UCF at Marshall Odds
Written by Matthew Martz - Google +
The Marshall Thundering Herd host the University of Central Florida Knights on Wednesday October 13, at 8 pm ET. Last time the two teams met in November of 2009, the Knights shut down the Herd in the fourth quarter and scored 14 of their own points to win the game 21-20. The Knights employed seven different receivers and were shut down on the run, but Bret Hodges’ passing game was good enough as he completed 51percent of his passes for 342 yards.
Our odds show the Knights a -5 favorite over the Herd with a total of 44 ½ points.
The Thundering Herd is off to a 1-4 start and sits fourth in conference USA. They have passed for 199 yards per game to rank 77th overall, and have only rushed for 105 yards to rank 105th.
In their four losses, they have allowed over 40 points, three times, and have averaged 38.5 PPG allowed while scoring only 18 in those losses. QB Anderson has eight touchdowns, but has only passed for 880 yards.
Main rushers Ward and Booker have only combined for two TDs and a total of just 448 rushing yards, something that needs to improve quickly.
However, the key issue for the team is obviously defense, as it ranks 108th in points against.
In Marshall’s last game it lost to Southern Mississippi, 41-16, while being shut down and allowing 28 points by the halfway point. That would prove to be too big a hole for an anemic offense to climb out of.
Meanwhile, the University of Central Florida won its last game against the Marshall-esque UAB, 42-7, on the strength of 50 yards on 21 carries from RB Ronnie Weaver. He got some additional help from WR Brain Watters who had three receptions for 35 yards and a TD, while freshman QB Jeffrey Godfrey completed 9-of-11 passes for 137 yards while running for 80 yards on nine carries.
For the season, the Knights are 3-2 and sit in first in Conference USA East. Their main strength is their rushing, as they have averaged 192.8 on the ground to rank 32nd overall. Most of those yards have come from Godfrey and Weaver, who have combined for 538 yards on 108 attempts and seven touchdowns.
QB duties continue to be split between Calabrese and Godfrey, with the latter getting most of the workload. As a unit, the two quarterbacks have only combined for three touchdowns and rank 100th in passing with 169 per game.
The defense has been a wall, and has allowed only 13.8 points per game to rank 8th overall, and allowed a total of only seven points in two of their games. Combine that with a 63rd ranking in points for, 27.6, and it’s been a pretty successful recipe so far.
Matt’s Free Prediction: Central Florida -5 – As the two face off, expect Central Florida to win this one. Marshall has established a track record of being a slow starter, getting shut down in the first half, and then trying to climb its way back in the second half. Against the Knights strong defense, that comeback will not be possible and Marshall will add another loss to its record. The Knights may even score 40 points again.
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