— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Football coaches often remind their teams that winning in November is a sign of progress throughout the season.
Marshall has passed that test so far this month as the Herd has strung together road wins at Old Dominion and Georgia Southern, with a home victory over Appalachian State sandwiched between.
The Herd (7-4, 4-3) looks to stay hot Saturday when it wraps up the regular season by hosting a new Sun Belt Conference opponent in Georgia State (4-7, 3-4).
The game at Joan C. Edwards Stadium starts at noon and will be shown on ESPN+.
While Marshall won at Georgia Southern last Saturday 23-10, the Panthers fell at James Madison, 42-40. The Dukes came from behind to earn the win and prevent Georgia State from a chance for bowl eligibility.
As has been the case in most games, Marshall’s stout defense will have a statistical advantage over the opponent. MU’s defense is seventh in the nation in points allowed per game, 10th in total defense, sixth in rushing defense despite giving up 143 yards to Georgia Southern’s Jalen White last Saturday and 26th in pass defense.
Georgia State is 102 spots below the Herd in scoring defense and 72 spots behind in total defense.
Marshall head coach Charles Huff hopes those numbers hold up so that his team can play well enough to honor approximately 20 players on Senior Day.
“This is a good group being honored who have done a lot for the program and for the community,” Huff said.
Huff is also excited that the return of energized running back Rasheen Ali will continue against the Panthers. Ali saw his first action of the year last week at Georgia Southern after suffering an injury in preseason practice. He ran for 79 yards on 16 carries. Ali led the nation in rushing touchdowns last season with 25 and picked up 1,401 yards on the ground as a redshirt freshman.
Teaming Ali with senior Khalan Laborn, already a 1,300-plus yard rusher this season, gives the Herd a strong rushing group, particularly when quarterback Cam Fancher is factored in.
Huff says Ali’s return is being carefully managed.
“Splitting reps was our plan from the beginning for this season before he was hurt,” Huff said. “Sharing the carries keeps them both fresh and it also opens up the passing game.”
Shawn Elliott is in his sixth year as Panthers head coach and has a 34-37 record in Atlanta. Elliott is familiar with the Marshall program as he played against the Thundering Herd from 1991-1995 at Appalachian State when both schools were Southern Conference members.
Marshall is preparing for a high-powered Panthers’ offense led by redshirt senior quarterback Darren Grainger, who is a threat with his arm and feet. Grainger has had several big games this season, including 343 yards and four touchdowns against Charlotte back in September. In a recent loss to Louisiana-Monroe, Grainger threw for a season-high 349 yards.
A dual threat, he ran for a career-high 143 yards in a conference victory at Southern Miss earlier this month. Grainger is the team’s top rusher with 718 yards and six rushing scores. He’s passed for 17 touchdowns and 2,140 yards along with seven interceptions.
Senior Tucker Gregg is the Panthers’ top running back. The program’s all-time leader in rushing yards and touchdowns has 684 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Redshirt junior Jaman Thrash is Georgia State’s main pass-catching threat. He’s brought in 51 passes this season for 955 yards and six touchdowns.
Marshall awaits its bowl fate after this weekend, but Georgia State will miss out on a bowl this year for the first time since 2018. Still, Elliott says the frustration will motivate his team when they arrive in Huntington.
“We’re bummed,” Elliott said. “It’s really frustrating that we’re not playing for the postseason because we’re now as healthy as we’ve been in a few weeks.”