— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — After completing non-league play with two straight wins and a .500 mark, Marshall gets its first taste of Sun Belt Conference action this weekend.
The Herd (2-2) will take on the Louisiana at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium at 8 p.m. Saturday in a matchup airing on ESPN+.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (1-3) are coming off of a 34-31 loss at Eastern Michigan last weekend while Marshall ran off 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win at Middle Tennessee, 42-28. Louisiana has lost twice by no more than three points this season and has suffered several key injuries to its offense, but Gibson says there is a major challenge awaiting his team.
“They could very easily be sitting here at 3-1, with their only loss to Missouri,” Gibson said. “They’ve got two running backs who run hard and a big, physical offensive line. Defensively, they’re long and athletic and do some great things.”
The performance of Marshall starting quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson against the Blue Raiders seemed to settle the Herd quarterback battle as the threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score. Del Rio-Wilson was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week, another sign the Syracuse transfer has turned things around following a rough start.
“He was our starter going into fall camp, but he didn’t have a great fall camp,” Gibson said. “Every day is an open competition and he got outplayed in fall camp. We had to make a decision on another starter.
“Some guys can’t handle that, but Carlos never quit fighting and competing, and when he got his opportunity, he made the most of it a couple of weeks ago. Right now, he’s playing with a lot of confidence. He took care of the ball and had total control of the offense.”
While the memorable finish highlighted the win at Middle Tennessee, Gibson is still in search of a complete outing from his team, which he feels has to yet to put a full game together.
“Hopefully we can start fast and stay strong for four quarters,” Gibson said. “We still haven’t put four solid quarters together in a game. These next eight conference games are the eight most important on our schedule.”
Louisiana leads its series with Marshall, 2-1. The last meeting between the squads took place last December in what marked the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game, a contest the Herd won, 31-3. The next day, former MU head coach Charles Huff left for Southern Mississippi.
Ragin’ Cajuns alum Michael Desormeaux is in his fourth season as Louisiana head and has a 24-21 record. He was named the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Ragin’ Cajuns to the West Division title.
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Marshall announced it will host Austin Peay in 2030.
Gerald Harrison, recently named MU’s Director of Athletics, came to Huntington after he led the Governors’ athletic program for eight years.
The game between Marshall and Austin Peay will take place on September 14, 2030, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, and will serve as the first contest between the programs.
“We’re excited to add another quality opponent to our future football schedule,” Harrison said. “Austin Peay’s football program has been on the rise and recently joined the United Athletic Conference, which is a very competitive league. Like Marshall, the Governors have a passionate fan base, and I’m confident they will travel well to Huntington and have a positive economic impact on our community.”
Harrison says the game will have special meaning to him.
“There’s also something personal about the opportunity to play Austin Peay, as they gave me my first opportunity to be an athletics director,” Harrison said. “President Mike Licari is phenomenal and AD Jordan Harmon served as a Deputy AD during my time in Clarksville. The opportunity to welcome them to The Joan and to Marshall is truly a treat.”
Austin Peay is a member of the United Athletic Conference, which was formed in 2023 as a football-only conference by merging the football-playing schools within the Atlantic Sun Conference and the Western Athletic Conference. The league competes in the Football Championship Subdivision. The UAC becomes an all-sport league next year.