— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall’s football team looks to extend a five-game win streak, and Charlotte hopes to make some history when the two face each other Saturday afternoon.
Game time at Jerry Richardson Stadium is 3:30 p.m., and the contest can be seen live on Stadium’s live Facebook feed.
Marshall (7-3, 5-1) is facing a red-hot Charlotte (5-5, 3-3) team which is on a three-game Conference USA win streak, with victories over North Texas, Middle Tennessee and UTEP.
A win over the Herd would make Charlotte bowl eligible for the first time.
“Obviously, we’re playing a good football team in Marshall that doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses and is in the driver’s seat to win the league,” first-year Charlotte head coach Will Healy said. “We’re fortunate enough to have an opportunity to play them at home.”
While Marshall was picking up a 31-10 home win last Friday night over C-USA West Division leader Louisiana Tech, the 49ers were enjoying an off week.
The teams have met four times previously and Marshall has won three of those games, including both meetings in Charlotte.
The game will be a homecoming of sorts for two members of the Marshall coaching staff.
MU defensive coordinator Brad Lambert was the first coach for Charlotte when the school established its football program in 2013. Lambert coached the 49ers for five seasons.
Herd offensive line coach Greg Adkins worked as an assistant for the 49ers for a year.
Both schools also fondly remember former Marshall All-American Phil Ratliff, who coached at both schools. Ratliff died in a drowning accident in 2015.
Healy led Austin Peay before taking over the 49ers program after Lambert’s dismissal last fall. Healy has high praise for Lambert’s work in building the young program.
“I think he did an excellent job,” Healy said. “Going from one to five wins is similar to what I did at Austin Peay. I know how hard it is to win games in this league. We learned that the hard way this year. If anything, I don’t think he has any regrets because he developed true relationships with these guys and players. They respect him; they loved playing for him. I think he did a tremendous job of starting a program.
“Our job is to try and take it to the next level, but we inherited a really good program and he deserves all the credit for that. I never met him, but everyone around this community that knew him says excellent things about him and what type of person he is. Our players say the same thing.”
Marshall head coach Doc Holliday knows that Lambert and Adkins are now focused on helping the Herd get a sixth straight win.
“These guys are all professionals,” Holliday said. “They do this for a living. At the end of the day, they are all excellent coaches who are only concerned about preparing this football team to be the best it can be on Saturday, and we’ll have to be. We’re going to have to be our best us to win this football game.”
Marshall’s defense will be looking to slow down a Charlotte offense that has been putting up points in bunches in recent games. The 49ers have scored 13 touchdowns over their three-game win streak while averaging 33.7 points per game.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Chris Reynolds has surpassed 300 passing yards in two of the last three wins. Charlotte has also erased 14-point deficits in two of those three wins.
“Reynolds isn’t a very big guy but makes a lot of plays,” Holliday said. “He makes a bunch of throws. He’s rushed over 100 times so, other than (senior running back Benny) Lemay, he’s their number one rusher, especially since Lemay’s been hurt. Whether Lemay plays or not, I have no clue, but since then, Reynolds has run the ball even more. They ask him to do a lot more. He’s very productive at whatever he does.”
Healy is not letting the possibility of qualifying for a bowl cloud the reality that the 49ers must knock off the leaders in C-USA East.
“I think there are a lot of distractions going on right now. Whether it’s talk about a bowl game, Brad Lambert’s return or whatever it may be. I think our guys have done a great job at zeroing in on the process, finding ways to get better and playing our best football here at the end of the year.”
In past games in Charlotte, the Herd has played in front of many of its fans and lots of empty seats. That won’t be the case this week as a sellout crowd is expected to fill Jerry Richardson Stadium.
“The thing I like about this team is that it’s a mature group, for the most part,” Holliday said. “We’ve handled a lot of distractions. I thought we handled last week really well. Anytime you get into the middle of November and you have a couple of games left with everything still out there, every game is a big game. They’re all big, which they’ve been for a while and will be from here on out.
“I like what I see out of our players. They’re locked in and they go to work every day. This week can’t be any different.”