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Little Caesars Bowl 2009: Marshall vs Ohio Odds

Written December 22, 2009 by Hector Garza

Ohio (9-4) and Marshall (6-6) will be facing off this Saturday in the Motor City’s Little Caesars Bowl. Ohio is coming off of a disappointing 20-10 loss to Central Michigan for the MAC Championship, and will be looking for their first ever bowl victory with an 0-3 all time record. If they needed more motivation, they’ll be looking to tie their program record with ten wins this season, and are favored to do that by 3 points over the Thundering Herd. Marshall will be playing with an interim head football coach in Rick Minter, the defensive coordinator. Mark Snyder resigned after their last outing, a 52-21 thrashing at the hands of UTEP, and was 21-37 in five seasons. Our football odds have the total set for 49 points. College football betting is more exciting with all the upcoming bowl matchups, and Bodog is offering a $100 Signup Bonus for all newcomers.

Head Coach Frank Solich has found a winning formula in Ohio, but leans more heavily on the pass than the run. Through 13 games the offense has found the endzone 31 times, with 22 of those coming in the air. The lion’s share have come at the hands of Taylor Price, LaVon Brazil and Terrence McCrae. The trio of receivers have combined for 1958 yards on 133 catches and 19 scores! Senior play caller Theo Scott has had a decent season with 2,258 yards passing for 19 td’s to 10 interceptions. Chris Garrett leads the mediocre ground game with 591 total yards, where the team gains 119.7 ypg in that category. The Bobcats have been able to rely on a defense that excels at taking away the football. They lead the nation in that category with 36 forced turnovers, and are allowing 355 yards to opponents. Against Central Michigan they picked off Dan Lefevour once but allowed him to pass for 255 yards and two scores.

Marshall has won 10 of their last 12 against this opponent, and they’ve got more good news with the expected return of leading rusher Darius Marshall, who had missed the last two contests with an ankle injury. Marshall has rushed for 1054 yards and accounts for 11 of the 16 rushing td’s. QB Brian Anderson has thrown for 213 ypg and 14 scores, but his decision making has been questionable at times with his 13 picks. As a unit they’ve committed 21 turnovers, and may have problems holding onto the football against an opportune Ohio defense. In the passing game, seven different receivers have ten or more catches, but only four of them have found the endzone. The offense has been stagnant at times averaging 21.8 ppg, but the defense has been the weaker link allowing more td’s and yards rushing and passing. The unit is ranked 99th in passing defense was was absolutely torched in the game vs. UTEP for 517 yards and five td’s.

Betfirms has more free bowl breakdowns and winning football picks! These two teams have met 52 times, where Ohio has the overall edge 29-17-6. Although the Thundering Herd has had more recent success, the Bobcats should be able to take advantage of their passing attack, where Marshall is giving up 247.4 ypg. I like Ohio to cover the spread here and get their 10th win of the season, and you can check out more expert college bowl picks at Betfirms.