Louisville is a 24.5-point favorite over Marshall

Louisville opened yesterday as just a 19-point favorite over Marshall, a line which was quickly bet to the Cards -24.5.

Perhaps Vegas is worried about a letdown game, because an opening line under 20 feels a bit sheepish given that U of L just smacked Florida State by 42 and Marshall was just beaten at home by Akron, 65-38.

Still, it's worth taking into consideration that Louisville has lost four straight to Marshall, and that Thundering Herd fans have had this primetime game circled since the schedule was released early in the offseason. Fans and media members in Huntington have been referring to it as "the biggest home game in the history of Marshall football" pretty consistently.

Louisville has covered the spread (handily) in each of its first three games.