The Marshall Thundering Herd and the East Carolina Pirates meet in week 2 college football action from Dowdy-Fickien Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Marshall Looking For More Confident Showing
The Marshall Thundering Herd got the win in their opener, but it wasn’t without some doubt as they narrowly escaped FCS Albany by a final score of 21-17. Cam Fancher threw for 268 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 28 of 35 passing while Rasheen Ali rushed for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns on 18 carries. Chuck Montgomery led the Herd with 81 receiving yards and a touchdown on 6 catches while Cade Conley had a team-high 7 grabs for 79 yards. On defense, Owen Porter led the Herd with 12 total tackles with a sack as well, while Sam Burton had 2.5 sacks and TyQaze Leggs and Elijah Alston each had a sack, part of the 7 sacks for Marshall as a team defensively in the win.
Marshall Thundering Herd Team Facts
- Marshall has won each of its last six games.
- Marshall has covered the spread in each of its last seven road openers.
- Each of Marshall's last six games against opponents from the American Athletic Conference have gone OVER the total points line.
Pirates Taken Down By Michigan
The East Carolina Pirates had quite the tall task in their opening game but could not pull it off as the Pirates were taken down by Michigan by a final score of 30-3 in their season opener. Mason Garcia threw for 80 yards and an interception on 11 of 18 passing while also rushing for a team-high 36 yards and Alex Flinn threw for 52 yards on 6 of 11 passing. Javious Bond led ECU with 31 receiving yards on 3 catches while Jaylen Johnson had 30 receiving yards and Jarett Garner had a team-high 4 catches. On defense, Julius Wood led East Carolina with 9 total tackles while Mike Edwards III had a team-high 7 solo tackles.
East Carolina Pirates Team Facts
- The underdog has won three of East Carolina's last four games at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
- East Carolina has covered the spread in each of its last six games against non-conference opponents.
- East Carolina has won the first half in nine of its last 10 games against non-conference opponents at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
- Six of East Carolina's last seven games as an underdog have gone UNDER the total points line.
Matchup/League Facts
- East Carolina ranked T16th among FBS teams for Q1 win percentage last season (.615).
- East Carolina ranked T25th among FBS teams for Q3 points per game last season (8.2).
- Marshall ranked 2nd among FBS teams for Q2 points allowed per game last season (3.5).
- Marshall ranked 4th among FBS teams for H2 points allowed per game last season (7.2).
Chris’ Pick
I’m leaning towards the under here. I’m just not loving the offense on either side, and I get it, East Carolina had a mountain to climb against Michigan in their opener, but I think this East Carolina offense is just going to look a lot different this season and not in a good way. ECU’s up against a Marshall team that’s been defense first going back to last season and I see them having some issues here, but I also don’t expect the Herd to light the scoreboard on fire in this one. All in all, I think this is a low-scoring battle and I’m backing the under.
