Marshall University Athletics
Herd Opens 2002 With Showdown vs. Mountaineers
8/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Herd Opens 2002 With Showdown vs. Mountaineers
8/26/2002
- Appalachian State Game Notes
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- Byron Leftwich Teleconference
They said it would never happen. The 19th ranked Thundering Herd at home against the second ranked Mountaineers -- a match made almost in heaven.
But here it is, the match-up no one thought would ever happen, the season opener to a 2002 season filled with expectations for both teams.
That?s right, the Marshall Thundering Herd, ranked in the preseason polls for the first time in school history, will open the season against the second ranked Appalachian State Mountaineers out of the Southern Conference and Division I-AA. The best team in West Virginia against the best Mountaineers team in college football, who could ask for more?
History indicates the game will be a war. The two schools played each other for years when both were members of the Southern Conference. Appalachian State was the first team other than Marshall to post a victory at Marshall Stadium (37-34 in 1992) and is the only school to have won twice at Marshall Stadium (also 10-3 in 1995).
When Marshall first joined the Southern Conference, in 1977, it was the Mountaineers who welcomed the Herd to the league with a 28-20 ASU victory in Boone, NC. It was Marshall?s fifth season in the Southern Conference before the Herd secured it?s first league victory, a 17-10 victory over Appalachian State in Boone.
There is also strong history for Marshall against the Mountaineers in seasons that ended in the Division I-AA national title game. The Herd earned it?s first trip to the title game in 1987 at the expense of ASU, 24-10 in Boone. During the 1996 run to the national title is was Appalachian State that gave the undefeated Herd it?s closest challenge, a 24-10 Marshall victory.
This year?s season opener marks the first meeting for the two teams since that 1996 regular season game. Marshall enters the season ranked in both preseason national polls for the first time in school history. ASU enters the season ranked second in both major Division I-AA polls, behind only defending I-AA national champion Montana in both.
The Herd returns 10 offensive starters from last season?s 11-2 GMAC Bowl championship squad. Marshall set a Mid-American Conference Record in 2001, averaging 505 yards of total offense per game. Defensively the Herd is rebuilding with youth after ranking near the bottom of the NCAA rankings in both rushing defense and total defense.
Appalachian State enters 2002 with eight starters back on offense and seven back on defense.