Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Set to Host Toledo and ESPN
9/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Marshall Set to Host Toledo and ESPN
9/8/2003
Marshall opens Mid-American Conference play Friday night at 7:00 when it hosts rival Toledo before a national television audience on ESPN.
Tim Ryan will handle the play-by-play for ESPN, with Rod Gilmore and Mike Golic providing analysis, and Heather Cox serving as the sideline reporter.
The game will be the sixth meeting between the two schools since Marshall joined the Division 1-A ranks and re-entered the Mid-American Conference in 1997. The Thundering Herd is 4-2 versus the Rockets over this period and 3-1 against the Rockets in MAC Championship games.
Marshall is a perfect 4-0 against Toledo at Marshall Stadium, likewise Toledo holds a perfect 2-0 home mark against Marshall since 1997. In fact, Toledo is the only school that has beaten Marshall and head coach Bob Pruett twice since the Thundering Herd made the jump to Division 1-A. The Rockets upended the Herd 42-0 in 2000 and recorded a 41-36 come-from-behind win in the 2001 MAC Championship game. Both of those games were played at Toledo.
Marshall won the 2002 MAC Championship with a thrilling 49-45 victory at Marshall Stadium in the last meeting between the two schools. Byron Leftwich connected with Darius Watts on a 40-yard touchdown pass with only 49 seconds remaining to give the Herd its fifth MAC crown in six tries.
