2009 Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl Ohio vs. Marshall Picks & Predictions

Last Updated on December 26, 2009 8:00 am by drew

Pizza Bowl Pick

A pair of old rivals meet in the 2009 Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl on Saturday at 1PM ET when
Ohio faces off with

Marshall from Ford Field.

Bet The Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl


Ohio is 9-4 on the season and 8-4 against the point spread. The Bobcats won four-straight to end the regular season before losing to
Central Michigan in the Mid-American Conference Championship. The Bobcats have covered in their last four games.

Marshall is 6-6 on the year and 6-5 against the spread. The Herd have lost three of their last four and failed to cover in three straight.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made
Ohio 2-point favorites over

Marshall on Saturday afternoon. The over/under total for this game has been established at 50.

Ohio is scoring 25.4 points per-game on offense, but the Bobcats haven’t racked up a lot of yardage, averaging only 324 total yards of offense per-game. Quarterback Theo Scott has been the main offensive weapon, as he has thrown for 2,258 yards with 19 touchdowns while also rushing for three scores.

Marshall is holding opponents to 24.9 points and 392 yards per-game on defense. The Herd have just eight interceptions as a team on the year.

Marshall has struggled offensively, scoring only 21.8 points per-game on the year. Quarterback Brian Anderson has thrown for 2,561 yards on the year but has only 14 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. Darius Marshall has rushed for 1,054 yards with 11 scores at tailback. The Bobcats lead the FBS in takeaways with 36, including 20 interceptions on the year.

Ohio is giving up just 21.3 points and 355 yards per-game on the season.

This pick comes down to quarterback play.
Anderson has struggled for

Marshall, while Scott has been able to be a big-play maker. The Bobcats have the ability to score at anytime with the defense creating a lot of turnovers, and the special teams also scoring four times this season. The
Ohio defense should be able to pose problems for
Anderson while Scott should be able to manufacture enough points for

Ohio to win and cover.
Ohio has also played at Ford Field this season and has not had to deal with the coaching changes that

Marshall has. On top of that, the trends also favor the Bobcats, as they are 5-2 against the spread against the Herd. We suggest a pick of

Ohio and the Over in a game that will be played on the fast turf of Ford Field.

Our Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl Free Pick for this matchup is:

OHIO -2 and OVER 50.
College Football Bowl Season Betting Trends
All games in this series since 1992

OHIO U is 5-2 against the spread versus

MARSHALL since 1992

MARSHALL is 7-1 straight up against OHIO U since 1992

MARSHALL is 22-38 ATS (-19.8 Units) in road games when playing on a Saturday since 1992.

Ohio is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing

Marshall

Ohio is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing

Marshall

Marshall is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games

The total has gone UNDER in 8 of

Marshall‘s last 10 games

Bowl Season College Football Injury Report


OHIO U

[QB] 10/13/2009 – Boo

Jackson out indefinitely ( Shoulder ) 

[DE] 12/04/2009 – Curtis Meyers out for season ( Ankle ) 

[WR] 10/19/2009 – Riley Dunlop out for season ( Shoulder ) 

[OL] 10/13/2009 – Michael Philibin out for season ( Foot ) 

[DE] 10/11/2009 – Kris Luchsinger out for season ( Knee ) 

[CB] 12/06/2009 – Julian Posey is "?" vs

Marshall in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl ( Foot ) 

[OT] 12/06/2009 – James Davis is "?" vs

Marshall in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl ( Leg ) 

[DB] 12/06/2009 – Idris Lawrence injured last game, "?" vs

Marshall in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl ( Knee ) 

MARSHALL

[S] 09/24/2009 – John Saunders out for season ( Neck ) 

[WR] 09/24/2009 – Troy Evans out for season ( Foot ) 

[RB] 12/07/2009 – Darius Marshall is upgraded to probable vs

Ohio in the Little Caesars Bowl. ( Ankle ) 

[TE] 11/28/2009 – Cody Slate out for season ( Knee ) 

[TE] 12/06/2009 – Robert Henry is "?" vs

Ohio in the Little Caesars Bowl. ( Undisclosed ) 

[CB] 12/06/2009 – TJ Drakeford is "?" vs

Ohio in the Little Caesars Bowl. ( Undisclosed ) 

[WR] 12/06/2009 – Courtney Edmonson is "?" vs

Ohio in the Little Caesars Bowl. ( Hamstring ) 

[DT] 12/24/2009 – Delvin Johnson expected to miss Saturday vs.

Ohio ( Ankle ) 
Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl Odds
Ohio Bobcats -2 Over 50 (-140)

Marshall Thundering Herd +2 Under 50 (+120)
Bet The Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl
Posted: 12/26/09 7:00AM ET