MARSHALL-3
Not a big number for Marshall to have to cover tonight and I expect the Thundering Herd to dominate this game as the second half wears on and pull away for the easy home win and cover. Look for Marshall to put an early emphasis on stopping the Golden Knight's running game and then follow that by bringing tons of pressure against struggling Central Florida passer Steven Moffett. Since tossing two touchdowns and helping Central Florida tally 35 points in the opener against an over-matched Villanova squad, Moffett has has thrown just one scoring pass in the three games since (Florida, South Florida, Southern Miss). He doesn't have a go-to receiver to get the ball to and his offensive line has been sub-par in 2006. Moffett has been sacked 11 times so far and has been under constant pressure. he'll see more of the same this evening.
Marshall's defensive numbers so far are down a bit from a year ago, but that's to be expected when three of your team's first four games include roadies at West Virginia, Kansas State and Tennessee. This was a solid defensive football team last year and returned much of the same key personnel that led the stop unit in 2005. The return of injured DT Jaun Underwood gave the team a lift last weekend in Knoxville and tonight in their first home game against I-A opponent, the Herd will bring the hammer down on this Golden Knight offense that has scored just 31 points the past three games.
Central Florida has a porous secondary and is permitting 298 yards per game through the air. Nine of the dozen TDs the team has allowed this year have come via the pass as the Golden Knights are allowing an average of 25.2 points per game. I expect improving Marshall quarterback Bernard Morris to play well. The Orlando native was horrible in last year's loss to the Knights at the Citrus Bowl, and he's very eager to redeem himself tonight. Morris will shine as he and running back Ahmad Bradshaw will both pick up their share of yards on the ground, too.
And what's to like about the Central Florida kicking game as place-kicker Michael Torres is 1-for-4 this year in field goal attempts with misses from 23, 35 and 45 yards (he made a 22-yarder). Central Florida has dropped five of six games straight-up going back to last year (remember, it wasn't that long ago that the Knights owned the nation's longest losing streak at 17 games) and is 5-15-1 ATS in its last 21 roadies (0-1 this year). Marshall has been plagued by slow starts in games this year, but I look for the revenge-minded Herd to storm out of the gate early tonight. The game will be played evenly in the middle, but Marshall will put them away in the final stanza and cover this game by double digits. Marshall, which is 14-1 SU in its last 15 conference home openers, isn't being asked to cover a bunch tonight. Two years ago, they whipped the Golden Knights by 17 in Huntington and I look for a similar result tonight as the Thunderingf Herd rolls!
Not a big number for Marshall to have to cover tonight and I expect the Thundering Herd to dominate this game as the second half wears on and pull away for the easy home win and cover. Look for Marshall to put an early emphasis on stopping the Golden Knight's running game and then follow that by bringing tons of pressure against struggling Central Florida passer Steven Moffett. Since tossing two touchdowns and helping Central Florida tally 35 points in the opener against an over-matched Villanova squad, Moffett has has thrown just one scoring pass in the three games since (Florida, South Florida, Southern Miss). He doesn't have a go-to receiver to get the ball to and his offensive line has been sub-par in 2006. Moffett has been sacked 11 times so far and has been under constant pressure. he'll see more of the same this evening.
Marshall's defensive numbers so far are down a bit from a year ago, but that's to be expected when three of your team's first four games include roadies at West Virginia, Kansas State and Tennessee. This was a solid defensive football team last year and returned much of the same key personnel that led the stop unit in 2005. The return of injured DT Jaun Underwood gave the team a lift last weekend in Knoxville and tonight in their first home game against I-A opponent, the Herd will bring the hammer down on this Golden Knight offense that has scored just 31 points the past three games.
Central Florida has a porous secondary and is permitting 298 yards per game through the air. Nine of the dozen TDs the team has allowed this year have come via the pass as the Golden Knights are allowing an average of 25.2 points per game. I expect improving Marshall quarterback Bernard Morris to play well. The Orlando native was horrible in last year's loss to the Knights at the Citrus Bowl, and he's very eager to redeem himself tonight. Morris will shine as he and running back Ahmad Bradshaw will both pick up their share of yards on the ground, too.
And what's to like about the Central Florida kicking game as place-kicker Michael Torres is 1-for-4 this year in field goal attempts with misses from 23, 35 and 45 yards (he made a 22-yarder). Central Florida has dropped five of six games straight-up going back to last year (remember, it wasn't that long ago that the Knights owned the nation's longest losing streak at 17 games) and is 5-15-1 ATS in its last 21 roadies (0-1 this year). Marshall has been plagued by slow starts in games this year, but I look for the revenge-minded Herd to storm out of the gate early tonight. The game will be played evenly in the middle, but Marshall will put them away in the final stanza and cover this game by double digits. Marshall, which is 14-1 SU in its last 15 conference home openers, isn't being asked to cover a bunch tonight. Two years ago, they whipped the Golden Knights by 17 in Huntington and I look for a similar result tonight as the Thunderingf Herd rolls!
