LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL PICKS AND ANALYSIS: OHIO VS. MARSHALL

If you ever needed an argument that the number of college football bowl games is resulting in unqualified teams being invited to postseason play, look no further than the Marshall Thundering Herd.  Marshall will take on the University of Ohio in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl despite a 6-6 record and having lost four of their last six games.  Ohio, meanwhile, is a competent team that went 9-4 good for a second place finish in the Eastern Division of the Mid America Conference.  Ohio has been installed as a -3 point college football betting favorite with the total set at 49.

Marshall brings not only an inexperienced team to Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan but a coaching staff in complete disarray.  None of the current Thundering Herd roster has ever played in a bowl game, and typically that’s when you look to the coaching staff for leadership.  In this case, that’s going to be a problem.  Head coach Mark Snyder resigned after Marshall’s blowout loss to UTEP.  The team will be coached here by assistant Rick Minter.  In some situations, this is a net positive from a motivational standpoint for both coach and team and the game becomes a de facto ‘audition’ for the permanent head coaching job but not here—Minter wasn’t even considered for the vacancy and may not be around next year in any capacity.  Marshall has already decided on West Virginia assistant Doc Holliday as their new head coach, meaning that Minter’s focus and motivation on this game is very questionable.  Both Minter and his staff have likely put in more time looking for jobs than they have preparing for this game.

On the other side of the field, they’ll face a competently coached and well rounded team from the University of Ohio.  Head coach Frank Solich is considered one of the best in the game at preparing for a specific opponent and combined with the disarray in the Marshall coaching ranks should provide a huge advantage for Ohio.  They’ve got a well rounded team with a productive offense, an opportunistic defense (36 takeaways this year) and dynamic special teams.  10 of Ohio’s touchdowns were scored by either their defense or special teams this year, and they’ll have a good chance to exploit any lapses in Marshall’s tactical preparation for this game.

The Bobcats’ offense is led by a solid quarterback in Theo Scott and he’ll have a deep wide receiver corps at his disposal to throw to.  Marshall ranked 99th in the nation in passing yardage allowed, so they’ll be vulnerable to exploitation based on that fact alone.  Throw in the questionable focus of the coaching staff, and Scott could have a career day throwing against the Marshall secondary.

The mood of these teams heading into the contest is reflected by the excitement of their fanbase about playing this game.  Ohio has sold all of its ticket allotment, while Marshall will be lucky to sell 35% of their ticket allotment.  This almost palpable malaise from the usually rabid Thundering Herd fans is due to the messy coaching situation and inexperience of the team.

Ohio would have been the right side of this game even if the Marshall coaching situation hadn’t become such a fiasco.  They’re simply the better team top to bottom, and have an offense that can exploit the Herd’s defensive weakness against the pass.  With the mess caused by the coaching situation, they’re an even stronger position.  Look for Ohio to win and cover easily and put up enough points to send the game OVER the total.

Bet the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl  Ohio vs. Marshall at Sports-1.