Coastal Carolina (6-1) will head to West Virginia to take on Marshall (4-3) Saturday. In our continued college football odds coverage, we will be making our Coastal Carolina-Marshall prediction and picks.
The Chanticleers enter this game having been dominated by Old Dominion at home last week, snapping its six-game win streak to start the season. Old Dominion handed Coastal its first conference loss, yet the Chanticleers still sit atop the group with a 3-1 record. They are the only team in the Sun Belt with just one loss on the season.
As for the Thundering Herd, they are 1-2 in conference play and are coming off an impressive 26-12 road win over James Madison, which came a week after a disappointing home loss to Louisiana. Marshall’s key highlight of the season was a Week 2 26-21 win over Notre Dame. It is 2-1 at home this season. That said, let’s dive into a few key headlines for this conference battle.
Coastal Carolina-Marshall Prediction and Odds
Khalan Laborn Key for Marshall
The Thundering Herd are going to live or die on the back of running back Khalan Laborn. He was an absolute stud in their last win, a stunning defeat of James Madison. Laborn ended the game with 30 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Offense has been a weakness in general for the Thundering Herd, scoring just 26.6 points per game.
However, with that explosion, Laborn eclipsed 1,000 yards on the ground and has 12 touchdowns, as many as every other player on the team combined. Marshall is 3-1 when he hits 150 yards rushing on the season. His efficiency has also aided quarterback Henry Colombi, who has a 73.2% completion rate on the season and gets open receivers frequently on play-action opportunities.
Nonetheless, the focal point of this team has been defensively, where they allow just 78.1 yards rushing and 2.5 per carry. They also hold opponents to just a 50.9% completion rate. Now, the strength of schedule hasn’t necessarily been there, as they sit 97th of 131 schools in that area, but they do rank 11th in opponent points per game. Defensive lineman Owen Porter has been terrific all season long for Marshall, totaling nine tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks.
Grayson McCall Leads Coastal Carolina’s Offense
The Chanticleers play a completely different style and will heavily lean on Grayson McCall in this battle. McCall has been everything Jamey Chadwell had hoped for, throwing for 1,940 yards and a 70.6% completion rate. He adds a dimension on the ground as well, running for 146 yards and three touchdowns.
If there is an area where the Marshall defense struggles, it is in the pass defense game, as Louisiana Ben Wooldridge lit them up for 230 yards and two touchdowns two weeks ago. Running back C.J. Beasley is the back to keep an eye on, as he has 539 yards rushing on the season and a team-high four touchdowns rushing. Coastal Carolina averages 33 points per game, 42nd best of the 131 FBS programs. It has also had a soft schedule, though, ranking 114th in strength of schedule.
Defense hasn’t been a strength for this team, but linebacker Jahmar Brown has 5.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks and two pass deflections on the season. Defensive lineman J.T. Killen has 2.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and four pass deflections as well. Coastal Carolina has allowed 124 points in four conference games this season.
Final Coastal Carolina-Marshall Odds and Pick
Marshall is in a good sell-high spot and has struggled in both conference play and at home. It is 1-2 against the spread as a home favorite, and the Thundering Herd struggle when Laborn isn’t in takeover mode.
It’s easier to side with the team having the more competent program and having been better in conference play over the last few seasons. Since Chadwell took over, Coastal is 11-6 against the spread as a road underdog. With the better quarterback and Marshall not having an offense that can play from behind, back the Chanticleers here.
Coastal Carolina-Marshall Pick: Chanticleers +2.5 (-105) at FanDuel | Playable to +3.0 (-115)
