College Football Odds: West Virginia vs Marshall - Week 2 Picks

ESPN will feature a Friday night doubleheader beginning with a 7:05pm EST match-up of intra-state rivals as the Thundering Herd of Marshall hosts the West Virginia Mountaineers. Online sportsbooks have opened with West Virginia as a 12.5-point favorite in week 2 college football odds with a betting total of 46.5. This game will feature the home debut of new Marshall head coach Doc Holiday, who was a top assistant and ace recruiter for the Mounties. Last week West Virginia beat Coastal Carolina 31-0 in week 2 picks while Marshall lost at the Horseshoe to Ohio State 45-7 as 28-point underdogs in college football betting odds. “Unacceptable,” said Holliday after the poor performance against the nation’s 2nd ranked team.

“Guys got to grow up, and we’ll correct that. Those things are correctable, and that will never happen again.” WVU is 25th ranked and a favorite to win the Big East. These two teams have met annually since 2006 with the Mounties scoring wins in all 4 games but payouts in just 2 of them as the host team has covered 3 out of the 4 matchups. Last year at West Virginia the Mounties prevailed 24-7 as 20-point favorites in college football odds. West Virginia has not fared well as a favorite of more than 8 points with just 7 payouts in their last 20 games in that role and 5 consecutive failures.

The Mounties have gone UNDER the total in 6 out of their last 7 when favored by more than 8 in college football odds. West Virginia has gone 10-7 against the spread versus Conference USA with 2 payouts in their last 3 opportunities. The Mounties have gone under the total in 4 out of their last 5 games with Conference USA. Heading into college football week 2 picks, Marshall is just 3-5 against the spread versus the Big East with the last 3 games going UNDER the total. The Herd has lost 13 out of their last 20 against the spread as an underdog of more than 8 points including 5 of their last 7.