Bruce Marshall, longtime executive editor of The Gold Sheet and a SportsLine college football expert, dives into the start of the college football Week 2 schedule with a look at two of Friday’s games, as James Madison visits Louisville and Maryland hosts Northern Illinois. All four teams won last week, but tougher tests may await on Friday. Those interested in college football betting can benefit greatly from Marshall’s insights, as the expert entered Week 1 64-43-3 (+1624) in his last 110 college football picks. Here’s the information he’s working with for Friday’s games.
James Madison at Louisville (9/5, 7 p.m. ET)
This figures to be a litmus test of sorts for Bob Chesney’s Dukes, who have high hopes in the Sun Belt and might rate peripheral consideration as a potential Group of Five playoff rep. Unlike Liberty from two years ago, which parlayed a soft slate in Conference USA and a forgiving non-league schedule to an unbeaten mark and a ticket to the Fiesta Bowl (where Oregon ended the party), the Dukes are taking on a legit playoff aspirant from the Power 4.
Chesney was no doubt pleased the QB Alonza Barnett III, who suffered an ACL tear in the final regular season game against Marshall last November, looked no worse for wear after getting the starting nod last Saturday against Weber State. Barnett was more than adequate with both a TD pass and a TD run, while UNLV transfer Matthew Sluka, who had previously played under Chesney at Holy Cross, also accounted for two scores in the 45-10 romp. Chesney will likely continues to use both QBs until further notice as JMU seeks a seventh straight cover against non-conference opposition.
Whether that will be enough to keep pace with what looks a runaway Louisville team remains to be seen. Several ACC sources pegged Jeff Brohm’s Cardinals as a conference title threat, reckoning Louisville could easily have done better than 9-4 last season (within one score in each gnawing loss). Brohm shouldn’t skip a beat at QB with USC transfer Miller Moss replacing Tyler Shough (now with the New Orleans Saints). Moss looked good enough in his Cards debut, passing for 223 yards last week vs. EKU, and had Louisville pegged to a 41-7 halftime lead before Brohm called off the dogs in the second half. The skill-position weaponry many believe to be the best in ACC also hit the ground running, with RB Isaac Brown scoring on a pair of long TDs and Caullin Lacy returning a punt for a score among the various big plays.
JMU’s defense figures to get stretched on Friday night, and both of Chesney’s QBs will have to be on point to keep the Dukes within earshot. It won’t be easy.
Northern Illinois at Maryland (9/5, 7:30 p.m. ET)
We’ve seen Mike Locksley’s Terrapins start out hot a few times in the recent past before Maryland inevitably gets its comeuppance in the Big Ten. To that end, the first part of the pattern stayed on course last week in the opener when the Terps buried FAU by a 39-7 count. Yet, is it really business as usual at College Park?
There hasn’t been this much buzz about a Maryland QB since Boomer Esiason, as freshman Malik Washington recovered from a brief slow start to complete 24 of his last 32 passes. He looked more like an upperclassman as the Terps started to extend their lead vs. the Owls. And while FAU might have been its own worst enemy, its six giveaways were more than partly the result of a hungry Maryland defense that exits the first full week helping lead the nation in turnover margin (+6) This from a platoon full of portal adds (just one returning starter) with a new DC in Ted Monachino, who has spent most of the past decade in the NFL.
Be careful, however, as there might be danger in assuming that the visiting Huskies won’t offer much more resistance than FAU, especially after NIU was pushed to the limit by FCS Holy Cross in a 19-17 escape last weekend. The offense admittedly has to be better, especially sophomore QB Josh Holst, who passed for just 101 yards in the opener. That being said, head coach Michael Hammock always preaches a run-heavy look and the Huskies stayed in character with a near 2:1 run/pass ratio last week. NIU also never shies from Power 4 tests, famously beating Notre Dame last year in South Bend and staying close at NC State. Hammock also has a long history of success as an underdog (14-6-1 since 2021).
The betting markets seem to have reacted somewhat to last week’s results, pushing this spread into the high teens, but history suggests real risks of selling Hammock’s Huskies short.
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