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For the first time since the final polls of the 2002 season, Marshall University Football is ranked in the top 25.
After a 49-24 win over Middle Tennessee State Saturday in Huntington, Marshall Football found itself ranked in both major polls Sunday. The Herd sits at 25th in the newest Associated Press College Football Poll and 24th in the newest Coaches Poll.
Marshall returns to action at 6 p.m. Saturday when the travel to Miami, Florida to take on Florida International University.
The state’s two Division 1 football programs kick off their seasons on the road Saturday afternoon.
Both Marshall and WVU kickoff at 3:30. Marshall is headed to Oxford, Ohio to take on the Miami University Red Hawks. The Mountaineers have a slightly tougher challenge Saturday as they travel to Atlanta for a matchup with Alabama, the team ranked number two in both the USA Today and Associated Press Preseason Polls.
WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen knows it will be a challenge.
“When you think of an Alabama team and you think of Coach Saban, it’s going to be defense and Kirby Smart has been there defensive coordinator for a long time, been with Nick for a long time,” Holgorsen said. “They do a great job of recruiting top notch talent, big fast strong guys, some of the better players in the country each and every year.”
The matchup with Alabama also presents a unique challenge for Alabama coach Nick Saban. Saban is a native of Fairmont and grew up rooting for the Mountaineers.
“When I was a kid–man, to go to Mountaineer Field and watch West Virginia play that was the highlight of my year,” Saban said. “I still have great memories of home and I have great memories of the people and relationships that I have at home and I’ve always kind of been a Mountaineer fan.”
While the Mountaineers are tussling with the Crimson Tide, Marshall will begin its most hyped season since the early 2000’s with a trip to Miami of Ohio. Doc Holliday said because the Redhawks have a new coach in Chuck Martin, the former Notre Dame assistant, they’re not sure what Miami’s offense and defense will look like.
“Chuck is a heck of a football coach, he coach on the defensive side of the ball early on at Notre Dame and then became the offensive coordinator,” Holliday said. “He was at Grand Valley state and a lot of different places and has been very successful wherever he’s been, so we don’t know exactly what we’re getting, so we went clear back to Grand Valley and clear back to Notre Dame, we have to prepare for a lot of different things.”
Senior tight end Eric Frohnapfel said he’s been happy to see how excited Marshall fans are for the season.
“I know my phone has just been, bloom bloom, I’ve gotten Facebook notifications and tweets from people that have countdowns going and they’re putting up these messages, so it’s good to see the turnout from the fans and they’re really excited and hopefully we can travel a large crowd there and I’m glad to see it, it’s that time of the year, the excitement is in the air and I’m happy to see it,” Frohnapfel said.
WVU and Alabama will be televised on ABC Saturday at 3:30. Marshall’s Matchup with Miami University is on ESPN3 at 3:30 as well.
Marshall University has extended the contract of coach Doc Holliday two years and raised the payouts for the incentives in the deal.
Athletic director Mike Hamrick announced Monday that Holliday’s contract now runs through the 2017 season.
Holliday is 27-24 at Marshall and coming off a 10-4 season. His base salary of $600,000 will stay the same but his new deal increases his incentives to a total of $145,000 if they are reached.
Holliday will receive a $30,000 bonus for conference championships and $30,000 for each bowl appearance, both an increase of $10,000 over his previous contract.
With expectations at levels not seen in over a decade Marshall Football is into the second week of spring football practice, working to improve the overall quality of the team by adding depth in some key positions on the field.
Fresh off a 10-4 season that was capped off with a 31-20 win over Maryland in the Military Bowl, Marshall Football is back on the practice field.
Spring Football practice started last week for the Thundering Herd. Marshall Head Football Coach Doc Holliday said this is the time when depth is built and young guys have to step up.
“We talk about it all the time with our program, there’s no place to hide in this program, if you don’t like where you are change what you’re doing,” Holliday said.
Among the positions where depth has to be developed this spring is the quarterback position. The starter is set with reigning Conference USA offensive player of the year Rakeem Cato. But his backup is where the question mark sits because of the offseason transfer of Blake Frohnapfel to UMass. So competition will be the name of the game for GunnarHolcombe, Kevin Anderson and Cole Garvin.
“We know Cato can play, but we have to find a backup, if you don’t have that guy at the position that’s an issue,” Holliday said. “So those three guys are going to get a lot of reps and we have to make sure we do a great job as coaches.”
Holliday said last year’s successes were possibly because of the seniors finishing their careers on a high note. Holliday says in order for this coming season to be as great as they hope it will be, a new class of seniors will have to play a large role.
“For us to go where we want to this year, all those guys have to play their best football ever,” Holliday said.
Holliday said it’s a good feeling to know what you have as a team going into spring, unlike past spring practices.
Marshall will hold the annual Green and White scrimmage to end spring practice on April 26th.
A 31-20 victory over the University of Maryland in the Military Bowl has many around the Marshall Football program excited about next season.
With much of the team returning for the 2014 season after finishing 10-3, expectations are high for Thundering Herd Football. Many have predicted top 25 rankings for the squad. Others have predicted they’ll win the conference. Marshall Head Coach Doc Holliday said high expectations are good for his team.
“Bottom line is someone telling you you’re going to be a top 25 team is not what gets you there, it’s the work and everything that goes along with it, but we can’t become complacent,” Holliday said.
The 10 win season was the first time since 2002 that a Marshall team finished with double-digit victories. It also marked the first Conference USA East Division crown for the school and trip to the Conference USA championship game, where they would lose to Rice. In the final USA Today Coaches Poll the Herd finished 29th. Holliday said three things will determine how successful the team can be next year.
The 5 win improvement from 2012 to 2013 has many wondering what could happen in 2014 with a schedule that looks favorable for an experienced team like the Herd to make a serious run. With non-conference matchups with Ohio University, Miami Ohio and Kent State University, fans are looking forward to the season. Holliday said when he looks at his team this offseason he sees a vastly different group than last offseason.
“I just thought to myself we’re so much further ahead than this time last year, I looked out there a year ago and I didn’t see what I see right now which is a good thing and it’s going to be important,” Holliday said..
Holliday hopes that the success of this past season mixed with high expectations have an impact as he and his coaches hit the road to finish up recruiting for next year before the national signing period begins February 5th. That’s when athletes can sign on the dotted line committing themselves to a college football program.
“One of the things about Marshall University Football is it has great tradition, you can walk into almost every home out there they can tell you about the number of wins they had in the 90’s and the 2000’s and the Randy Moss’ and Chad’s and Byron’s and on and on and we’re getting back to that,” Holliday said.
The Military Bowl was Marshall’s second bowl win in three seasons. The Herd beat F FIU in the 2011 Beef O’Brady’s Bowl.
Marshall’s football team will wear the number 75 on its helmets at its next game in memory of the victims of the 1970 team’s plane crash. Marshall (6-3, 4-1 Conference USA) plays at Tulsa (2-7, 1-4) on Thursday night. Thursday is the anniversary of the Nov. 14, 1970 crash just short of Tri-State Airport near Huntington. The crash killed 75 people.
