NC State vs Marshall in 1-2-3

One Thing I’m Worried About

1. Marshall enters this game with the 27th ranked defense according to SP+ ratings. For comparison, the Louisville defense that all but shut down the NC State offense last week is ranked 24th. This Thundering Herd defense is plenty capable of creating havoc and keeping the Wolfpack offense off-balance and off the scoreboard.

Two Things I’m Confident In

1. M.J. Morris is going to provide a spark. No, Morris isn’t going to be a cure-all for the woes of the State offense, but he’s going to provide a spark that should get the offense moving and allow it to at least equal the 24-point season high the unit has notched against FBS teams this year.
2. NC State will be the toughest team Marshall faces all year. The Herd have looked good thus far in their 4-0 start that includes a win against ACC member Virginia Tech, but Marshall has just the 114th ranked strength of schedule (out of 133 teams) so far this year.

Three Stats You Should Know

1. The Thundering Herd defense is allowing just 1.90 points per opportunity to opposing offenses, the 5th best mark in the country. NC State’s defense is 65th allowing 3.54 points per opportunity. Plenty of that is credit to the offense, but some of it is also good luck. Opponents are just 3-of-6 on field goal attempts against Marshall, with two of those missed kicks coming from inside of 40 yards.
2. Marshall’s Owen Porter is tied for 12th in the country in tackles for loss per game, averaging 1.75 TFL/game. Porter’s work has helped to hold opponents to a Defense Success Rate that’s 6th in the country.
3. Opponents have dominated Marshall’s at the line of scrimmage. The Herd rank 130th in the country in Stuff Rate and dead last in Line Yards.