— By Bill Cornwell
Marshall looks for its 13th victory in a bowl game Monday afternoon when the Thundering Herd clashes with Connecticut in the 2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl in Conway, South Carolina.
The 2:30 p.m. game at Coastal Carolina University’s Brooks Stadium will be shown nationally by ESPN.
The Thundering Herd is 12-6 all-time in bowls, but has lost its last three postseason affairs, including a 36-21 setback to Louisiana in the 2021 New Orleans Bowl.
The Huskies ended the season with a 34-17 loss to Army, but UConn performed solid for the final half of its schedule by winning four of its last six contests, including a 36-33 upset of then-No. 19 Liberty on November 12.
Jim Mora Jr. has led a remarkable and quick turnaround in Storrs, resurrecting a program that had won only three games over the past two years of competition — 2019 and 2021. The Huskies, one of seven FBS independents this season, did not play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marshall head coach Charles Huff says Mora has done one of the top coaching jobs in all of college football this year.
“Mora built this team with an NFL mentality,” Huff said. “They’re solid in all three phases of the game and play hard. They’ve shown great improvement throughout the year.”
Mora, who had previous head coaching stops with UCLA, the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks, is utilizing a option-heavy offensive attack led by true freshman quarterback Zion Turner.
“Kids just aren’t used to it,” Huff said. “It’s tough to prepare for and his kids run the plays hard.”
Marshall (8-4) hopes to continue momentum created with an undefeated record in November capped off with a Thanksgiving weekend come-from-behind 28-23 victory over Georgia State. The Herd faced an option offense once this season and lost that game to Coastal Carolina, 24-13. Marshall is 4-0 since that setback.
Freshman Victor Rosa is the top rusher for the Huskies with 561 yards and a team-high nine touchdowns. Devontae Houston follows with 538 yards and three scores and leads the team’s primary ball-carriers with an average of 6.8 yards per carry.
Turner has 237 yards on the ground and a touchdown. He’s thrown for 1,241 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Sophomore wideout Aaron Turner is UConn’s top receiving threat with 52 catches for 452 yards and three touchdowns.
The Huskies are out-gained by opponents by nearly 80 yards per game. Two statistics that stand out for UConn are limiting penalties (only 4.5 per game) and converting in the red zone (28 for 32 with 19 touchdowns).
Combined with a 3-4 defensive scheme led by standout junior linebacker Jackson Mitchell and junior defensive end/sack specialist Eric Watts, the Huskies have been tough to handle on both sides of the ball.
Mitchell is the clear defensive leader with 133 tackles on the season, including eight tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Mitchell’s 133 tackles are third among FBS players. He also has two forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
Watts has a team-best seven sacks, while ballhawking defensive back Tre Wortham has four of UConn’s 12 interceptions.
The Huskies are 3-3 all-time in bowl games and lost in their most recent appearance to Marshall, 16-10, back in the 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl.
Huff not only wants to end his second season as Marshall’s head coach with the team’s fifth straight win, but he’s hoping the experience is fun and beneficial to his players.
Marshall arrived Thursday in Myrtle Beach.
“A bowl is a celebration and a reward, but there is still a game to win,” Huff said. “The players need to enjoy themselves and participate in the bowl events, but they’ve got to do their preparation work, too.
“This team has learned to focus on the now and it has allowed us to improve as the season has gone on.”