West Virginia at Marshall
Friday, 9/10/10, 7:00 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: West Virginia -13
Current Betting Line: West Virginia -12.5
Opening Total: 47
Current Total: 46.5
Current Moneyline: West Virginia -450/Marshall +375
All West Virginia Marshall Betting Odds Taken From Bookmaker Sportsbook.
West Virginia started the 2010 football season with a 31-0 shutout of Coastal Carolina at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Geno Smith era at quarterback got started with a blistering 20 of 27 performance for 216 yards and two touchdowns. Star running back Noel Devine added 111 rushing yards from the backfield in helping the offense produce 400 yards of total offense. It’s an important stat due to the team producing a 13-3 record when he rushes for at least 100 yards in a game. The defense posted its first shutout since 2005 and the first home shutout since 1997. “I’m pleased with the way our defense played, reacted and took control of the game,” head coach Bill Stewart stated. “The most important thing is that we played with reckless abandonment.”
The Mountaineers are a dominating 52-13 over its last 65 games and 16-2 in games played on turf under Stewart. The team has posted a 6-8 against the spread record against the college football lines on an artificial surface over the last three seasons. West Virginia’s 31-point margin of victory in the season opener was the largest for a Stewart-led team. Now they head on the road, posting an even 5-5 ATS mark over the last three seasons and the total is 5-5 O/U in those contests. Also, don’t simply skip over the squad’s 2-9 ATS mark when playing with six or less days of rest.
Marshall is set to play its second ranked opponent in as many weeks to start the season, after suffering a lopsided 45-7 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus. Tonight’s game will be the 10th meeting, with the team failing to capture a victory in the series thus far. The defense will need to quickly sure up a unit that surrendered 529 yards of total offense in the opening week. The Thundering Herd will look forward to playing its first home contest of the year, amassing an incredible 119-19 overall record at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Over the last three years, Marshall has a losing 4-6 ATS mark at home.
The Thundering Herd’s new coach knows tonight’s opponent well, playing for West Virginia during his collegiate years and later serving under Stewart in Morgantown when he succeeded Rich Rodriguez. He took over a team that returns 41 letterwinners and 13 starters from last year’s team. Marshall has appeared on national television 58 times, posting a 25-33 record in those games. The squad has compiled a 2-3 ATS mark over the last three years as a underdog of 10.5 to 21 points and the total is 3-2 O/U in those games.
Bettors will have a definitive interest in the Mountaineers being 11-0 ATS in their last 11 road games versus a team with a losing home record and the under is 4-1 in their last five versus Conference USA. Marshall stands at 2-5 ATS in their last seven games versus the Big East and the under is 5-1 in the team’s last six home games.
Maddux Sports posted another winning night on Thursday and has a premium pick on the UTEP/Houston game now ready. We are still looking at possible a play on the side or total of the WV/Marshall game so be sure to pick up a daily or seasonal college football pick package from the expert sports handicappers at Maddux Sports.
