College Football Futures: When the Marshall Thundering Herd defeated the Maryland Terrapins 31-20 in the Military Bowl it was a statement that head coach Doc Holliday has built a program that is now ready to emerge as a bona fide title contender in Conference USA and could even lurk as a dark horse in the national race. Marshall will boast one of the most prolific offenses in the nation and is coming off an East Division title in CUSA last year.
Marshall opened at +7500 field choice to win the BCS National Championship.
Experienced and Loaded
Marshall returns a total of six starters on offense led by senior QB Rakeem Cato, who is the top rated QB in Conference USA. Cato threw for 3916 yards last year with an eye popping 39/9 TD/INT ratio and a 60% completion rate good for a QB rating of 147.8. Marshall has averaged over 40 points per game the past two seasons while the defense showed significant improvement last year as they went from allowing 43.1 points per game in 2012 to allowing ss.9 points per game in 2013.
Handicapper’s Notes
The Thundering Herd as paid out in just five out of their last 17 games on the road with just five out of their last 17 away games going under the total. Marshall has been one of the better board values in college football as a home team with 13 payouts against the spread in their last 19 home games as seven out of their last 10 home games have gone over the total. Marshall has lost just six out of their last 17 games as a dog with nine out of their last 11 games as a pup going over the total. The Thundering Herd has come away with the cash in eight out of their last 13 games as a favorite with seven out of their last eight games as a chalk going over the total.
Our Prognosis
Holliday has done a remarkable job in turning around the Marshall program and this should be a huge year with 59 returning lettermen and the loss of just 15 lettermen. With Cato running the offense this will be one of the most dynamic and exciting teams in the land. The only question will be potential overlays in CUSA matchups.
