Marshall vs Louisiana Prediction College Football Picks 12/7/24

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Marshall Thundering Herd

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

Recent betting trends in games played between Marshall and Louisiana

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Marshall vs Louisiana game

Marshall Thundering Herd Betting Preview

Marshall went a shaky 3-3 over their first half-dozen outings this year, falling to Virginia Tech, Ohio State, and Georgia Southern in that time. The Herd have won six straight since then however, beating Georgia State, LA-Monroe, Southern Miss, Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion, and James Madison.

Matched up against the Dukes last weekend, Marshall had quite the battle. The Herd needed double overtime to wrap up a 35-33 victory after a wild 24-7 comeback bid in the second half. Byron Braxton threw for 120 yards and a score, while Jordan Houston rushed six times for 50 yards to pace the ground game.

Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Betting Preview

Over on the Louisiana side, they’ve taken losses to only Tulane and South Alabama this year. Otherwise, the Cajuns have toppled Grambling, Kennesaw State, Wake Forest, Southern Miss, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Texas State, Arkansas State, Troy, and LA-Monroe.

Back on Saturday versus LA-Monroe, Louisiana took a 13-13 tie into the second half. The Cajuns scored 24 points from there for a 37-23 victory. Chandler Fields had 188 yards with two scores and a pick. Zylan Perry had 19 carries for 150 yards and two scores as the leading rusher.

Why the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns will win

• Louisiana has won eight of its last nine games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Marshall has lost five of its last six December games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Marshall has failed to cover the spread in each of its last four December games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Louisiana has covered the spread in five of its last six games against conference opponents.

Why the Marshall Thundering Herd will win

• Marshall has won each of its last six games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Marshall has covered the spread in each of its last four games as an underdog.

Total Points Facts

• Five of Marshall's last six December games as an underdog have gone OVER the total points line.
• Twenty of Louisiana's last 25 games against conference opponents at Cajun Field have gone UNDER the total points line.

Marshall vs Louisiana Prediction

I’m going to stay with Louisiana. The Cajuns started a bit slowly against a middling LA-Monroe team in their last outing but got better as the game progressed. Louisiana would end up with 413 total yards (225 passing) and 21 first downs alongside a couple of turnovers. Since their 24-22 loss to South Alabama on November 16, the Cajuns have scored a combined 88 points in two games.

As for Marshall, they didn’t look great stats-wise versus a good James Madison squad last weekend. The Herd posted 261 total yards (141 rushing), 17 first downs, and 5-of-15 on third-down tries but—to their credit—still pulled off a gritty win. That makes 31 or more points in five of the last six games (all victories) for Marshall.

The Herd are averaging 200.4 rush yards per game this season, so they’ll be relying on their ground game in order to keep Louisiana off the field. The Cajuns are stronger via the pass (265.7 yards per game) than they are through the run (180 yards per game) and can rack up points relatively quickly. Louisiana’s defense will need to shine here, but if that unit can generate some big stops at key moments the Cajuns will be in great shape.