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The Marshall Thundering Herd take on the Old Dominion Monarchs in Norfolk, Va. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN+.
Marshall is favored by -3 points on the spread with a moneyline of -146. The total is set at 45.5 points.
Here’s my Marshall vs. Old Dominion prediction and college football pick for Saturday, October 31, 2026.
Marshall vs Old Dominion Prediction
- Marshall vs. Old Dominion Pick: Marshall -2.5 (Play to -3)
My Old Dominion vs. Marshall best bet is on Marshall to cover the spread. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page and be sure to download the Action Network app for more picks and analysis.
Marshall vs Old Dominion Odds
| Marshall Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2.5 -120 | 45.5 -115o / -105u | -146 |
| Old Dominion Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2.5 -102 | 45.5 -115o / -105u | +122 |
- Marshall vs Old Dominion point spread: Marshall -3 (-108), Old Dominion +3 (-115)
- Marshall vs Old Dominion over/under: 45.5 (-110o / -112u)
- Marshall vs Old Dominion moneyline: Marshall -146, Old Dominion +121
Marshall vs Old Dominion College Football Preview
Old Dominion has been the worst team in the country to back against the spread in 2026.
The Monarchs, who have the worst average cover margin in all of FBS, have just one cover on the season, which came against Appalachian State in a game you can almost throw out since it was played in a monsoon.
ODU's veteran defense hasn't been the problem. All of the issues come on the other side of the ball.
Name a random offensive statistic. In all likelihood, the Monarchs rank in the bottom three nationally in that department. In fact, they rank dead last in both Passing and Rushing Success Rate, which is quite an impressive feat.
They're averaging only 251 yards per game, which is also dead last in the country by a wide margin. For reference, Kent State averages the second-fewest at 286 yards per game, and last year's historically bad UMass team averaged only two yards fewer.
The same goes for yards per play, where they average at least a half-yard fewer than every other team in the nation.
So, what has gone wrong for Ricky Rahne's bunch? It all starts up front. ODU simply can't block anybody. I can confidently say the Monarchs have the worst offensive line in college football. The offensive tackle situation is particularly putrid.
Additionally, they just haven't been able to adequately replace all of the lost production from last year's squad. Just take a look at some of these losses:
- QB Colton Joseph (Wisconsin)
- RG Maarten Woudsma (Memphis)
- RT Stephon Dubose-Bourne (graduation)
- C Ryan Joyce (graduation)
- LG Skyler Grant (Memphis)
- LT Zach Barlev (graduation)
- WR Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding (Maryland)
- WR Ja'Cory Thomas (Vanderbilt)
- WR Tre' Brown III (LSU)
- TE Jailen Butler (Kansas)
- TE Dawson Johnson (Tulane)
Those are the top 11 players (most of whom were multi-year starters) in terms of snap counts from the 2025 offense. They all departed along with offensive coordinator Kevin Decker, who also darted for Memphis.
To make matters worse, Old Dominion will be without starting quarterback Quinn Henicle, whose ability to create with his legs was one of the only redeeming qualities of this offense.
Ryan Huff will likely make another start, and he just doesn't bring that same needed element behind a decrepit offensive line.
The freshman signal-caller has a revolting 48% pressure-to-sack ratio on the season. For reference, UTEP's Raymond Moore has the second-worst at 36%. On 29 dropbacks under pressure, Huff has incredibly completed only three passes!
One might assume Marshall's miserable defense may provide the perfect opportunity for this ODU offense to finally show signs of life, but I just don't see it.
The Thundering Herd have actually started to improve on that side of the ball after making some tweaks to the rotation (especially up front) in recent weeks, which doesn't surprise me under highly respected new defensive coordinator Brad Lambert.
Take a look at their two most recent performances:
- outgained Coastal Carolina, 505-308
- outgained South Alabama, 328-326
They won the latter, 20-13, but actually dropped the game against Coastal due to six turnovers.
Original starting quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson was responsible for four of those giveaways in just 16 minutes of action.
Head coach Tony Gibson then pulled him from the game and went with a combination of Zion Turner and the more mobile Khalil Wilkins, who provided a nice spark to the offense.
That's the combination you can expect moving forward with Del Rio-Wilson now buried on the depth chart.
That duo can provide enough offense to get this done against an ODU stop unit that may be down a pair of key starters.
I just don't think we've reached the bottom of the market yet on Old Dominion, which just doesn't have a functional FBS offense. Conversely, I'm not sure the market has fully priced in Marshall's recent defensive improvement and the upgrade at quarterback given Del Rio-Wilson's excessive turnover issues.
Plus, Marshall comes in as the much fresher and healthier team, having played only one game over the past 20 days, while Old Dominion will be playing its ninth consecutive contest to start the season with its bye week not coming until Week 11 this year.
Pick: Marshall -2.5 (Play to -3)
