ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Thousands of Marshall University fans were out in Annapolis, Md. in their green and white on Friday chanting “We Are Marshall” for the 2013 Military Bowl.
Officials estimated upwards of 6,000 Thundering Herd fans were making the trip to see Marshall (9-4) take on the University of Maryland (7-5).
Steve Cotton, Marshall’s play-by-play announcer, said a win Friday would be huge for the Herd.
“You want to get that tenth win,” he said on Friday’s “Morning News.” “It’s something that just doesn’t happen all that often and hasn’t happened at Marshall since 2002. You’d like to get that in the bag and just keep the momentum going for all the good things that have happened this year.”
The 2:30 p.m. game was scheduled to be televised on ESPN.
The Thundering Herd was making its first appearance in the Military Bowl. The game, now in its sixth year, benefits the USO. Up to now, the game has not been played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
At 11 a.m. Friday morning, the Military Bowl Parade was scheduled to step off in Annapolis and follow a route leading to the stadium for a pre-game tailgate party. Marshall’s Big Green Foundation was also sponsoring a fan tailgate event.
Cotton said the Herd spent the week leading up to the game preparing for a Maryland team that, he said, can do a lot of things offensively.
“Maryland puts a lot on its quarterback,” he said. “The thing about their offense is that they do a little of everything.”
On Friday morning, Cotton said he believed the Herd was ready for the Terrapins, playing in their final ACC game. “You play 13 games, this is number 14, you’ve seen pretty much everything at this point in the year,” he said.
MetroNews will bring you more from the 2013 Military Bowl throughout the day Friday and into the weekend.