— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall football coach Charles Huff saw some encouraging signs Thursday night despite James Madison topping a shorthanded Thundering Herd team, 20-9, in front of 22,109 fans at Joan C. Edward Stadium.
“Good job the guys fighting,” Huff said. “I saw the competitive spirit, character. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to battle through. As a team, there was grit and grind against a really good football team. The team was focused. No regrets about the intensity, the mindset. We battled back and forth. Missed opportunities in a game like that is huge. You don’t get many against a good football team.”
Marshall is now 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the Sun Belt Conference with its third straight defeat. Huff said the Herd had injuries to navigate, but he didn’t use them as an excuse.
Marshall didn’t have seven starters with the top missing name Rasheen Ali, the team’s leading rusher (641 yards, 12 touchdowns). Ali’s battling an ankle injury. Quarterback Cam Fancher had issues with his left leg, but hung in there.
“Cam’s mobility is limited,” Huff said. “That changes things. He can’t move. The pass rush is tough on him. They had some short fields. The defense battled. I told the defense welcome back. That’s what we’re used to seeing. Special teams showed up. Not enough though to beat a good football team.”
Both teams came in on short weeks. James Madison got votes in the AP Top 25 last week and made a case to possibly in break this week. Marshall had given up 124 points in its last three games and James Madison came in averaging 34.5 per contest. The Dukes had just six for quite some time, but scored one touchdown in the third quarter and again in the fourth to get their first win against Marshall in four tries.
James Madison recorded eight sacks (team best as a member of FBS) and limited Marshall to 169 total yards — 173 passing and minus-4 on the ground aided by the sacks. Jalen Green tied the school sack record with five. The Dukes also recorded 15 tackles for loss.
On the flip side, James Madison (7-0, 4-0) got a quality night from quarterback Jordan McCloud. He led the Dukes in rushing with 69 yards on six tries and one score, and completed 21-of-31 passes for 264 yards and a TD.
“Their D line is really good,” Huff said. “McCloud did a heck of a job. Their receivers caught the ball well. That punter — small details. They beat us.”
The Dukes put on a charge when they saw Fancher’s limited ability and no Ali.
“We don’t have an explosive player,” Huff said. “We didn’t have a perimeter game. If it’s statue football, it’s easy to play. What we’ve been able to play balances teams up. At the end, we got overpowered. They know what you’re going to do and can hold them no longer. We were not able to make big plays.”
Marshall’s Micah Abraham picked off a McCloud pass in the first period. The Dukes took a 3-0 lead into the half after Camden Wise connected on a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter. He added a 38-yarder in the third to make him 11-of-11 on field goals this season.
Marshall didn’t have field position at times due to the punting by James Madison’s Ryan Hanson. He punted seven times for 40.4 yards and had six inside the Marshall 11-yard line. On the night, the Herd started three drives from its one, twice off punts, and ones from the 6, 11, 3 and 10.
“People you count on aren’t there,” Huff said. “You’re on a rep count and they’re done. I don’t want it to sound like an excuse. Protect the guys who are not ready to play. It’s not all gloom and doom. Encouraged … yes. I’m not going to browbeat them. We’ve got a lot of football left.”
Marshall’s next two games are away. The Herd visits Coastal Carolina on October 28 and Appalachian State on November 4. James Madison is home next Saturday against Old Dominion.
James Madison’s defense forced two turnovers — an interception at its 1 and a fumble recovery later. Marshall’s scores came on a safety and 94-yard kickoff return for a TD by Jayden Harrison.
Harrison’s kickoff return was his second for a score — the first come in 2021 against FAU. He knows the skid’s at three, but the team will put in the work to turn things around.
“Weather the storm,” Harrison said. “It’s how we handle adversity now.”
JMU’s Reggie Brown had six catches for 126 yards and TD. That came on a 28-yard strike from McCloud with 14:08 left to extend the lead to 20-2.
Fancher went 17-of-30 for 173 yards. Ethan Payne, getting his first start, rushed for 62 yards. Dyoni Hill led the Herd defense with 10 tackles and two breakups.
Payne is familiar with three-game slides for the Herd. It happened a year ago.
“Been here before,” he said. “The guys’ heads in the locker room are not down.”
Herd linebacker Eli Neal said he liked seeing the defense bounce back, but it wasn’t enough.
“It’s a step forward,” he said. “It wasn’t enough for us to get the job done. Play team football. There are no superheroes and we felt we did that this week. Guys who filled in rose to the occasion. Get back to the drawing board, get confidence and play to our standard.”
Perhaps the most distraught Herd player was defensive end Owen Porter, who played at Spring Valley High. Particularly unsettling were the boos fans uttered, especially when the teams left the field at the half.
“As a whole we bust our butts every day,” Porter said. “That really rubbed me wrong. It’s 3-0, our offense has started on the 1-yard line three times and we boo our team? We boo our quarterback. What is that? If you’re going to do that, don’t come here. Keep progressing each week. Play the best we can. Meet the standard every single game.
“Defense played a good game, gave up 20 points. The offense carries us the past three games. We couldn’t help them more.”
Thursday’s game marks the second time the James Madison defense held its opponent to negative rushing yards.
A scary moment for the Herd came early in the fourth period when safety J.J. Roberts went down after a tackle on a pass reception. The former Cabell Midland standout and transfer from Wake Forest made the stop on Elijah Surratt, and the video showed Roberts’ helmet and head snapping back violently. He laid on the field for quite a while. Eventually, Roberts was carted off and gave a thumbs up to the crowd as teammates surrounded him.
“Pray for him,” said Huff, who had no further update on Roberts.
James Madison’s win streak over the past two seasons is 10. Its last loss was 34-10 at Louisville last November.