Marshall no match for sturdy Badgers

A finesse offense does not fly at Wisconsin, which uses a physical ground attack led by giant offensive linemen and a bulldozer of a running back in P.J. Hill.

The Badgers try to overpower opponents and hope Hill is running downhill and wearing down defenses by the second half.

Sportsmemo.com handicapper Erin Rynning said he sees that scenario playing out again Saturday, when he recommends wagering on Wisconsin as a 201/2-point home favorite over Marshall.

"The Badgers can just run over this team," Rynning said. "Marshall has had a hard time handling upper-echelon teams and is very soft against the run."

Marshall opened with a 35-10 win over Illinois State. But the Thundering Herd was blown out last season by two major-conference opponents, losing 31-3 to Miami and 48-23 to West Virginia.

Hill carried 26 times for 210 yards and two touchdowns in Wisconsin's 38-17 victory over Akron last week. The Badgers rushed for 404 yards and an average of 6.4 per carry.

But they also failed to cover as 27-point favorites. That was mostly because Hill lost a fumble at the goal line and quarterback Allan Evridge threw an interception in the end zone. Akron scored a touchdown with 38 seconds left.

"They could have easily won that game 52-10," Rynning said.

The Badgers' Bret Bielema is 15-0 straight up at home in his third year as coach.

"Wisconsin seems to be a very focused team with strong chemistry," Rynning said. "Bielema likes to run up the score if he can."

Rynning analyzes two more plays for Saturday (Home team in CAPS):

• BOSTON COLLEGE (-7) over Georgia Tech: People say you can't predict turnovers, but I think to some degree you can. Play against younger quarterbacks with no experience. Josh Nesbitt made his first start last week, and the Yellow Jackets were sloppy running new coach Paul Johnson's triple-option offense. They fumbled five times and lost two while defeating Jacksonville State.

Georgia Tech has 15 or 16 freshmen or sophomore starters and is the youngest team in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now the Yellow Jackets go on the road against a massive Boston College team. Fifth-year senior quarterback Chris Crane ran for two touchdowns last week to lead the Eagles to a 21-0 win over Kent State.

• Kent State (+7) over IOWA STATE: The Golden Flashes are a sleeper team in the improved Mid-American Conference. They can run the football and stop the run. They have two weapons in running back Eugene Jarvis and quarterback Julian Edelman.

They ran into a buzz saw in Boston College, but that won't be the case with Iowa State. I think Kent is sitting on a big effort.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.