Louisville-Marshall Preview Capsule
No. 3 Louisville (3-0) at Marshall (1-1), 8 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Line: Louisville by 26.
Series Record: Louisville leads 16-12.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Louisville is coming off a 63-20 win over No. 13 Florida State, has another showdown next week at No. 5 Clemson and can't look past a Marshall team that has beaten the Cardinals four straight times. A win would catapult Marshall's confidence heading into an Oct. 1 matchup at Pittsburgh.
KEY MATCHUP
Marshall's secondary against Louisville wide receivers James Quick, Jamari Staples and Jaylen Smith. The trio average a combined 23 yards per reception and each have plays of 55 yards or longer. As a team the Cardinals are gaining 17.3 yards per catch. Marshall allowed Akron's Thomas Woodson to throw for 379 yards last week.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Louisville QB Lamar Jackson. "Action Jackson" is the talk of college football after running for 10 TDs and throwing for eight more in his first three games. His 459 yards of total offense per game are second to Texas Tech's Patrick Mahomes.
Marshall: QB Chase Litton. The sophomore needs a bounce back game after throwing three interceptions against Akron and losing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. He's averaging 361 passing yards.
FACTS & FIGURES
Louisville's ranking matches the highest in school history. The Cardinals were No. 3 on Nov. 5, 2006, during coach Bobby Petrino's first stint with Louisville. ... This game was supposed to be played in 2014 but was pushed back two years to facilitate Louisville's move to the ACC. ... Petrino's only previous game in Huntington was coaching the wide receivers and tight ends at Weber State when it lost to Marshall in the 1987 Division I-AA quarterfinals. ... The last time Marshall faced a Top 10 opponent at home was in 2007 against No. 3 West Virginia, which beat the Thundering Herd 48-23.
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AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org