The Troy Trojans will take on the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles this evening in the eighth annual New Orleans Bowl. The stand alone college football contest is set to kick off at 8:15pm ET at the Superdome in Louisiana (ESPN). The Golden Eagles will be making their third appearance in the New Orleans Bowl, while the Trojans will be making their second. 
College Bowl predictions at BetUS.com have Troy listed as a -5 favorite in tonight's game.
Troy is usually the class of the Sun Belt conference, and it was no different this season as they returned 14 lettermen from last year's 8-4 squad. The Trojans again amassed an 8-4 regular season record and went 6-1 in conference play to win the Sun Belt crown. They have also been battle tested by a non-conference schedule that featured Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and LSU.
The Trojans averaged 33.2 points per game this season, while allowing just 20.6 per contest. The Troy ground attack (175.6 yards per game), led by Sophomore running back Dujuan Harris (5.4 yards per carry, 11 touchdowns), figures to be a major factor in this game.
Southern Miss had another respectable season, going 6-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play to finish third in Conference USA's East division behind East Carolina and Memphis. The performance of the Golden Eagles this year was more than impressive considering that they returned just 10 lettermen from last season and were under the guidance of a new head coach in Larry Fedora.
The Eagles, winners of four in a row, averaged 30.7 points per game and allowed 23.8 in return. Southern Miss is led by junior running back Damion Flecther, who rushed for 1235 yards this season (6.0 yards per carry) and scored 10 touchdowns.
2008 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Betting Trend: The Under is 7-3 in Troy's last 10 games playing as a favorite.
BetUS.com's Southern Miss vs Troy 2008 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl betting odds:
Southern Miss Golden Eagles +5 (-110), Over 54.5 (-110), +160 (Money line)
Troy Trojans -5 (-110), Under 54.5 (-110), -190 (Money line)
Matt Foust has completely dominated the bookies this season in College Football hitting a documented 56% of all his NCAA Football release growing his clients bankrolls +855 units. Foust has been known to move the betting lines after releasing his major College Football plays and Point-Spreads.com suggests College Football bettors purchase Matt Foust's College Bowl Predictions Package, which includes tonight's winner in the New Orleans Bowl between Troy and Southern Mississippi.
