— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — There was a combination of joy and relief last Saturday after Marshall picked up the first win of the 2025 season and the first for new head coach Tony Gibson with its 38-7 victory over Eastern Kentucky at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
“It was a great night in Huntington on Saturday,” Gibson said. “I thought our kids played extremely well on all sides of the ball and did some really good things. We just need to keep getting better.”
The Thundering Herd (1-2) will get that chance to take the next step come Saturday with a 7 p.m. matchup at Middle Tennessee.
The game at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium can be seen on ESPN+.
In assessing last week’s EKU victory, Gibson said coming up short a week earlier in a 21-20 setback to FBS newcomer Missouri State served as fuel against the Colonels.
Marshall’s defense gave up 102 total yards and the Colonels averaged only 2 yards per play.
“It was a long week for everybody and the kids were disappointed with the way we played,” Gibson said. “We didn’t finish and it was a hard week for the players and staff.
“We had a really good week of practice and our kids responded really well and the thing about these kids right now is that everything we do is a first, and last week everything calmed down. We didn’t have any distractions and the kids really focused and locked in. We responded and came out and did things the right way and it was great to see.”
Offensively, Marshall rolled up 377 yards with an average of 5.3 yards per play. The Herd showed a strong rushing attack for a second straight week with 263 yards on 57 attempts. Starting quarterback Carlos Del-Rio Wilson was Marshall’s top rusher with 58 yards and a touchdown. Backup quarterback JacQai Long rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown late.
Del Rio-Wilson was efficient in the passing game as well, completing 7-of-9 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns — one to running back Justin Williams-Thomas and the other to wide receiver Adrian Norton, who made an acrobatic catch along the sidelines in the end zone.
The better offensive showing was a direct result of improved play up front, according to Gibson.
“I challenged those guys all week to dominate the line of scrimmage and they did that,” he said.
Marshall also benefited from several big plays on special teams in its first victory. Punter Nathan Totten averaged 44.5 yards per punt on four kicks, including one downed at the EKU 1-yard line. Kicker Lorcan Quinn placed all but one of his seven kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. Punt returner Floyd Lacey averaged 18 yards per return on four opportunities with his a long of 43 yards.
Like Marshall, the Blue Raiders (1-2) are coming off their first victory last week, having scored two touchdowns in the 6 minutes to overcome a 13-point deficit and win at Nevada, 14-13. The winning touchdown came on quarterback Nicholas Vattiato’s 5-yard run with 21 seconds remaining.
Former Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason is in his second year as the Blue Raiders’ head coach and has a 4-11 mark at Middle Tennessee.
Marshall and Middle Tennessee are meeting for the 12th time Saturday and the Herd holds a slim 6-5 series advantage. The teams last met in 2021, a game Middle Tennessee won, 34-28. The Herd and Blue Raiders are scheduled to play next season in Huntington.
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The Sun Belt Conference has announced Marshall’s league opener at Louisiana on September 27 will kickoff at 8 p.m. The game will be shown on ESPN+. It will be a rematch of the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Championship, which Marshall won, 31-3.