The Marshall Thundering Herd (2-0) travel to northern Ohio to take on the Bowling Green Falcons (0-2) Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Marshall at Bowling Green odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
The Thundering Herd are coming off a massive upset last week, beating then-NO. Notre Dame 26-21. QB Henry Colombi threw for 145 yards and a touchdown, while former Florida State RB Khalan Laborn eclipsed the century mark on the ground for the second time in as many games, carrying the ball 31 times for 163 yards and a TD. The Herd’s defense stepped up to the challenge as well with DBs Micah Abraham and Steven Gilmore (brother of NFL star, Stephon Gilmore) and DL Owen Porter each having an interception. Against the Falcons, they will try to focus on the task at hand and lock in with the same mentality that propelled them past the Fighting Irish last week.
Bowling Green played a tough, offensive-heavy game last week ultimately losing 59-57 in a 7-OT thriller to Eastern Kentucky. QB Matt McDonald tossed 5 touchdowns among his 283 passing yards. WR CJ Lewis pulled in 2 of the TDs, while WRs Odieu Hiliare and Ta’ron Kieth each caught one. Penalties hurt the Falcons, who finished with 12 for 98 yards. This week, they’ll hope to continue their offensive dominance while improving their defense to beat a Marshall team with a lot of momentum.
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Marshall at Bowling Green odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 4:32 a.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Marshall -850 (bet $850 to win $100) | Bowling Green +570 (bet $100 to win $570)
- Against the spread (ATS): Marshall -16.5 (-115) | Bowling Green +16.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 50.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Marshall at Bowling Green picks and predictions
Prediction
Marshall 38, Bowling Green 24
Money line
PASS. Although Marshall is coming off a massive win last week and people are rightfully optimistic about this team, -850 is just too high to produce any sort of meaningful return.
Against the spread
BACK BOWLING GREEN -16.5 (-115).
The Herd are coming off a big victory, so most may expect them to continue their hot streak against a lesser MAC team in BG, but they may play down to their opponent. The Falcons are a solid team, which has proved it can put the ball in the end zone, but the question is whether or not its defense will be able to step up enough to give the Falcons a fighting chance. They are a team that has come so close to victory in the first 2 weeks that BG will be playing with enough angst to keep the game relatively close. Not to mention, the Falcons are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games against Sun Belt opponents.
Over/Under
OVER 50.5 (-115) is the way to go.
With Marshall’s Colombi completing 85% of his passes in the first 2 weeks and Bowling Green’s defense giving up over 300 yards each of its 2 games, this is a recipe for a lot of points. Bowling Green’s stadium has had good success with the Over recently too, with 5 of the last 6 Falcons’ home games hitting the Over.
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