The 2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl features (8-4) Marshall vs (6-6) UConn Huskies. The Huskies return to a bowl game after a seven-year absence. Interestedly enough, the Huskies’ last bowl appearance was against Marshall in the 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl. On the other hand, this will be Marshall’s seventh straight bowl game. They played Louisiana last year in the R+L Carriers Bowl.
The Thundering Herd has really had an up-and-down year. They started off strong with wins against Norfolk State and #8 Notre Dame. However, they would struggle after the win against Notre Dame as they would lose four of their next six games. However, The Thundering Herd would end the season strong with four straight wins against Sun Belt opponents. The Thundering Herd is led by freshmen quarterback Cam Fancher who took over the starting quarterback role mid-year. He has thrown for 1,465 yards and eight touchdowns. Marshall also features a great defense. They allow 18.4 points a game, which is ranked top ten in the country.
The Herd really excels on the ground. Marshall has the potent running back duo of Khalan Laborn and Rasheen Ali. Laborn is a transfer from Florida State that has taken the college football world by storm. Laborn is eleventh in rushing yards this season with over 1,400 and he also has 16 touchdowns on the year. Laborn has gotten most of the carries this season because of the extended absence of Rasheen Ali. However, Ali returned a couple of weeks ago against Georgia Southern. He made an impact right away as ran for over 100 yards. Ali also had 79 yards in Marshall’s last game against Georgia State. Ali led the FBS in touchdowns in 2021.
The Huskies really turned things around this year under veteran head coach Jim Mora. They went from being one of the worst teams in the FBS in 2021 to going bowling in 2022. The Huskies began the year on a sour note as they struggled with injuries. They would begin the season losing starting quarterback Ta’Quan Robinson to ACL surgery. They would turn to quarterback Zion Turner, who ended up having a decent year for the Huskies. He had 1,241 passing yards and nine touchdowns. UConn also lost their leading rusher, Nathan Carter, to injury. He was on a roll at the beginning of the season with 405 yards on the ground and a touchdown.
Even with the loss of Carter, UConn really stuck to the ground this year. They turned to freshman running back Victor Rosa, who had a great season. He had 561 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. Rosa was not the only running back that excelled for the Huskies this year. Devontae Houston was also a critical part of this Huskies offense. He had 538 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The Huskies really got to this point because they found a way to beat some pretty good teams. They had a nice win against Fresno State, and they upset both Liberty and Boston College this year.
Marshall is just overall the better team in this matchup. The Huskies offense will struggle to put points up against a stout Thundering Herd defense. Furthermore, Laborn and Ali will be too much to handle for the Huskies’ defense. This concludes this Preview on the 2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl.
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