Marshall (1-0) at Boise State (1-0)
When: Friday, September 6, 2019
Where: Albertsons Stadium,
Boise, Idaho
Time: 9:00 ET | TV: ESPN2
Opening Odds: Boise State -11.5/55
In one of the more shocking finishes on the Week 1 slate was the Boise State Broncos coming back from 18 points down in Tallahassee to defeat the Florida State Seminoles on the road with a freshman quarterback. The Broncos will be on short-rest and try to avoid a letdown when they host the Marshall Thundering Herd out of Conference USA on Friday night on the blue turf. Hank Bachmeier, the first true freshman signal-caller to start at Boise State since they joined the FBS (1996), completed 30-of-51 passes for 407 yards and a touchdown as the Broncos scored the final 23 points in the 36-31 victory to get back into the AP Poll (No. 24). The Herd opened their season with an easy 56-17 victory over FCS member Virginia Military Institute and were voted to win the Eastern Division in the C-USA preseason poll. Marshall is coming off a 9-4 season and have a solid defense behind head coach Doc Holliday. The Broncos have won 17 straight home openers and 26 of their last 27 non-conference games in Boise. These teams played their only contest in the 1994 Division I-AA (FCS) Playoffs withe the Broncos pulling out a 28-24 victory in the semifinals.
Marshall was led last week behind a young quarterback of their own in sophomore Isaiah Green, who tossed a career-high four touchdowns and got plenty of support from others. The running game amassed 280 yards with junior Tyler King recording a game-high 75. Eight receivers caught at least two passes with freshman Corey Gammage leading the way with five for 82 yards and a score. The Herd simply dominated VMI, outgaining them 620-257, while totaling 35 first downs. Marshall will be without junior linebacker Jaquan Yulee, who underwent surgery Sunday for a broken neck he sustained versus VMI. Yulee had a down season a year ago after coming in with high expectations. The Thundering Herd will host Ohio next weekend.
Special teams played a big roll in the upset of Florida State, with senior Eric Sachse tying a school record with five field goals while converting all three extra-point attempts. Junior running back Robert Mahone tallied 24 carries for 142 yards – both career-highs – and two touchdowns versus Florida State, while sophomore wideout Khalil Shakir hauled in eight catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. The defense limited the Seminoles to 1-of-12 on third down conversions and shut them out in the second half to help fuel the comeback. Boise will host FCS Portland State next week.
I do like this Marshall team and think they have a good shot at winning C-USA, but Boise looks like they could have another solid team here. The defense was impressive in the second half last week and they are really tough to slow down on the blue turf when conditions aren’t miserable like they will be later in the season.
Pick: Boise State -12
Betting Trends:
Thundering Herd are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Thundering Herd are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 Friday games.
Thundering Herd are 15-7-2 ATS in their last 24 games in September.
Thundering Herd are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points.
Thundering Herd are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games on fieldturf.
Thundering Herd are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Thundering Herd are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.
Thundering Herd are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
Thundering Herd are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
Thundering Herd are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing less than 275 total yards in their previous game.
Thundering Herd are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win.
Thundering Herd are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game.
Broncos are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Friday games.
Broncos are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Broncos are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game.
Broncos are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
Broncos are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.
Broncos are 38-18-2 ATS in their last 58 games after allowing more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
Broncos are 7-16 ATS in their last 23 home games.
Broncos are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
Over is 4-0 in Thundering Herd last 4 games overall.
Over is 4-0 in Thundering Herd last 4 games after allowing less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.
Over is 5-0 in Thundering Herd last 5 road games.
Over is 6-0 in Thundering Herd last 6 games following a ATS loss.
Over is 4-0 in Thundering Herd last 4 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Over is 6-1 in Thundering Herd last 7 games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game.
Over is 6-1 in Thundering Herd last 7 games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game.
Over is 5-1 in Thundering Herd last 6 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Over is 5-1 in Thundering Herd last 6 vs. a team with a winning record.
Over is 4-1 in Thundering Herd last 5 games after allowing less than 275 total yards in their previous game.
Over is 9-3 in Thundering Herd last 12 games in September.
Over is 20-7 in Thundering Herd last 27 non-conference games.
Over is 5-2 in Thundering Herd last 7 games following a straight up win.
Over is 5-2 in Thundering Herd last 7 games on fieldturf.
Over is 17-7 in Thundering Herd last 24 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
Over is 9-4 in Thundering Herd last 13 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points.
Under is 5-0 in Broncos last 5 games following a straight up win.
Under is 4-0 in Broncos last 4 games on fieldturf.
Under is 5-0 in Broncos last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Under is 5-0 in Broncos last 5 vs. a team with a winning record.
Under is 5-1 in Broncos last 6 games overall.
Under is 5-1 in Broncos last 6 games following a ATS win.
Under is 8-2 in Broncos last 10 games after allowing less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.
Over is 4-1 in Broncos last 5 games in September.
Under is 4-1 in Broncos last 5 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Under is 20-7 in Broncos last 27 home games.
Over is 9-4 in Broncos last 13 Friday games.
