— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — It’s been a long time between wins for the Marshall football team.
More than a month has passed since the Herd tasted victory, which most recently occurred September 30 against Old Dominion.
Marshall completed a winless October last week with a 34-6 trouncing at Coastal Carolina, and only four opportunities remain to secure a winning season and a possible bowl bid.
This week, Marshall (4-4, 1-3) heads south to Boone, N.C., to face an old rival in Appalachian State(4-4, 2-2).
Saturday’s game kicks off at 6 p.m. and will be shown on NFL Network.
Marshall has struggled in large part from a combination of injuries, poor play and inexperience.
Marshall coach Charles Huff frustrations of Herd fans who have been quite vocal on social media about coaching and playing performances in October.
“We’re dealing with a lot of injuries and we’ve played tough teams consecutively who had good games against us,” Huff said. “I met with our leaders on Sunday and they said that the team culture was in the best place it’s ever been. It’s not a situation of the sky’s falling or there’s something going on in the locker room. We’re just not executing well enough to win these types of games.”
The injury bug has hit Marshall’s quarterback position, as starter Cam Fancher was pulled from last week’s game due to a leg injury and overall ineffectiveness. He was replaced by redshirt freshman Cole Pennington, the son of Marshall legend and former NFL quarterback Chad Pennington.
Cole Pennington was 12-of-23 through the air for 77 yards and two interceptions. Huff said Pennington could start at Appalachian State and must learn from last week’s mistakes.
“He showed some good things — things he’s shown in practice,” Huff said. “He also showed some areas where he needs to continue to grow. He can’t turn the ball over multiple times. Still, it was a good opportunity for him to learn.”
Appalachian State snapped a two-game losing streak last Saturday when it came from behind to beat Southern Miss, 48-38.
Appalachian State is coached by Charleston native Shawn Clark, who has a 30-17 career coaching mark at his alma mater.
Clark is dealing with his own problems and says last week’s win over a struggling Southern Miss squad is a potential season saver.
“If we could put 60 minutes of football together, we would have a good team,” Clark said. “Both of us have a lot to play for and this will be a physical game. This is a long rivalry. Anybody who knows the history from the Southern Conference between Marshall and App State knows that back in those days it came down to those two teams to win the conference.”
Huff is hopeful that his squad may have reached its lowest point last week and is primed for a better result.
“We know we’re capable of it,” Huff said. “We’re trying to keep the guys from getting frustrated. No one is sitting here and saying that it’s ok to lose 4 straight but we understand that there’s a lot of football left and opportunity for these guys to create value for themselves.”
The Herd and Mountaineers have met 25 times and Appalachian State has a 15-10 series advantage.
The teams met last year in Huntington — a 28-21 Marshall win.
Notes
Appalachian State’s kicker is Charleston native and George Washington High School graduate Michael Hughes. The sophomore is 11-of-14 on field goals this season, with three makes from 45-plus yards … Huff said junior defensive back J.J. Roberts should play against Appalachian State. The Cabell Midland graduate was removed from the field on a stretcher two weeks in a home game against James Madison as a precaution after he took a blow to the head … Next week’s Marshall home game against Georgia Southern is a 7 p.m. kickoff and will be shown on NFL Network. The game commemorates the 1970 Marshall football team members lost in a plane crash near Huntington after the team returned from a game at East Carolina.