Marshall vs. Appalachian State College Football Week 4 Picks and Predictions

Marshall is averaging 43.7 points per game along with 604.7 yards per game. Can Appalachian State shut down a Marshall offense that sits near the top of the league?

Let's see which team goes into our NCAAF picks for this matchup.

Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Appalachian State Mountaineers

Thursday, September 23, 2021 - 07:30 PM EDT at Kidd Brewer Stadium

The Marshall Thundering Herd are coming off a brutal defensive performance, allowing East Carolina to score 42 points in a 42-38 loss at home. Meanwhile, Appalachian State beat that very same team in East Carolina, Week 1, but had a loss to Miami via Week 2.The Mountaineers bounced back with a 44-10 victory last week against Elon, but they ultimately did what they were supposed to.

Chase Brice, the transfer senior quarterback for App State has been solid thus far. Brice has thrown for 751 yards with four touchdowns. He’s also thrown two interceptions but almost led his team to a win against a ranked Miami team, although that was easily his worst game of the season thus far.

https://twitter.com/AppState_FB/status/1439934955618922498?s=20

The pass protection hasn’t exactly held up this season but the fun game and the run block have done better. App State is rushing for 180 yards per game through three games and averaging 446.3 points per game on the offensive end with Camerun Peoples leading the charge.Peoples has five touchdowns on 42 attempts this season along with 275 yards. He’s averaging 6.5 yards per carry and has had his way to start the season.

Defensively, the Mountaineers are allowing just eighteen points per game along with under 350 yards per game.  The pass rush and coverage can be better, but the rushing defense has been elite to start the season.

https://youtu.be/EqxhqUuG7SQ

Appalachian State is allowing just 109 yards per game on the ground but, again, need to work on their coverage and pass rush. The passing defense has allowed 240 yards per game.Marshall, on the other hand, will start freshman Grant Wells, who has thrown four touchdowns and five interceptions in the short season. Wells has still thrown for 1,110 yards and has thrown 117 attempts in the first three games of the season.

When you’re throwing that much, interceptions will happen. He’s still terrific along with running back Rasheen Ali, who is also a freshman with seven touchdowns on 46 attempts along with 293 yards and 6.4 yards per carry.

https://twitter.com/HerdFB/status/1439392997800505347?s=20

Marshall is literally averaging 604.7 yards per game this season and has only allowed 374.3 yards per game on the defensive end. The pass rush is extremely good and that has helped their coverage unit remain strong to start the season.The Thundering Herd are also premier on the rush defense despite allowing 187 yards per game. They’re much better than that. The one issue for this team has been tackling but as long as they can get pressure on the quarterback and put hands on players near the line of scrimmage, things should work out in their favor.

Prediction

The total for this game sits at 57 points and Marshall is already averaging nearly 44 points on their own per game this season. Appalachian State will be a tougher opponent on the defensive end but at the end of the day, Marshall is averaging over 600 yards of offense through three games this season. It wasn’t just one game. It’s been three.Appalachian State has struggled to get pressure on the quarterback and Marshall has done a solid job protecting Wells so far this year.

On the other hand, Marshall’s defense has been way better this year but allowed 42 to East Carolina just last week. The tackling is bad and as long as App State is able to pass protect better, we’ll see points on both sides of this game.For my NCAAF pick, let’s take the Over 57 in this one for Thursday night.NCAAF Pick: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.