— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.VA — After a winter of hard work and some changes in the Marshall football program, a much anticipated 2018 football season has arrived for the Thundering Herd.
Marshall gets the season started Saturday afternoon in southwestern Ohio against an old Mid-American Conference rival, the Miami Redhawks.
Kickoff is 3:30 pm at Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio.
Here are 3 things to watch for the in the contest:
1. Who starts at quarterback for Marshall? Head coach Doc Holliday says the decision of starting either junior transfer Alex Thomson or redshirt freshman Isaiah Green may not come until kickoff. Green has handled much of the preseason work with the first-team offense, but Thomson is considered a major talent with a big arm and the maturity to lead the Herd against an improved Redhawks defense.
Holliday says that despite his youth, he’s also more than confident that Green can get the job done since he’ll be surrounded by veterans on the line, at receiver and in the backfield.
2. Will Miami let Marshall return kicks? This is a legitimate question based on last year’s Redhawks poor special teams work in a 31-26 Marshall win in Huntington. Miami allowed Keion Davis to return two kicks for touchdowns in that contest and those big plays were the difference as Miami actually outplayed Marshall in all other parts of the game.
If Miami kicks the ball away from Davis, it could create opportunities for Tyler King, Marcel Williams or Willie Johnson, speedy guys who are also listed on the Herd’s kick return team. Miami Coach Chuck Martin claims that his special teams unit is much better than last year’s, but bad memories of the 2017 game in Huntington could cause him to play it safe in the kicking game.
3. Two replacing one. One man handled all of Marshall’s kicking needs last year–Kaare Vedvik, who is now battling in the Baltimore Ravens training camp for a spot in the NFL. In 2018, two men will take up the kicking slack for the Herd as junior college transfer Justin Rohrwasser handles field goals, extra points and kickoffs, while redshirt sophomore Robert Lefevre takes care of punting duties.
Rohrwasser has shown improvement during both spring practice and the fall camp, but can he provide the big leg that was typical of Vedvik’s work for the Herd over the last two years. As for LeFevre, he may not punt for high average yards like Vedvik, but head coach Doc Holliday is only asking for consistent hang-time combined with solid coverage.
Notes
— This is a contest between teams that have high hopes for 2018. Marshall comes off a 2017 New Mexico Bowl win over Colorado State and is picked second by the media in Conference USA’s East Division behind only the Lane Kiffin-led Florida Atlantic Owls. Miami took a step back with a 5-7 record in 2017 after going to a bowl in 2016 (losing to Mississippi State).
The Redhawks are expected to rebound this year and challenge the Ohio Bobcats for the Mid-American Conference East Division title. This is also a key year for fifth-year Redhawks Head Coach Chuck Martin, who might be fighting for his job if his ball club doesn’t make the expected improvement this year.
— Homecoming on Sept. 1? Yes, if you are in Oxford, Ohio. For some reason, Miami is opening the season with Marshall by celebrating Homecoming. Some believe this might be a ploy by Miami Athletic officials to increase the fan and student hype for the Marshall game, especially since Marshall has controlled this series in recent years, winning nine of the last ten games, although Miami has won 30 of the 44 overall meetings.
The last time the Redhawks beat Marshall was in 2003 (45-6) when they were led by a young quarterback by the name of Ben Roethlisberger.
— The Green Wave or a home game on the road? Since Oxford, Ohio is only a 3-hour drive from Huntington, Marshall will have lots of friendly faces in the stands on Saturday. Marshall’s visiting ticket allotment has long been gone and Herd fans have been picking up seats where they can through the Miami ticket office and other sources.
When the Herd last played at Miami, an estimated 2,000-3,000 Herd fans were on hand and don’t be surprised if similar numbers aren’t wearing the Kelly Green on Saturday. Miami is hoping that their students show up for the game and they’re hoping to set a new student attendance record of 8,900 at the contest.