COLUMN
HUNTINGTON, W.Va – More often than not successful seasons are not defined by games in which teams dominate their opponents but rather in games where they must scrap and fight for the win. Games in that require adjustments on the fly and players who might be third or fourth on the depth chart to step up in big situations.
That all describes Marshalls win Saturday against a Florida Atlantic team that had won two of the last three Conference USA titles.
The Herd, entered Saturday’s game 4-0 on the seasons and ranked in the top 25 in both the Associated Press Poll and the Coaches’ Poll and players might have spent a bit too much time paying attention to some of the media attention over the last week.
“I feel like we got caught up in being 4-0 and that’s why today was a little closer than it should have been for us,” admitted linebacker Tavante Beckett after the Herd’s 20-9 victory over FAU.
While Marshall might have been caught up in being 4-0, FAU could not have cared less. After all, Marshall beat FAU last season in Boca Raton and the Owls went on to the conference championship.
Marshall was forced to adjust on the fly to FAU coming out with different schemes and different players than Marshall expected to see. The Owls were missing six starters and four backups for Saturdays game at times giving Marshall fits on both sides of the ball.
“What you saw out there was mid-game, game planning,” explained quarterback Grant Wells. “We thought they were going to come out in something else and showed up with new players and somewhat of a new scheme.”
Eventually, the Herd started to figure it out and after trailing for the first time all season, Wells connected with Artie Henry for a 41-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to give Marshall the lead back. The Herd trailed for a whole 1:48. Henry finished with five catches for 75 yards and Corey Gammage hauled in six passes for 79 yards.
Even with FAU keying in on Brenden Knox and stopping Marshall’s run game, Knox rushed for 101 yards on 25 carries, posting his fourth consecutive game over 100 yards rushing.
Defensively, the Herd only gave up 9 points, right at its season average and held FAU to 86 yards rushing. In five games, no one was breached the century mark on the ground against Marshall’s defense.
“I’m probably more proud of our football team in that game than our other four victories. We had a tight ballgame and even lost the lead at one point. We had some guys step up and play and probably didn’t think they would,” said Coach Doc Holliday.
Blowout wins and huge statistics are fun and cruising to a comfortable 21-point win will help coaches and fans alike avoid heartburn. But winning on days when you don’t necessarily play your best or must overcome adversity can define a very special season.