2010 Marshall Thundering Herd Football Preview

2009 Results: 7-6, Won Little Caesar’s Bowl vs. Ohio

Head Coach: Doc Holliday (1st year @ Marshall, No Previous Head Coaching Experience)

Home Venue: Joan C. Edwards Stadium (38,019) Huntington, West Virginia

2009 was a strange season for Marshall. Former coach Mark Snyder was on the hot seat entering his 5th season, with a mandate to get his team to a bowl game or else. Snyder subsequently succeeded in earning postseason eligibility with a 6-6 record but he was shown the door anyways. Like most, I expected a demoralized Marshall team to keel over in the Little Caesar’s Bowl but instead they dominated play en route to victory under interim coach Rick Minter.

Then Marshall hit a true home run in hiring alumnus and recruiting extraordinaire Doc Holliday, who had great success at Florida before helping rival West Virginia bring in some big time talent the last two seasons. Holliday is a first time coach but I have a high level of confidence in his ability to bring in big time talent to play for the Thundering Herd. However, recruiting takes time and the big question is whether Holliday can lead Marshall to a 2nd consecutive bowl this fall.

OFFENSE

Marshall has a great situation at quarterback this season. Senior starter Brian Anderson (2,646 yards, 14 TDs, 13 INT) returns but he might not even see the field as Clemson transfer Willy Korn is eligible to play this fall. Korn was one of the nation’s elite recruits a few years ago but he was beaten out by Kyle Parker at Clemson and elected to transfer. He has far better physical tools than Anderson and I wouldn’t be surprised one iota if he started and turned out to be one of the best QBs in the offensively-challenged C-USA East.

The supporting cast is also fairly strong, starting with a good group of linemen that should form one of the better blocking units in the league. This strength up front will help the Herd establish a good running game after losing 1,100 yard rusher Darius Marshall. Another boon for the running game: Korn is a strong runner.

The final piece of the puzzle is at wide receiver, where sophomore Antavious Wilson (60 catches, 724 yards, 3 TDs) was a Freshman All-American last fall. He’s easily the top returning pass catcher but fellow soph Aaron Dobson (15 catches, 24 yards per grab!) also contributed four touchdowns last fall and appears ready to become more than just a deep threat this season.

Overall, there are a lot of good pieces in place for Marshall on offense this year. While their running game might take some time to get going, I’m confident that this team will be more productive on offense this fall than at any point during Snyder’s tenure.

DEFENSE

One thing that Snyder, who was a former Ohio State Defensive Coordinator, deserves credit for is installing an improved defense. Marshall only gave up 24 points per game last fall and was generally solid in all phases. That seems likely to continue this season under former Syracuse Defensive Coordinator Chris Rippon, who oversaw a dozen years of success under Paul Pasqualoni when the Orange were far better than they are today.

The run defense looks to be a strength for the 2010 edition after allowing only 135 yards per game in 2009. Two starters return: Senior DT Michael Janac (44 tackles, 1.5 sacks) and junior DE Vinny Curry (59 tackles, 3.5 sacks). Along with sophomore John Youboty (2.5 sacks) who impressed in a limited role as a freshman last season, I expect Marshall to field one of the best lines in the league.

The linebackers are even more impressive. Senior Mario Harvey (117 tackles, 7 sacks) was the team’s top tackler last year and was a 1st Team C-USA choice. The other starter back is junior Kellen Harris (71 tackles), who had a fine season in his own right. Expect both to have another strong season playing behind a solid D-Line.

The only concern that I have is in the secondary, where Marshall lost 2nd Team C-USA cornerback DeQuan Bembry for the year after he was arrested for the 3rd time since 2008. That puts them in a huge hole this season and could result in multiple underclassmen seeing significant playing time before they’re really ready. It also leaves junior safety Omar Brown (73 tackles, 2 sacks) as the leader of the defensive backs and he lacks Bembry’s great athleticism. I’m definitely worried that Marshall will have trouble against the pass. However, even with the loss of Bembry, I think that this is one of the league’s better defenses.

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SCHEDULE

Marshall has a reasonable schedule this fall. While they open up with two very difficult games at Ohio State and at home against rival West Virginia, two MAC teams (Bowling Green and Ohio) finish out the non-league portion. In conference, Marshall avoids Houston and Tulsa from the West and hosts favorite UCF on a Wednesday night. With six home games, Marshall definitely has the ability to earn bowl eligibility this season.

OUTLOOK

There are certainly a lot of things to like about this team. The Thundering Herd has all of the pieces in place to have a great passing game and if Korn lives up to expectations then this unit could really take off. Furthermore, I’m very confident that Marshall’s run defense will be strong for the 2nd consecutive season. The only major concern that I have is their pass defense but an increased pass rush and a schedule that avoids some of the major passing offenses from the West helps ease my fears.

With two games on the schedule that they are unlikely to win against OSU and WVU, I think the most pivotal game of the season will be a Little Caesar’s Bowl rematch with Ohio in late September. A win would put the Thundering Herd on even footing at 2-2 heading into C-USA play while a loss could drop them to 1-3 and make a bowl game difficult to achieve. I think that Marshall will beat Ohio for the 2 nd time in nine months and go on to a 6-6 season in Doc Holilday’s first year in charge: perhaps a repeat trip to Detroit in December will be in the works? The Thundering Herd is my choice to finish 3rd in the C-USA East Division.

PREDICTED RESULT: 6-6 (4-4 CONFERENCE USA)