The Marshall Thundering Herd have struggled even with their starting quarterback in the fold. If Chase Litton can’t play against the Pittsburgh Panthers in Week 5, it will make life that much harder. Litton sat out last week’s loss to Louisville with a concussion and it remains to be seen if he will be ready for this matchup.
Pittsburgh is only 2-2 on the young season but has been the more impressive team. While the Panthers have lost two in a row, they came by a total of eight points. Marshall would love to deal the Panthers a third consecutive loss but they are expected to be underdogs no matter how the quarterback situation unfolds in the next few days.
The Thundering Herd is 1-2 overall including a blowout loss to Akron, which doesn’t give bettors much confidence in choosing them to win this game.
This contest in Week 5 of the regular season will go down Saturday, October 1, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Heinz Field.
NCAA Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
There is no line yet on this one because of the injury to Litton. If he can play, it will increase Marshall’s chances of winning, although Pittsburgh is expected to be the favorite either way.
Check to see for updates on Litton since his availability will affect the spread, the moneyline and the scoring total.
Player to Watch
James Conner -- The Pittsburgh running back leads his team in both rushing and receiving so far this year. Conner has carried the ball 79 times for 347 yards and four touchdowns while also adding 13 catches for 169 yards and two scores.
Conner rushed for 1,765 yards with 26 touchdowns two years ago before his 2015 was cut short because of cancer. He beat the illness and is now back on track and playing well. Marshall is giving up 155 yards per game on the ground and will need to slow down Conner in order to have a chance to pull off the upset.
Key stat
361. That’s the passing yards per game allowed by Pittsburgh this season. Marshall has the aforementioned quarterback issue, but if Litton can play, he could be in line for a big game. Litton is 45-of-73 for 722 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions on the season and hopes to compete in this one.
Marshall backup Garet Morrell was not very good as a replacement last week, although it did come against a top-5 team in Louisville. Morrell completed only 9-of-21 passes for 59 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
If he plays, it will be against a defense that allows yardage, but if Morrell doesn’t turn it on it won’t matter. The Panthers’ defensive backs have struggled thus far but would love to pick off some passes and play some tough defense in this matchup.
Free ATS Pick
Pittsburgh isn’t a dominant team, but it has been competitive in every game. The Panthers beat Villanova and Penn State to open up the season before losing to Oklahoma State by a touchdown and North Carolina by a point.
The Panthers are clearly the more talented team in this matchup and should be able to pick up the win.
Marshall started off great with a 62-0 win over Morgan State, but has been dominated by Akron and Louisville in back-to-back contests. The availability of Litton is the wild card, but either way Pittsburgh should capture this one.
The Panthers will roll if Marshall doesn’t have its starting quarterback. If Litton wins, the game should be closer but in the end Pittsburgh will be able to pull away. Check back for both the spread and the scoring total once there is less uncertainty.
NCAA Football Odds: Pittsburgh 31, Marshall 13
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