— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Either Marshall or Old Dominion will see a losing streak end Saturday when the Herd and Monarchs meet at 2:30 p.m. in a battle of Conference USA East Division rivals.
The game, being played at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, can be seen on Stadium.
Marshall (2-3) is trying to end a two-game skid, including last week’s conference-opening 24-13 loss at Middle Tennessee.
ODU (1-4) opened the season with a win over Norfolk State, but has since dropped four straight contests, including last week’s 20-3 home loss to Western Kentucky. Among the ODU losses are narrow road defeats to Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Marshall leads the all-time series 4-1, including a 42-20 win last season in Norfolk, Va. Marshall is 2-0 against the Monarchs in Huntington.
Here are some things to watch for on Saturday:
1 — Which offense gets on track?
The Herd and Monarchs are each going through a tough stretch.
Marshall looked overmatched in its recent home loss to Cincinnati and made too many mental errors in last week’s C-USA loss at Middle Tennessee.
As for ODU, an inability to make key offensive plays has led to a four-game losing streak, despite major improvements on defense and impressive road performances at V-Tech and Virginia. The Monarchs held a 17-0 lead against the Cavaliers before falling, 28-17.
Marshall will have to find a way to move the ball against a Monarchs’ defense ranked No. 2 in C-USA. Additionally, the Monarchs have been stellar against the run, the Herd’s best offensive strength to this point.
Old Dominion will almost certainly have to score more than its average of 16 points per game for a chance to upset the Herd at the Joan.
Stone Smartt will have to be the playmaker at quarterback that Monarchs’ head coach Bobby Wilder believes he can be.
2 — Growth of Green
This is a crucial game for Marshall sophomore quarterback Isaiah Green.
The Fairburn, Ga. native had a strong statistical game last week against Middle Tennessee with 460 total yards (365 yards passing and 95 rushing yards), but three interceptions and a lost fumble tarnished that performance.
Green has to do a better job of valuing possessions this week and get the Herd offense into the end zoneor he could find himself replaced by senior Alex Thomson, who led Marshall to the win at Old Dominion last year.
Green’s confidence will get a big boost if running back Brenden Knox can rip off some runs early and the Herd’s young receiving corps can win battles for balls against the ODU defensive backs.
Winning the turnover battle translates to wins in the mind of Marshall head coach Doc Holliday — and winning that statistical category is up to Green this week.
3 — Tricks for Treats
Marshall offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey has shown a few trick plays in recent games that for the most part have worked.
The Herd offense sometimes needs a jumpstart and continuing to use trick plays and utilize tight end Xavier Gaines as a “Buffalo Formation” quarterback might help in keeping ODU’s defense off-balance.
Junior receiver Willie Johnson could be a beneficiary of the tricks, as he had a rushing touchdown on a 40-yard reverse run against Cincinnati.
Defensively, this might be a game in which defensive coordinator Brad Lambert could bring the heat to Smartt and the Old Dominion offense, as the Monarchs have not shown an ability to hit long pass plays.
Notes
After Saturday’s game, Marshall will have its second ‘short week’ of the season, as the Herd must prepare for a C-USA game next Friday evening at Florida Atlantic. The short week means Marshall will begin preparations for the Owls on Sunday, rather than Monday. The Herd also had a short week in the second week of the season for the road trip to Boise State, a 14-7 loss. Marshall has one more Friday game this season after the FAU contest — Nov. 15 at home against Louisiana Tech … Green’s first-quarter interception at MTSU snapped a streak of 59 consecutive pass attempts without an interception … Herd senior linebacker Omari Cobb set a new single-game career high against the Blue Raiders with 12 tackles … Jackson White completed the first pass of his Herd career after an errant snap on a field goal attempt against Middle Tennessee. White’s pass went 6 yards and resulted in a first down. In the fourth quarter, White completed another pass on a fake field goal attempt.