Against the Odds: Pitt big favorites against Marshall

As expected Pitt is favored against Marshall this weekend. And despite the Thundering Herd getting their starting quarterback back, the spread still remains large in the Panthers' favor.

As of Friday, Pitt was a solid 15 1/2 to 16-point favorite over the Marshall. That, too, is up a bit from the opening line, which was at -14 in favor of the Panthers.

Can Pitt cover such a big number? Sure. While the Thundering Herd do get starting quarterback Chase Litton back, he hasn't faced anything like what the Panthers' defense will throw at him. LItton has been very impressive, but even with that, Marshall still suffered an ugly 27-point loss to Akron when they allowed the Zips to hang 65 on them.

Pitt's secondary will likely see its share of problems, but I'm not sure Marshall will be able to match them on offense. Last weekend, the Thundering Herd also allowed 59 points to Louisville.

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