[dmoney416]

West Virginia (-24) at Marshall

I had the over in the WVU/WMU game this weekend, and the only thing that worried me was that WMU's defense had only given up 2.6 ypr last season. Beside losing all-everything Ameer Ismail, they returned almost the entire core of the defense. They only allowed 3 teams to rush for over 100 yards last year.

My worries were gone after the first possession. They ended up rushing for 316 yards on 45 carries (7.0 avg).

Now they go to Marshall, and I expected the line to be 28, so I was happy to take 24. Marshall allowed 4.1 ypr last season, and while they returned 7 starters coming into the spring, their top two tacklers graduated and now McClellan is gone for the year. It showed against Miami, as Graig Cooper and Javarris James had their way. They combined 201 yards on 25 carries, or 8 yards per carry. Miami ended up with 39 rushes on 251 yards (6.4 per carry).

Now, James and Cooper are nice backs, but they are no White and Slaton. In addition, Miami's backs did this with no passing game to speak of. WVU is always a threat to throw even though they are a run first team. I think that you will just see Slaton and White constantly picking up chunks of yardage in this game.

Last year, WVU won at home 42-10 as 22 point favorites. In that game, WVU ran for 312 yards on 52 carries (6 yards per carry). They were also 11-15 for 173 passing. Marshall failed to record a sack. WVU brings basically all of their relevant offensive players with the exception of WR Brandon Myles. I also beileved that Marshall D has regressed, so expect just a field day for White and Slaton.

What I also love about WVU is their depth is so great that they won't allow a backdoor opportunity. What happens when WVU is up 35 in the 4th quarter? Instead of Pat White and Steve Slaton, you get Noel Divine and Jarrett Brown. Hardly a picnic for the defense. If you look at the box score against WMU you will that they did well in limited time.

For Marshall, Bernard Morris is an athlete that can run and pass. However, some of his plays will leave you saying "wow" while others will leave you shrugging your shoulders leaving you to wonder what the hell he was thinking. He had some nice plays against Miami, but he can't seem to put a full possession together. He had 3 INTs (though not all of them were his fault), and he seems to get happy feet in the pocket.

This team seems to have no running game with the exception of Morris. He had 16 carries for 43 yards against Miami. Besides him, no one else had more than 6 carries, and they combined for 21 yards on 15 carries. Running is where Marshall had success against WVU last year, rushing for 154 yards on 34 carries (4.5 ypr). However, WVU improved as the year went on, allowing only 3.0 ypc throughout the year. Without Bradshaw, this team will have no running game against WVU.

In the passing game, Morris should have some success, but it will be limited and he make his mistakes. I do expect Marshall to score in this game, it just won't be enough.

This team also seems to be undisciplined. Dropping balls and procedure penalties seemed to be the order of the day aginst Miami. Marshall had 11 penalties for 79 yards against Miami, and the majority of them were before the snap. Now, they will cut down on this since they will be at home, but it is a sign that they are having of tough time of getting cohesion on those rebuilt lines. These penalties put them is 18 3rd down situations, and they converted only 5 of them.

Anthony Binswanger punted well against Miami, with a 44 yard average on 7 punts. However, he is somehow still the kicker after a dismal 5-13 year last year. He was 1-2 on FGs against Miami and also struggled on kickoffs, never getting the ball past the 10 yard line on a kickoff. Expect good field position for WVU.

Overall, WVU's defense is not Miami, but it is more than enough to contain a one-dimensional, inconsistent Marshall offense. WVU will score at will early on, and it won't stop once the back-ups get in.

55-17 West Virginia