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Marshall at Southern Miss: 3 things to watch for

— By Bill Cornwell

Marshall hopes to stay alive in the race for a Conference USA East Division title Saturday afternoon in a key contest at Southern Miss.

The game starts at 3 p.m. and will be televised Stadium Facebook Live.

Marshall (5-2, 3-1 C-USA) enjoyed some rest on a bye last week, while the Golden Eagles (3-4, 2-2) fell short at Charlotte, 20-17.

The Herd is beginning its November stretch drive in which it knows the recipe for winning a division title — defeat all four remaining opponents and hope Middle Tennessee loses another C-USA contest.

Marshall and MTSU are each one game behind Florida International in the ace.

Southern Miss leads the all-time series 7-6 and has won the last two contests after Marshall had won five straight in the series.

Here are three things to look for Saturday afternoon in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

1. Overcoming off-week doldrums

Many teams often have problems getting off to a quick start on both sides of the ball after a week. Practice habits change, players and coaches often go days without seeing each other and the usual game week routine is altered. 

Marshall coach Doc Holliday has been telling his team it’s important to jump on the Golden Eagles early and quiet the crowd. That fast start will be in the hands of junior quarterback Alex Thomson, who is starting his fourth straight game. 

Thomson came out throwing early two weeks ago in Marshall’s homecoming game win over FAU and it will be crucial to involve receivers Tyre Brady, Obi Obialo, Marcel Williams and Willie Johnson in the offense from the outset. Thomson is also helped by having a healthy backfield featuring red-hot Tyler King, Keion Davis and Anthony Anderson, who missed the FAU game after scoring three touchdowns in a win at Old Dominion. 

It will also be important to finish drives deep in Southern Miss territory, something the Herd failed to do early in the FAU game.

2. Two solid defenses, but which is better?

When you look at the top defenses in Conference USA, Southern Miss and Marshall are prominent. The Golden Eagles are especially impressive as the second toughest defense in the league. Marshall is seventh in total defense, but the Herd is stingy stopping the run, trailing only Charlotte while allowing only 105 yards per game. 

The Golden Eagles are strongest against the pass, trailing only C-USA West leader UAB and giving up only 164 yards per game. Those stats will pose challenges for Thomson and young Southern Miss starting quarterback Jack Abraham. 

Thomson and the Herd receivers will have to battle to pick up significant yardage through the air and it will be just as critical for Marshall to continue ripping off the long runs seen in recent games. 

For Abraham, the temptation to possibly give up on running the ball must be ignored if Marshall’s defense is its usual stingy self because the Golden Eagles have been interception-prone (see No. 3).

3. Take advantage of the turnover-prone Golden Eagles

Marshall started the season with a turnover problem when young starting quarterback Isaiah Green and his offense suffered some uncharacteristic losses of possession. The Herd has turned it over less under the guidance of Thomson, who has shown an ability to take care of the ball. 

On the other side, Southern Miss has a minus-8 turnover ratio and had three giveaways in last week’s loss at Charlotte, including an interception returned for a touchdown. 

If Southern Miss continues its ways, Marshall has a great chance to pile up points and time of possession. Golden Eagles coach Jay Hopson, a former Marshall assistant in the late 90s, has said reversing that turnover is his squad’s top priority against the Herd.

NOTES: Marshall’s travel plans for Southern Miss had to undergo major revisions due to President Donald Trump’s scheduled political rally Friday afternoon at Tri-State Airport. Marshall’s travel party would normally depart from the Fixed-Base Operations building, but the airport was fully locked down by the Secret Service, meaning all screening and luggage checks for the Herd team and staff were done at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, with the group taking buses directly to the airport tarmac and its Sun Country Airlines charter flight. Marshall athletic officials and the Secret Service worked closely to formulate travel plans for both the Herd and the President … Holliday said this week that Green will be available to backup Thomson on Saturday … Next week is an emotional week as it’s the ‘blackout’ game when the Herd remembers the 75 victims of the November 14, 1970 plane crash which occurred near Tri-State Airport as Marshall returned from a game at East Carolina. Charlotte will be the opponent in the contest, which kicks off at 2:30 p.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.





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