The Marshall Thundering Herd charge into Murfreesboro to get it on with the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders in some Friday night college football action. The game is set to begin on Friday, October 20th at 7:00 p.m. EST and can be seen on the ESPN2 Network for your viewing enjoyment. As of this article, the Thundering Herd are a slight -2.5 point favorite and the contest’s over/under is at 49.5.
The Marshall Thundering Herd have come out of the gate swinging in 2017, capturing four straight victories and look like a serious contender for the Conference-USA crown. Last week, the Thundering Herd laid the wood to poor Old Dominion 35-3. In fact, their lone defeat came when they took their show on the road into Raleigh. In that game, Marshall got beat by a good North Carolina State club, 20-37. Now, the Herd are 5-1 and looking for another inner-conference win at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium.
The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders have traded wins and losses since the season began back in early September. They walked into the Carrier Dome and beat the Syracuse Orangemen, who obviously is a pretty good team. Afterwards, they lost on the road to a then 1-3 Florida Atlantic team. Last time out, they went into UAB and lost to the newly formed Blazers, 23-25. Go figure.
When the two schools faced off in 2016, the Thundering Herd came away with a 42-17 victory in West Virginia. In the last six meetings, Marshall holds a 4-2 advantage but has yet to claim a victory in Murfreesboro.
Marshall (5-1)
The Marshall Thundering Herd looks like they have turned things around after a few down years of competition. This season, they have used their stingy defense to get the job done through the first six games of the year. Against the Monarchs, the offense complemented the defense and Marshall put together their best performance of their 2017 campaign.
Even in the 35 point outburst against Old Dominion, the Thundering Herd still managed to put up less than 400 total yards. I guess it helped that their defense returned a fumble recovery for six points in the fourth quarter. Even though his numbers weren’t eye-popping, quarterback Chase Litton did complete 12 passes for 176 yards. More importantly, three of his tosses were good for touchdowns and also he didn’t throw a pick. The signal-caller now has over 1,300 yards passing with 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
The Thundering Herd rank 90th in the nation with only 143 yards a game. Keon Davis and Tyler King have combined for 134 carries for 670 yards and three trips to the back of the end zone. No other running back has carried the ball for over 100 yards or scored a touchdown to help out the Marshall attack.
Two receivers catch most of Chase Litton’s passes from week to week. Tyre Brady has a team-high 34 for 571 yards and six touchdowns. Marcel Williams has nabbed 23 balls for 236 yards and one more score. Keeping with tradition, the Thundering Herd sport one of the nation’s top tight ends. Ryan Yurachek is not an exception to this rule, as he has kept up with the Jone’s, catching 25 passes for 229 yards and four touchdowns.
The Thundering Herd have leaned on their defense and it has paid dividends over the last four games. In fact, they have given up only 27 points combined in those last four victories. Marshall is also ranked in the top 45 in all five major FBS defensive categories. Overall, the squad only gives up 15 points a game which is good for 10th in the nation.
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (3-4)
The Blue Raiders sit at 1-2 in Conference-USA East play and are 3-4 overall. Actually, their passing offense has been okay, even after losing quarterback Brent Stockstill to a broken collarbone in September. Sophomore quarterback John Urzua has had some good moments, but he’s also been turnover-prone. Altogether, Urzua has thrown for 1,302 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions.
One thing is for sure, Middle Tennessee State’s running game hasn’t given their offense a lick of support. The Blue Raiders are rushing for only 119 yards a game, which is 119th in the country. Brad Anderson leads the team with 61 carries for 367 yards and no scores. Although his running figures are low, he does catch plenty of balls out of the backfield. The 5’8, 170-pound tailback has snatched up 28 passes for just over 300 yards and three more scores.
Steller wideout Richie James only has 26 catches for 253 yards and two scores. He surely has missed his quarterback Brent Stockstill this season. Also, the talented youth has missed three games of his own due to an injury. Last week was the first time he saw any action since going down in Minnesota on September 16th. With James on the sidelines, teammate Ty Lee has filled in as the number one guy. Lee has caught 39 passes for 436 yards and three touchdowns.
Like the Thundering Herd, the Blue Raiders defense has been their best strength this season. Even though they don’t sport wildly impressive numbers, they have been consistent from week to week. The front seven ranks 57th in the country, allowing 145 yards a game. The secondary is just a little bit better, sitting at 51st with 209 yards against. Opposing teams are scoring roughly 25 points a game, while the Blue Raiders offense has been good for only 20.
Prediction
This Conference-USA match-up should be a close scoring affair. Obviously, that is exactly why Vegas has this game’s spread close at 2.5 in favor of the Thundering Herd. Look, I think it’s pretty clear that Marshall sports the better team in 2017, and that’s largely in part to their tough defense. Plus, John Urzua has been an accident waiting to happen. The problem is, the Thundering Herd’s offense can’t generate much scoring and I don’t expect that to happen on the road in Tennessee this Friday.
The spread is definitely playable here if you go by the numbers and also consider the line is still under a field goal. I suspect that it will move its way to three before kick-off so if you’re going to play Marshall to cover, do it now. Instead, I suggest making your play on this under 49.5. I don’t expect either of these offenses to generate a whole lot of yards and that usually means fewer points. Go with the two defenses in this inner-conference tilt and don’t expect too many fireworks from either side offensively. #moneytreesgrow @EriktheHun
Trends
The Thundering Herd are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
The Thundering Herd are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 conference games.
The Under is 10-4 in the Thundering Herd last 14 games overall.
The Blue Raiders are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss.
The Blue Raiders are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following an ATS loss.
The Under is 6-0-1 in Blue Raiders last 7 games overall.
The Home team is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 meetings.
