowed 17 rushing touchdowns and 11 passing, while forcing only 20 turnovers. The unit, though, did show a good pass rush and recorded 33 sacks.

Everson Griffen is the team's most consistent pass rusher and he paces the defense in sacks (eight), to go with 9.5 TFLs and 44 stops. Taylor Mays heads the squad in tackles with 91, while Will Harris is tops with four interceptions.