Marshall Thundering Herd (2-0) vs East Carolina Pirates (0-2)
Game Info: Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 6:00 pm (Joan C. Edwards Stadium)
Betting Odds: Marshall Thundering Herd -10 -- Over/Under: 53 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The East Carolina Pirates and Marshall Thundering Herd face off on Saturday in a Week 3 college football showdown at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. These teams last faced off in 2013 with Marshall winning 59-28.
East Carolina might sit with an 0-2 record, but this is a team that can still find a lot of success this year. East Carolina opened up their season with a loss against Appalachian State 33-19 before losing in their last game 20-17 against South Carolina. East Carolina was winning most of the game against South Carolina but were outscored 13-3 in the second half and that was the difference. East Carolina is averaging 18 points while giving up 26.5 points per game. Quarterback Holton Ahlers is dynamic but in the last game he threw two interceptions, and he needs to do a better job with taking care of the ball.
On the other side of this matchup is the Marshall Thundering Herd who have dominated their first two games. After beating Navy 49-7 in the first game, they won their second game against NC Central 44-10. Marshall is averaging 582 yards per game with 413 of those coming through the air. In the last game quarterback Grant Wells completed 34 of his 47 passes for 347 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Knowledge Mcdaniel also had seven rushing attempts for 67 yards and a touchdown. Marshall knows they should be able to score in this game but the bigger test will be on the defense. If Marshall can force some turnovers they are going to be in great shape.
East Carolina is 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games as a road underdog. Marshall is 2-5 against the spread in their last seven games as a favorite. The favorite is 4-1 in the last five meetings played between the two teams. The over is 10-4 in East Carolina’s last 14 games as an underdog. The over is 5-0 in Marshall’s last five games against the AAC.
Marshall is going to have no issue scoring in this game, but I also think East Carolina can find offensive success. East Carolina is only going to need to finish with 17 points or so for the over to cash, and they will hit that. Back the over.