Doc Holliday just keeps winning football games. The Marshall Thundering Herd have now had three straight double-digit win seasons under his helm and anyone that thought the team would fall back into mediocrity after the loss of Rakeem Cato has been mistaken. Now Marshall will attempt to get its second win, and cover, of the season when the Akron Zips head to Huntington for a Week 3 college football showdown.
Kickoff for this Week 3 game is set for Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 12 p.m. ET at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. This game will be broadcast on CBSS.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Marshall -14.5
Akron +14.5
Odds Analysis
The spread here has remained strong at 14.5 since it opened, but don’t be surprised if it dips under 14 by game time. That’s a lot of points to give to Terry Bowden and even if he has an inexperienced squad, he is one of just a handful of coaches to have won at Akron.
Coming into this one, the Thundering Herd have covered the one game they have played and the Zips have split their two games both straight up and ATS.
Player to Watch
Holliday might just be a modern-day quarterback whisperer and that bodes well for Chase Litton. Just like Cato did, Litton started as a freshman and now enters his sophomore campaign with some seasoning.
Litton is a tall, lanky passer who doesn’t have much ability outside the pocket and looks to just throw. He showed signs of promise after taking over for an injured Michael Birdsong early on in 2015 and will now need to capitalize on that potential. He made good decisions with the ball for the most part, but also seemed hesitant to make risky throws at times.
He started the year strong against lowly Morgan State, passing for 309 yards and six touchdown passes on 16 throws in the first half and should be ready to deliver again.
Look Ahead Game
The main fear for Marshall here is looking ahead to the next two weeks of action. The Thundering Herd will be welcoming a ranked opponent into Huntington for the first time in quite a while two weeks from now when Louisville comes to town. If the Cardinals can knock off the Seminoles this week, that game will bring a lot of eyes to West Virginia and Marshall will be on its biggest stage in some time.
Not only that, the week after, Marshall faces another ACC foe in Pittsburgh. A win over Pitt would be huge for the program as well, but playing two top programs in back-to-back weeks highlights the respect that Marshall is getting from the big boys.
As for Akron, the Zips have a look ahead game of their own as they will be facing Appalachian State at home in the week following this one. Akron is in a similar position as an App State victory over Miami this weekend will mean plenty of attention in Akron for hosting the Mountaineers in the week following.
Free ATS Pick
If not for Ohio State, Akron would have the fewest returning starters out of any team in the FBS. Accordingly, the depth on the Zips this season is lacking and there are underclassmen all throughout the roster. They haven’t played poorly, but they are still learning to come together heading into this matchup.
The biggest weakness on Marshall is the secondary, especially after the loss of all-conference safety Tiquan Lang. Unfortunately for Akron, the Zips can’t fully take advantage of this as Thomas Woodson isn’t a great passer. If he can make some big plays and limit turnovers though, he should have a fine game.
The spread is just too high in this one. Although Holliday is assuredly telling his team not to take Akron lightly, all the players are going to be thinking about taking on Louisville the week following. Look for Marshall to get a real scare.
College Football Odds: Thundering Herd 30, Zips 24
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