The Marshall Thundering Herd (3-3, 0-2 Sun Belt) visit the James Madison Dukes (5-1, 3-1) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Marshall vs. James Madison odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Marshall has 3 wins this season. Only 1 of them has come against an FBS opponent — in Week 2 when it beat Notre Dame 26-21. This win was followed up in a loss as a 17-point underdog to Bowling Green and conference losses to both Troy and Louisiana-Lafayette.
In its first season in the Sun Belt, Marshall is struggling to find its place. In 2 divisional games this far, the Thundering Herd have scored only 20 points while giving up 39.
James Madison has jumped into the Sun Belt Conference from FCS and hit the ground running. After just their 5th game as an FBS school, the Dukes were a nationally ranked team. This short stint ended after suffering their 1st loss of the season 45-38 to Georgia Southern last Saturday.
The Dukes, who are ineligible to win the conference in its 1st season due to conference by-laws, still want to show the country that they are a a team to be dealt with. The Dukes are beating their opponents by an average of 29.2 points per game in their 5 victories. They look to prove once again who they are this week in hopes of getting back on the right track.
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Marshall at James Madison odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 2:02 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Marshall +380 (bet $100 to win $380) | James Madison -540 (bet $540 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Marshall +11.5 (-108) | James Madison -11.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 51.5 (O: -105 | U: -120)
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Marshall at James Madison picks and predictions
Prediction
James Madison 38, Marshall 17
Moneyline
James Madison (-540) will win, but the line is too high and not worth the risk.
Against the spread
JAMES MADISON -11.5 (-112) is the play.
Marshall has beaten only 1 FBS team (Notre Dame) in 2022. The Thundering Herd’s only other victories this far are against Norfolk State and Gardener-Webb. In their 1st season of Sun Belt play, they look to be outmatched. This will also be the case against the Dukes.
James Madison, before its close 45-38 loss last Saturday, has been routinely crushing opponents. With an average margin of victory of 29.2 PPG, the Dukes are beating teams they should and doing it handily. They will do so again in this matchup.
JAMES MADISON -11.5 (-112) is my FAVORITE PLAY in this game.
Over/Under
TAKE OVER 51.5 (-105).
These teams are opposites in terms of O/U. While the Under is 5-1 for Marshall, the Over is 5-1 for James Madison.
he Dukes will be able to score a lot, while the Thundering Herd will score at least 2 TDs to help cash an OVER 51.5 (-105) ticket.
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