— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The wait is over for Marshall as the Herd return to the field this weekend for the first time in more than two weeks for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. contest against Louisiana-Monroe at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
The game between the Herd (4-3, 2-1) and Warhawks (5-3, 3-1) can be seen on ESPN+.
It’s Senior Day for Marshall and 22 players will be honored for the first time in pregame festivities, along with three other players who participated in those ceremonies last season.
Marshall last played on October 17 when it knocked off Georgia State.
The Warhawks lost at South Alabama last week, 46-17.
Here are three things to look for on Saturday:
Committing to a quarterback
The days of musical chairs at quarterback may be coming to an end for the Herd.
MU head coach Charles Huff said this week that at some point, it’s time to “get in bed” with one quarterback.
That starter is likely to be Tulsa transfer Braylon Braxton, who has led the Herd to wins in his two starts, both at home. Braxton has shown the ability to make quality decisions in those starts, and he puts pressure on defenses with his legs and arm.
He’s thrown for 496 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 276 yards and two touchdowns.
Braxton is Marshall’s second leading rusher behind tailback A.J. Turner, who is the top rusher in the Sun Belt Conference.
Ground and pound
Marshall put together strong rushing performances in home wins over Appalachian State and Georgia State. The Herd piled up 236 rush yards against the Mountaineers along with three touchdowns. The results were even better against Georgia State as Marshall amassed 295 yards and three TDs.
Turner has been the beneficiary of the emphasis on a strong run game, highlighted by his 177-yard performance against Georgia State.
Louisiana-Monroe’s porous run defense leaves open a strong possibility of Marshall committing to the run early and often Saturday.
The Warhawks surrender an average of slightly more than 180 yards on the ground, but allowed 355 yards to South Alabama last Saturday. Marshall’s offensive coaches might see a vulnerability based on those numbers and apply a ground and pound attack centered around Turner.
Controlling the kids
The key players in Louisiana-Monroe’s offense are freshmen.
New Mexico transfer quarterback Aidan Armenta and true freshman tailback Ahmad Hardy key a unit the Marshall defense is out to limit.
Hardy has put up solid numbers with 604 yards and six rushing touchdowns. His 86.3 yards per game are third in the Sun Belt in rushing, trailing only Turner and Mahdi Ismail from Texas State.
Armenta replaced General Booty as the Warhawks’ starting quarterback for the James Madison game and led UL-Monroe to a 21-19 victory over the Dukes for one of the more surprising Sun Belt results this season.
Marshall’s veteran defenders will be put to the test by the young Warhawks, especially defensive linemen such as Mike Green, TyQaze Leggs, Jabari Ishmael and Deeve Harris.
Throw in the big tackle numbers of linebackers Jaden Yates and Landyn Watson and defensive back J.J. Roberts and the Herd will look for a plethora of players to help pressure Armenta and contain Hardy.