— Story by Taylor Kennedy
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Marshall Thundering Herd did something Saturday afternoon that had not been done since 2003. The Herd defeated a quality ranked opponent. Marshall welcomed in No. 23 Appalachian State to Joan C. Edwards Stadium and won 17-7.
The Thundering Herd head football coach Doc Holliday was impressed with how his team played Saturday. Holliday was a guest on MetroNews Talkline Monday morning.
“It was a great team effort. Any time you have the opportunity to play a team the caliber like Appalachian State is a top-25 team. You have to be a better team on the field that day,” says Holliday.
Holliday was impressed with how his team responded to the call going up against a quality team in the Mountaineers.
.@DOCMUFB talks with @HoppyKercheval about @HerdFB 17-7 victory this past Saturday against the No. 23-rated Appalachian State Mountaineers. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/06b39Aulik
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) September 21, 2020
“We were the better team in all three phases. Offensively, Grant (Wells) did not quite have the numbers he had early on. He only has one turnover in two games, and as long as you can do that you got a shot offensively. Special teams, we dominated that part of it. The defense played tremendous. They gave up seven points to a tremendous football team, and had given up seven points the entire year. Proud of how physical they played,” says Holliday.
Holliday felt comfortable with how his defense played Saturday because there is a level of trust he has for those players
“I like our team, and I like our players. App State has its entire offensive line back, four of them are all-conference players. I was anxious to see how our defensive front would hold up against those guys. They held that team to less than 100 [rushing] yards. That has only happened two or three times in the last six years for App State,” says Holliday.
Marshall’s next game is not until October 10 against Western Kentucky. Holliday does not have the answers for this extended break for him and his team, but he remains positive despite everything.
“We got three weeks, unfortunately. It will be two games in a matter of six weeks, which I do not necessarily have the blueprint or game plan for as far as preparation is concerned. It is a different day and different world right now we are living in and a lot of different challenges. The one thing we can control is going out there everyday and getting better as a team, and we have to continue to do that,” says Holliday.
The Thundering Herd entered the Associated Press (AP) Poll yesterday afternoon. It was the first time since 2014 the Herd had been ranked nationally. Coach Holliday hints that he will talk to his team about it.
“They are going to get it. I can assure you they will get a lot of things, and that will be one of them,” says Holliday.
Marshall is the lone Conference USA member ranked in the Week 4 AP Poll.