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Herd rides bye into Cincinnati proving ground

Marshall Thundering Herd quarterback Chase Litton (1) throws the ball in the second quarter against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — After a week of rest, Marshall faces a big test at Cincinnati on Saturday.

The Herd got to their bye week with a 2-1 record, with their only loss coming against an N.C. State team that subsequently upset Florida State.

A win against the Bearcats would be a step in the right direction for a Marshall team that still has the majority of its season ahead of it, and has had some time to heal the bumps and bruises from their opening games.

“The bye was essential,” said linebacker Artis Johnson. “It gave us a chance to recuperate and get back to our old selves. We feel confident in how we have been practicing, we have high expectations and we are going to go out there and do what we need to do.”

Quarterback Chase Litton assessed the offense’s first three games of the season, and said there is much to be improved.

“Offensively we have been poor, not executing, not on the same page, and not where we need to be to do what we want to,” Litton said. “The defense and special teams have both won us a game, we have been riding coat tails this season, and we can’t do that.”

Litton said Cincinnati is a team that the Herd must win against in all three phases of the game.

Sweating the small stuff

One common theme from players and coach Doc Holliday is the self-inflicted mistakes that have cost the team. The biggest instance was the N.C. State game where defensive penalties were untimely and a special-teams infraction cost Keion Davis another kickoff return for a touchdown.

Center Levi Brown said the team knows it is on the cusp of being great, but to get there the small mistakes have to be minimized.

“That is what we used the bye week for, we were sitting it up to where we were competing against ourselves for the most part,” Brown said. “We highlighted the things we are doing right and wrong in practice to try and clean up those little things.”

This was Brown’s first official bye week as a part of Marshall after he faced the dreaded week one bye as a freshman last year.

“We are one trip up from having a big run, one dumb penalty from having a big drive,” Brown said. “We are that close to having a great offense, and having that week off to see what we can get better at really helps a lot.”

Litton said fixing the unwanted penalties is as simple as staying mentally sharp for the full 60 minutes.

“There are times we shoot ourselves in the foot, everything we want to do is just right there and we need to execute,” Litton said. “We just need to be locked in, stay focused and do our jobs. It is me making the right read and throw, the offensive line making the right block and cadence, just all those little things that play into it. It is muscle memory thing, we do it all the time, we just need to execute.”

The enemy of my enemy

Marshall will have a valuable piece of game tape to study in Cincinnati’s Week 2 matchup against Miami (Ohio).

“I think you get a little bit of an idea on how you stack up against a team personnel wise because you have played that particular team,” Holliday said at his news conference. “ We’ve played Miami— we have a particular understanding how good their offensive line, defensive line, and corners are—so we can kind of get an idea oh how Cincinnati matches up against us using that common opponent.”

Linebacker Marquis Couch said the tape will be a big benefit to the defense as they prepare for a Cincinnati team known for it’s screen passes and air game.

“It helps a lot, we know what we did well against Miami (OH), we know what Miami did well against Cincinnati, we just need to focus and maximize the game plan,” Couch said.

Notes from the Herd

With the departure of Trey Rodriguez, Hyleck Foster gets his chance to return punts for a Marshall team ranked 124th in punt-return yardage. … Tyler King is listed as the starter at running back on the depth chart after his 104-yard performance against Kent State, look for him to take advantage of a Bearcats team that has given up 264 rush yards per game. … Linebacker Juwon Young will regain eligibility next week. The former Miami Hurricane was suspended the first four games for receiving improper benefits. … Captains for the week are linebacker Chase Hancock on defense, D’andre “Chocolate” Wilson on special teams, and center Levi Brown on offense.





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