Free Live Odds - Scores and Odds - Sports News - Sports Information - Live Scores - Sports Statistics - Sports Articles - Sports Standings - Live Scor

FACTS & STATS: Site: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (62,380) -- Memphis, Tennessee. Television: FSN. Home Record: Marshall 3-1, Memphis 1-4. Away Record: Marshall 1-5, Memphis 1-4. Neutral Record: Marshall 0-0, Memphis 0-0. Conference Record: Marshall 3-3, Memphis 1-5. Series Record: Marshall leads, 4-2.

GAME NOTES: Marshall will travel to Memphis to take on the Tigers in a Thursday night Conference USA match-up at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Doc Holliday's Marshall team sits at 4-6 after falling to Tulsa 59-17 last week. The Thundering Herd is tied for second with East Carolina, their opponents in their season finale next week, in the East Division of the Conference USA.

Memphis dropped to 2-8 after losing 41-35 at home to UAB last week in an action packed contest. Larry Porter is now 3-19 as a head coach nearing the end of his second year at his alma mater. The Tigers have lost seven of their last eight and have only one conference win this year, which came over Tulane.

Thursday's game is the seventh meeting between Marshall and Memphis. The Thundering Herd have won four of the previous six encounters. The series began in 2005 when Marshall left the Mid-American Conference to join the Conference USA. The Thundering Herd currently have a three-game winning streak against Memphis. In the most recent meeting in 2010, Marshall bested the Tigers 28-13 in Huntington behind Brian Anderson's 251 passing yards and three touchdowns.

With Anderson gone, Marshall has experimented with two different quarterbacks this season which has resulted in the Thundering Herd owning a 102nd ranking in total offense per game. Holliday began the year with true freshman Rakeem Cato as his starter, the first true freshman starter for the Thundering Herd since Chad Pennington. The offense was turned over to sophomore duel-threat A.J. Graham after Marshall struggled to produce in its first six games. Graham was very successful in his first few outings as he led the team to wins over Rice and UAB and compiled 331 yards of total offense in a loss at Houston. Last week as the Thundering Herd struggled, Graham was injured and Cato returned to the field to complete 16-of-26 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. Cato is most likely going to start against Memphis, as Graham is listed as doubtful.

Tron Martinez and Travon Van split time at running back for Marshall as the duo has combined for 867 yards on the year. In the loss to Tulsa, Van carried the ball 17 times for 114 yards and Martinez did not carry the ball once. Aaron Dobson has been the Thundering Herd's best weapon offensively so far as the junior wideout has 36 catches for 455 yards and eight touchdowns.

Marshall's defense has been weak so far this season. The Thundering Herd gave up 682 yards of total offense to the Golden Hurricane last week after holding UAB to just 310 yards the week before. Omar Brown leads the team with 92 tackles and defensive lineman Vinny Curry is second in the nation with 10.5 sacks.

Memphis has one of the least threatening offenses in the country as it is ranked 117th in total offense and 116th in scoring offense. Freshman Taylor Reed has done a decent job, completing 157-of-275 passes for 1,581 yards and 10 touchdowns with only four interceptions.

The rushing attack for the Tigers has been slacking all season. Memphis has rushed for 962 yards on the season as a team, which is almost 1,000 yards less than what its opponents have produced against them. Tannar Reher is the main option for Reed in the passing attack as the senior receiver has 449 yards and four touchdowns on 54 catches.

The Memphis defensive unit is ranked 119th in the nation, as opposing offenses have torched it for an average of 505.9 yards per game. The Tigers have allowed 41 points in each of their last two games. Terrence Thomas is the leader of the defense with 91 tackles. Frank Trotter has been the anchor of the defensive front with 9.5 tackles for loss.

Whether Graham plays or not, Marshall's offense should have an easy day against Memphis's weak defensive unit. The Tigers are allowing 2.4 sacks per game, which could play a factor as they face one of the nation's best pass rushers in Curry. The aggressive Marshall defense will cause a lot of problems for Reed which should help the Thundering Herd pull away with a victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Marshall 35, Memphis 20