Lamar Jackson has become the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy through his virtuoso performance in his first three games of the season. He has the Cardinals at the highest point they have ever been in the polls, up to No. 3 in the AP and No. 4 in the Coaches Poll, and could take them to their first ever No. 1 ranking. First though, the Cardinals must get by a feisty Marshall Thundering Herd team in College Football Week 4 action.
This matchup in Week 4 will take place on Saturday, September 24, 2016 with kickoff at 8 p.m. ET at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. This game will be broadcast on CBSS.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Marshall +25
Louisville -25
Odds Analysis
Louisville is a pretty big favorite to win this one and the Cardinals have received the brunt of the early money. The Cardinals opened as a 23.5-point favorite and have seen that number move all the way to 25. This number should drop as kickoff nears, with professionals taking the opportunity to jump on a decent team getting a lot of points at home in its biggest game of the season.
Player to Watch
Lamar Jackson has been awesome through the first quarter of the season and is your September Heisman winner. He started off the season red hot, notching 13 total touchdowns in his first 60 minutes of action and although those games were against FBS newcomer Charlotte and lowly Syracuse, he left no doubt he was for real with his performance against then No. 2 Florida State.
In the GameDay Game of the Week, Louisville demolished Florida State, hanging the most points that any team has ever put on the Seminoles, 63. Jackson was the conductor of this amazing performance and Florida State’s defense couldn’t stop him all game long.
For the third straight game, he tallied over 100 yards on the ground and threw for over 200 through the air. He has now scored 18 touchdowns on the season and although he isn’t the most refined passer, he is learning fast as a sophomore.
Jackson has the potential to annihilate a Marshall defense that allowed over 500 yards of offense and 65 points to Akron last week.
Letdown/Look Ahead Situation
This might be the biggest trap game we see all season. Louisville is riding high after what may be its biggest win in program history and will hear about how great it is all week long heading into this game. The emotion of the victory and the excitement of a GameDay game will mean it will be harder than the Cardinals to get up for a game in Huntington the following week.
Added to this, the Cardinals have another huge game next week when they face the Clemson Tigers in what is almost assuredly going to be the GameDay game and a battle between two Top 5 ranked foes.
Conversely, Marshall had its letdown game last week against Akron and looked like it was always starting to think about Louisville.
Free ATS Pick
This is one of those games where the public and the sharps are going to be on opposite sides. Everyone is in love with Louisville after its demolition of Florida State and people can’t stop talking about how good Lamar Jackson is. More than one ESPN commentator has said that they couldn’t remember a more athletic quarterback at the collegiate level and the hype surrounding this team will be deafening by kickoff.
Sharps know this is a precarious spot for the Cardinals though and while Louisville will get the win based on talent alone, covering a spread this large on the road is another story. Getting 25 points at home with a solid mid-major team is a great play and Marshall should be able to cover the spread.
College Football Odds: Cardinals 44, Thundering Herd 27
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