Marshall and Western Kentucky meet up in Conference USA action at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium. The Hilltoppers have only played one game at home this season, but are still looking for their first victory there. The Thundering Herd had their first loss against NC State last week. They ended a three-game losing streak to WKU last season.
Thundering Herd suffer first loss of the season against NC State
Marshall has relied on stuffing the running attack to get the victory this season, but that didn’t happen against North Carolina State, dropping that contest 37-20. They allowed 125 rushing yards on 36 carries. The worst part about that was the run game set up a dominant passing attack where the Thundering Herd allowed 377 yards in the air. It didn’t help that they turned it over three times to aid in the Wolfpack’s victory.
They also rely on the passing game offensively, and it’s been somewhat mediocre under quarterback Isaiah Green. He’s completed 58 percent of his passes for 820 yards and has a ratio of 6 touchdowns to 3 interceptions. Half of those scores have been tossed to Tyree Brady, who leads the team with 18 catches, 207 yards, and 3 touchdowns.
Hilltoppers step up enough defensively to get first win of season
After a rough 0-3 start to the season, Western Kentucky finally pulled through with a 28-20 win over Ball State. Even though straight-up wins were a struggle, they are 3-1 against the spread and kept things close a few weeks ago in Louisville. They certainly had potential to pull off the massive upset. They were only three-point underdogs at Ball State, but they easily got the straight-up victory.
The Hilltoppers don’t score the ball often, but what’s really helped out is their defense improving. After giving up over 30 points in each of their first two games, they gave up 20 points against Louisville and Ball State. It’s been a rotating seat at QB with injuries and performance issues. Drew Eckels is questionable for Saturday and has missed the last two games.
Notable Trends
Western Kentucky
- 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games in September
- 1-6 ATS in their last 7 against teams with a winning record
Marshall
- 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games
- 15-6-2 ATS in their last 23 games in September
The Bottom Line What to bet on this game.
Full-Game Side Bet
The Hilltoppers have beaten the spread in all four of their meetings against the Thundering Herd dating back to 2014 when they joined the same conference. However, there’s enough issues at QB that’s hard to recommend them, even if they’ve beaten the spread a lot this season.
Prediction: Marshall -6.5
Full-Game Total Pick
If Western Kentucky didn’t step up their defense recently, this would be much more attractive to take the over. However, the Hilltoppers like to force a slower game and that could certainly happen here.
Prediction: Under 49.5