— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Control of Conference USA’s East Division race is on the line Saturday afternoon as Marshall hosts rival Western Kentucky at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Game time is 2:30 p.m., and the contest can be seen on Stadium Facebook.
Marshall (4-3, 2-1) is coming off an exciting 36-31 win at Florida Atlantic thanks to a clinching 17-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Brenden Knox with 36 seconds left.
The Hilltoppers (5-2, 4-0) picked up a 30-14 league win over Charlotte last Saturday, part of a four-game winning streak for the Hilltoppers.
Marshall leads the all-time series 6-4 and has won the last two contests, including a 20-17 Herd victory last year.
A WKU win on Saturday will give the Hilltoppers a stranglehold on the C-USA East Division title, but a Marshall win would leave the Herd and Hilltoppers each with one league loss and Marshall would hold the tiebreaker.
Western Kentucky is also just one win away from reaching bowl eligibility after finishing 3-9 last season. A Marshall win would put the Herd one win away from being bowl eligible.
WKU has always been known for high-powered offenses and scoring lots of points, but this year’s team is winning games with a stingy defense and an offense that limits mistakes.
Most games between the Herd and Hilltoppers have been high-scoring affairs, but this year’s game might be dominated by running games and hard-hitting defenses.
“They have really good players on that front seven,” Marshall head coach Doc Holliday said. “It starts up front with those defensive linemen. There aren’t many teams that have had success blocking them because they’re talented guys. They do a good job of holding their gaps. They get where they are supposed to be. They do what they’re coached to do. We have to do the same.”
Marshall’s surge the past two weeks in wins over Old Dominion and FAU has been fueled by big games from Knox, who has gained 324 yards along with three touchdowns in those contests.
First-year Hilltoppers’ head coach Tyson Helton knows his team will face a big challenge in slowing down Knox as well as neutralizing the veteran Marshall offensive line.
“Knox is a really good player,” Helton said. “We’ll have to do our best to contain him and he breaks a lot of tackles. They’re always big and physical on the offensive line, they have two tight ends who are very talented, the quarterback can kind of do it all.”
Nobody has more appreciation for Knox than his head coach.
“He works so hard, he’s such a great kid. He does everything right,” Holliday said. “For great things to happen to a kid like that … it’s special. I’ve said before, you know what you’re going to get out of him every Saturday. He’s just a consistent person in the way he lives his life, the way he goes to work every day. It shows on the field.
“There were situations last week where guys were in position to make plays they didn’t make because of who he is. He’s going to have to have a great game as well on Saturday because they’re going to put that extra guy in the box at times too, just like FAU did.”
There is no love lost between Marshall and WKU and the rivalry has grown since Western entered Conference USA in 2014.
“You talk about if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best and Marshall’s kind of been the standard in the league for a long time, and a great history there,” Helton said. “Doc Holliday does a great job with his team. Should be a very challenging game, but a game we’re very excited to play and looking forward to the opportunity.”
With Marshall on a bit of a roll, Holliday says that he and his staff don’t anticipate a slow start from the Herd.
“Last week, there wasn’t any issue getting them going and this week shouldn’t be any different,” Holliday said. “If you’re a competitor and you’re a football team with dreams and expectations, this is one you better get up for. And they will. Our kids … they’ll get up and be ready to play as I’m sure Western will as well. It will be Homecoming, a great crowd and our guys will be eager to play.”