— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall is in a good place with one-quarter of its 2026 regular season wrapped up.
The Thundering Herd (2-1) is on a two-game win streak, with the latest victory coming last Saturday at Missouri State, 30-24.
While pleased with the results of his team over the last two weeks, Marshall head coach Tony Gibson isn’t satisfied and hopes for continued improvement Saturday at 3:30 p.m. when the Herd play host to Gardner-Webb, a FCS program and Ohio Valley Conference member.
“We have to be more disciplined,” Gibson said. “That’s finishing tackles. We need to keep preaching and coaching it. I’m tired of excuses. It’s time to go. We’ve got one more game before the meat of our schedule. We need to get clean.”
This will be the third all-time meeting between the Herd and the Bulldogs and Marshall has won the previous two contests, including a 28-7 victory in 2022.
Gardner-Webb has an interim head coach in Pete Bennett, who replaced Kris McCullough after the Bulldogs’ season-opening loss at Austin Peay. McCullough was fired after the university conducted an internal investigation. McCullough had been hired to lead Gardner-Webb in December 2025 after former Bulldogs’ head coach Cris Reisert became offensive coordinator at Toledo.
Saturday’s game is Marshall’s Homecoming and a homecoming of sorts for three former Herd players now with Gardner-Webb — quarterback Cole Pennington, running back Randy Young and tight end Beau Blankenship.
Pennington is the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs. The son of former Marshall legend and NFL quarterback Chad Pennington, he’s averaging nearly 300 passing yards per game.
As for Marshall, Gibson says there is still a need for better performances, particularly with the Sun Belt schedule and a trip to James Madison next week on the horizon.
With the exception of a late-game fumble deep in Missouri State territory from Herd quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, Gibson was pleased with his team’s offense last week.
The defense was, at times, troubling to Gibson.
A concern has been Marshall’s inability to produce a pass rush, leading to problems for defensive backs who then must cover for longer. Problems with tackling continue to plague the defense as well.
The Bears had nine plays of at least 21 yards against the Marshall defense last Saturday.
The Herd defense did have good moments in its latest game, none more important than when Marshall stopped the Bears deep in Herd territory late in the fourth quarter moment as linebacker Javae Gilmore broke up a fourth down pass that allowed the Herd to run out the clock.
A blocked field goal in the first half by Marshall nose guard Kenyatta Hardge Jr. also loomed large in the outcome.
Del Rio-Wilson says it’s a matter of maintaining consistency in all phases over the course of four quarters instead of playing in spurts.
“It’s getting flipped,” Del Rio-Wilson said. “We’re getting to the point where we’re going to put it all together for 60 minutes straight. Right now, as Coach Gibson says, we have spurts on offense and defense. We’re working on getting it for 60 minutes straight.”