— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall enters Sun Belt Conference play this week with a plenty respectable 3-1 record and a knack for winning close contests.
Most recently, the Herd avoided an upset and a loss to a FCS program by using a late field goal to defeat Gardner-Webb, 36-35.
But there’s noticeable room for improvement around a team whose three victories have come by a total of nine points, including two by a combined margin of three.
“I’m happy to be 3-1,” head coach Tony Gibson said. “Some people may say that we’re an “ugly” 3-1, but I’m never going to apologize for winning, no matter how we have to do it. We’ve got to get a lot of things cleaned up. Our kids keep fighting and find a way, and that’s all you can ask for right now.”
The challenge for Gibson’s team increases this week with a trip to Harrisonburg, Va., to face the James Madison Dukes at a sold-out Bridgeforth Stadium. Saturday’s game kicks off at 3:45 p.m. and is being shown nationally on ESPNU.
JMU, defending Sun Belt Conference champions and a participant in the 2025 College Football Playoff, enters 4-0 under a new head coach in Billy Napier. The Dukes defeated Old Dominion, 46-20, in Norfolk last week to start Sun Belt play with a victory. The Dukes’ other wins are against Liberty, Wagner and San Diego State.
In six previous meetings between the teams, Marshall has won four. Since both became Sun Belt members, the road team has won each of the last four matchups and none has been decided by more than 14 points.
Napier, previously head coach at Louisiana and then Florida, replaced Bob Chesney as head coach after Chesney departed for UCLA.
While Marshall knows the Dukes will present plenty of challenges, a concern surrounding the Herd centers around cleaning Sloppy play has prevented Marshall from executing at a high level, and last week, the Herd finished with 11 penalties for 105 yards.
“We just have to get sloppiness out of our program, the way we’re playing defensively and sometimes offensively,” Gibson said.
Marshall is averaging 447 yards per game in its wins.
Quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is spreading the wealth and Marshall has benefited from production from several pass-catchers in Owen Sweeney, De’Andre Tamarez, Toby Payne and Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw. The Herd is also getting shared production in the run game from Jo’Shon Barbie, Judah Price, T.J. Lester and Khalil Wilkins.
Gibson wants to see his team continue to come together, but has been impressed with the response down the stretch in tight spots.
“I told the kids the reason we’re winning these close games right now is because of the culture of our program,” Gibson said. “They play for each other and we don’t have a lot of selfish guys on this football team. They stick together and there’s no panic.”
The matchup at JMU represents Marshall’s third road contest over its first five games and its final one until Halloween night at Old Dominion.
The Herd play host to Coastal Carolina on October 10, before welcoming South Alabama for a Tuesday matchup on October 20.