Marshall Starting QB Chase Litton expected to play vs. Pitt

Earlier this week, I mentioned that the Panthers’ success in defending the pass against Marshall on Saturday may rest on which quarterback they see. It appears like they’ll be fully tested as the Thundering Herd’s starter, Chase Litton, returns to the lineup after missing their last game with a concussion.

Litton returned to practice on Tuesday and all signs point to him playing against Pitt. That obviously makes things more difficult for the Panthers.

So far this year, the sophomore quarterback has been pretty good. In the team’s opener, he threw for 309 yards and six passes against Morgan State before being pulled in a 62-0 blowout win. Against Akron, he was forced into three interceptions but still threw for 413 yards and four more touchdowns. Litton has also been pretty accurate, connecting on nearly 62% of his passes.

Obviously, he hasn’t seen anything like the Pitt defense yet. And with the three picks in an ugly loss to Akron, he’s been proven to make a few mistakes. But the amount of yards he’s passed for in those two games should be concerning for a Pitt secondary that’s struggled mightily the last two weeks.

Litton’s replacement, true freshman Garet Morrell, didn’t fare too well against Louisville last week. He was only 9-21 on the day with 59 passing yards. Suffice to say, facing him would have given Pitt’s secondary a much better chance at success. That’s not to suggest they can’t stop Litton, but there’s obviously no comparison between the two right now.

Hopefully Pitt’s secondary can step up to the challenge on Saturday.

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