Sun Belt Showdown: Louisiana vs. Marshall Game Preview

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00:00Let me bring up the sunbelt here.

00:04We have Louisiana against Marshall.

00:06Two teams this season that have certainly kept their consistency about them, which is

00:11how you get to a conference championship game, but it is the 10 and 2 Ragin' Cajuns who check

00:15in between six and five and a half point favorites in this one.

00:19Your total climbing though overnight, 57 and a halfs are all gone.

00:22You're getting way more 58 and a halves in the market actually than flat 58s.

00:27I did play that 58 towards the under, primarily focused on Marshall running the football a

00:33ton in this game.

00:35You really are hard pressed to find many teams that have passed successfully and efficiently

00:39this year against Louisiana, and that's not even really what Marshall wants to do, Ben.

00:44So I think with all the rushing attempts that I would project from the thundering herd in

00:48this game, it helps us stay under a still pretty high total, all things considered here

00:52on Conference Championship Saturday.

00:54And a lot of that rushing production comes from the quarterback spot for the thundering

00:57herd.

00:58Braylon Braxton has taken over for Stone Earl.

01:00He has been that guy for Charles Huff, 544 yards, second most on this Marshall team for

01:07rushing touchdowns.

01:08And Lacey Guy, the herd in this Sunbelt Championship game because of how great they have been this

01:13year covering numbers and as an underdog.

01:17Two outright victories in their last two games against Old Dominion and last week against

01:22James Madison.

01:23Down 17-zip at the break.

01:25They rally all the way back and they win in double overtime against the Dukes who were

01:30projected to play in this game.

01:34Charles Huff is a very interesting situation happening right now.

01:37He has a 31-20 record.

01:39He is going to lead Marshall to his third consecutive bowl game, and every year he has

01:43been at the helm of this Marshall football program, and yet he doesn't have a contract

01:48moving forward.

01:49And his name has been rumored in reports to join another Sunbelt program, the one-win

01:54Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

01:56A lot of weird atmosphere surrounding what is a conference championship match.

02:00We've seen that in the Sunbelt in recent years.

02:02I'll just say for Charles Huff, he's a money-making machine, especially in terms of bowl situations

02:07and in terms of this situation, catching five and a half points against a more explosive

02:12offense in Louisiana.

02:13You could say I like Marshall outright.

02:15I'm taking the five and a half points, but I like Marshall in this spot.

02:19They're averaging 180 passing yards per game, 200 rushing yards on the ground.

02:24You look at Louisiana giving up $1.52 on the ground to opposing offenses.

02:28They're only giving up 22 points per game.

02:31But I think Marshall's offensive line is a little bit more physical.

02:33They can move the football on the ground and stay in manageable third downs.

02:37To Kevin's point, I do like the under 57 and a half, 58, because I think both teams will

02:42look to run the football as well.

02:43A little bit weakness in Marshall in terms of run support, tick, tick, tick.

02:47In the end, last team that has the football wins, but I like Marshall to pull it out.

02:51Just quickly here on the Ragin' Cajuns as well, Michael DeZormo is their head coach.

02:55He was the offensive coordinator under Billy Napier.

02:57He has continued the success there in Lafayette, Louisiana, the fourth 10-win season for the

03:05Cajuns in the last six years.

03:07DeZormo himself was a record-setting quarterback for Louisiana.

03:12That has continued.

03:13But the Sunbelt Offensive Player of the Year in Ben Woodridge is not playing in this game.

03:19Chandler Fields, an experienced senior, is going to be that quarterback, Louisiana.

03:24Top 20 total offense in the sport, averaging more than 445 yards per game, 15th-best scoring

03:33offense, last four covers for the Ragin' Cajuns as a favorite every game over.

03:37It's why that totals at 57.5, but Marshall, one of the better defenses in the Sunbelt.

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