College Football

Marshall vs East Carolina 9/18/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

East Carolina Pirates (0-2) vs. Marshall Thundering Herd (2-0)
September 18, 2021 6:00 pm EDT
The Line: Marshall Thundering Herd -9.5 / East Carolina Pirates +9.5; Over/Under: 53.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The Marshall Thundering Herd meet the East Carolina Pirates and Saturday in week 3 college football action at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The East Carolina Pirates need a win after losses to Appalachian State and South Carolina. The Marshall Thundering Herd look for another win after beating Navy and North Carolina Central.

The East Carolina Pirates hope to avoid their first 0-3 start since the 2017 CFB season. Holton Ahlers is completing 51.6 percent of his passes for 372 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Jsi Hatfield and Keaton Mitchell have combined for 227 receiving yards and two touchdowns while Tyler Snead has nine receptions. The East Carolina Pirates ground game is averaging 98.5 yards per contest, and Rahjai Harris leads the way with 92 yards on 22 carries. Defensively, East Carolina is allowing 26.5 points and 405 yards per game. Myles Berry leads the East Carolina Pirates with 12 tackles, Suirad Ware has one sack and Warren Saba has one interception.

The Marshall Thundering Herd have won 10 of their last 12 regular season games overall. Grant Wells is completing 70.1 percent of his passes for 680 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. Talik Keaton and Corey Gammage have combined for 337 receiving yards and two touchdowns while Jayden Harrison has four receptions. The Marshall Thundering Herd ground game is averaging 169 yards per contest, and Rasheen Ali leads the way with 104 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, Marshall is allowing 8.5 points and 287.5 yards per game. Abraham Beauplan leads the Marshall Thundering Herd with 17 tackles, Eli Neal has three sacks and Steven Gilmore has one interception. 

The Pirates are 9-19 ATS in their last 28 road games and 4-12-1 ATS in their last 17 non-conference games. The Thundering Herd are 7-19 ATS in their last 26 home games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The under is 6-1 in Pirates last 7 non-conference games. The over is 11-5 in Thundering Herd last 16 home games. The Pirates are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 meetings. The favorite is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings.

The East Carolina Pirates have been competitive through two games, but their defense lets them down, the offense has struggled with turnovers and they’ve been horrible against the spread over the years. The Marshall Thundering Herd have put together back-to-back blowout victories and they look extremely sharp on both sides of the ball. With a top-three passing game and ranked sixth in total offense, Marshall should be licking its chops in this contest. I’ll lay the chalk with the Thundering Herd.

Randy Chambers's Free Pick: Marshall Thundering Herd -9.5

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Randy Chambers

Randy has covered sports betting since 2014 and writes about everything from NFL to WNBA. Follow Randy Chambers on Twitter.

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