— By David Walsh
Marshall made more football history Saturday night and coach Charles Huff expressed his gratitude to be part of it. The Thundering Herd raced past Louisiana Lafayette, 31-3, in the Sun Belt Conference championship game at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La.
It’s the school’s first SBC title in three years and first league title for the school since the 2014 Conference USA championship.
“It’s one of the most gratifying feelings you ever have as a coach,” Huff said. “Some 130 teams set out for this goal (14 in the Sun Belt). To be the team that actually gets there I can’t be more appreciative of their buy in. The process works. Huge moment for Marshall University. Proud to be the leader that got us to this point. The first to win the Sun Belt championship. You can’t erase that. To be part of that I’m humble.”
Huff’s future as Marshall coach is up in the air. He’s in the fourth year of his contract and nothing’s been renewed yet. His immediate goal after the post-game news conference was to go celebrate the Herd’s ultimate achievement.
Sunday, Marshall and Louisiana will learn who it will play in a bowl, when and where.
The Ragin’ Cajuns, playing in front of 20,067 fans and those watching the ESPN telecast, got a first-quarter field goal for their only lead at 3-0. It was all Marshall after that with 31 straight points.
Quarterback Braylon Braxton completed 18-of-26 passes for 193 yards and two scores and rushed 16 times for 66 yards. He got voted game MVP. Then other players continued their emergence. Wide out Tychaun Chapman, transfer from North Carolina, caught 8 passes for 86 yards and his first TD in a Herd uniform. Both totals are career highs.
Running back Jordan Houston, with A.J. Henry not available, carried 17 times for 117 yards and a score. The 100-yard game is the first for the North Carolina State transfer. Marshall rolled up 410 yards and 26 first downs against the No. 2 defense in the Sun Belt.
“God is good,” Huff said. “When we win the line of scrimmage, we typically win the game. This group of young men on the defensive side of the ball bought into everything we asked them to do regardless of what it brought to them. They challenged this team what they were ordained to do. They pushed, pulled, executed on the field. I said Mike Green could win player of the year. He just went out and topped that. He should win the (Chuck) Bednarik Award (national defensive player of year). That’s the impact he’s had on this team. That’s what national (players of year) do. Show up in big games. Yates the leading tackler. His dad (Max) played at Marshall. I couldn’t be more proud to be coach of these guys.
“Thank you to every single person who believed in us, helped us get here. The players in that locker room made that choice. They made a choice of what to do and the way it’s supposed to get done. Good things happen when you buy into something you’ve got and give a little to get a bigger amount. The history made today. Players deserve nothing but utter respect. They deserve a statue right down there on Hal Greer. I hope the town and city of Huntington can smile a little bit brighter and praise what they were able to do.”
On defense, end and Player of the Year Mike Green and linebacker Jaden Yates led a unit that held Louisiana to 256 total yards and 11 first downs. The Ragin’ Cajuns played most of the night with No. 3 quarterback Daniel Beale after starter Chandler Beavers got hurt in the second period.
Players basked in the moment and what it took to get there.
“I knew it would be a challenge,” Green said. “I touched on this just before the game. Just because we deserve to be here doesn’t mean anything going to be given to us. We’ve got to go out and take it. It came down to which team makes more plays. After the first drive I knew it would be a defensive game. The D line did a good job keeping its integrity doing things right. It was which team would be fundamentally sound the longest. We knew if we banged with them we’ve got duration time in our favor. I’m extremely proud of how hard we play and how long we do it. This team deserves everything we’ve got. I’m proud of the win. It shows you the kind of work the guys put in on and off the field. That’s the kind of guys we have.
“Coach was good at let us figure things out. Whatever we thought would work, he would let us do. He felt comfortable, but he put his two cents in. Just married up. Now with college football, anybody could go in his office and talk to him. I’m extremely proud of coach Huff. I’m sure the guys are, too, and the trickle down from him. That’s what you do when you marry a team and coach, success.”
Yates agreed the Herd went out with victory in mind, nothing else.
“Hopes and dreams of what you deserve ain’t how life goes,” Yates said. “You want something, you go take it. The process has driven this team. We’ve been working for this goal since last January. I’m really proud the guys were able to get it done today. He (Huff) lets the players play, the coaches coach. Some have more free reign. We’re pulled in when we step out of line, make adjustments on the sideline It’s the coaches having trust in us no matter how it gets done. After the first snap, you realize the blood’s in the water. We know we’re the shark.”
Braxton and center Logan Osburn are team opposites. Braxton is the transfer. Osburn, from Cabell Midland, stuck it out. Stayed home for a final year.
“Earlier I did some bonehead stuff, tried to do some stuff that was not there,” Braxton said. “I stayed the course, settled down and we got the win. It’s an unreal feeling (to see ways Houston and Chapman performed). Those guys put in all the same work we do and I’m glad to see it come to fruition. They stayed ready all season and when their number’s called, they step up. Winning a championship, not everybody can say that. I remember the recruiting pitch (Huff and offensive coordinator Seth Doege) they made to get me to come to Marshall. We’re bringing in guys to win a championship. To see that goal come to light tonight is an unreal feeling.”
“That’s the reason I came back,” Osburn said. “I turned down a lot of money for this moment. God told me to come back. We execute at a high level and that’s how we won. We knew if we controlled the clock it would be a huge advantage. Keep their offense off the field. Coach (Huff) challenged us all week. The game will be won up front getting movement. If we do that, we achieve the goal we wanted.
“That’s probably the best feeling you could have. The first Marshall team to win a Sun Belt championship. That’s what we started working for back in August. We did nothing but put our head down, we worked for the best coaching staff in America and got the goal we wanted.”
Huff admitted he enjoyed seeing Osburn hold up the SBC Trophy.
“I probably love the all, but I really wanted to win for Logan Osburn,” Huff said. “This community means a lot to him. He’s the only guy on the team who’s seen all the change. He had a chance to go elsewhere and make a lot of money. If he stays, we win a championship and I see him hoist the trophy, I’m honored to be the coach who helped him get that one missing piece. “
Louisiana coach Michael Desamoreaux said Saturday’s effort was subpar.
“A disappointing day,” he said. “Offensively it starts and ends with me. We didn’t have a good enough plan today. I feel like I let them down. I’m extremely proud of this team. They got after us up front and made it tough on us. We did some uncharacteristic things tonight here and there. We’ve been really good on offense all year. Tonight we didn’t perform and it’s hard to swallow. Couldn’t pop one to get that traction. It was a hard spot for Daniel to come into. We didn’t play well around him. One of the keys was to run the football. All year we ran well and they gave up some rushing yards of late. They did the job up front and we didn’t get anything going in space. Not the game I wanted to be in.”