Categories
NCAA Football

Marshall vs. Louisville Week 5 Gambling Preview & Pick

Big East Football Previews- Marshall Thundering Herd vs Louisville Cardinals

The Marshall Thundering Herd tangle with the Louisville Cardinals this upcoming Saturday afternoon at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in search of their first non-conference victory this season. The kick-off for this one is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be available on ESPN3.com.

Date/Time: Saturday, Oct.1    3:30 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KT
Broadcast: ESPN3.com
Thundering Herd @ Cardinals Lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Cardinals -10.5
Over/Under: 47

This game will be Marshall’s second shot at the Big East after losing to West Virginia 34-13 as a 21.5-point road underdog in its season opener. The Thundering Herd have had a rough go of it in their non-conference schedule with losses to Ohio (44-7) and Virginia Tech (30-10) in the last two weeks. They are now 1-3 straight-up on the year, but 3-1 against the spread. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of their four games.

Scoring has been an issue for this team in the early going as Marshall is ranked 113th in the nation with an average of just 14 points a game. Its 26-20 upset over Southern Miss as a 7.5-home underdog was the only game it managed to score more than 13 points.

Louisville is 2-1 SU so far with its only loss being a 24-17 setback to Florida International in a game it was favored to win by three points at home. The Cardinals bounced back with a 24-17 win over Kentucky as 4.5-road underdogs two weeks ago to go to 1-2 ATS. The total has stayed ‘under’ in two of their three games. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

The big question mark for this contest is the health of Louisville quarterback Will Stein. He left the game against the Wildcats with a shoulder injury, but is listed as probable for Saturday’s game. Stein has completed 62 percent of his passes for 615 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Marshall is 2-6 ATS in its last eight road games as an underdog and the total has stayed ‘under’ in eight of its last 10 games overall. Louisville is 13-3 ATS in its last 16 games against the Conference-USA and the total has stayed ‘under’ in its last five home games. This game has ‘under’ written all over it especially if Stein is still hampered by his shoulder. Look for the Cardinals to pound out a win, but stick with the Thundering Herd to cover with the 10.5 points.

The Pick: Louisville 17      Marshall 10

The 2011 CFB Season is finally here. Welcome to the CappersPicks.com college football weekly predictions pages! We KNOW you will find our FREE weekly college football picks, tips, betting advice, strategies, CFB gambling articles and more to help you become the best College football bettor on your block!!

CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS ALL SEASON LONG —–>

By Dave Schwab

David Schwab is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. While not cheering for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles David can be found working on his blog at www.eaglesinc.com. David wants to hear from you so please comment below.