Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Travels to Third-Ranked Virginia Tech Saturday
10/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Oct. 4, 2005
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -
Marshall will travel roughly 190 miles southeast on Saturday to face defending ACC Champion and nationally-ranked Virginia Tech in its final non-conference game of the season.
Television: ESPN2. Eric Collins (play by play), Andre Ware (analyst), and Heather Mitts (sidelines).
Radio: The Thundering Herd/ISP Sports Radio Network with Steve Cotton (play-by-play), Greg Cyrus (analyst), and Rocky Smith (sidelines). Also available on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 144. The Virginia Tech broadcast will be available on XM Satellite Radio.
The Series: Virginia Tech leads the all-time series 6-2 and has won the last four meetings.
The match-up will be Virginia Tech's second-consecutive contest against one of West Virginia's two Division 1-A state universities. Last Saturday, the Hokies traveled to Morgantown and defeated West Virginia University, 34-17.
The Hokies enter the contest ranked third in both major polls with a perfect 5-0 record and feature one of the nation's top quarterbacks in Marcus Vick. The younger brother of NFL star Michael Vick, has completed 62 of 91 passes (68.1%) for 880 yards and nine touchdowns in his first five starts and is the leader of a Hokie offense that is averaging39 points per game. Defensively, Virginia Tech is allowing a mere eight points a game and limiting its opponents to only 226 yards per outing.
Marshall is coming off of a 16-13 overtime win over SMU that involved a late Thundering Herd rally. Trailing 10-0 with under seven minutes to play, Marshall's Bernie Morris rallied the Herd to victory with a key touchdown scamper in regulation that was followed with a game-winning 15-yard run in overtime. Morris, playing the first complete game of his career at quarterback, finished the day with 379 total yards (including 63 rushing yards to lead the team) and two touchdowns.
Marshall and Virginia Tech have met on the gridiron eight times, with the most recent meeting coming in 2002, when the Hokies downed a Byron Leftwich led Marshall squad 47-21. Marshall's two wins in the series both came in Huntington in 1939 and 1940 (20-0 and 13-7). Marshall is 0-3 all-time in Blacksburg and lost three tightly contested contests in 1951, 1952, and 1953 that were played in Bluefield, West Virginia.
NOTES:
Morris Makes His Mark: Marshall sophomore quarterback Bernie Morris got the starting nod and went the distance for the first time in the win over SMU. Morris threw for a career-high 314 yards on 34-of-60 passing (the 60 attempts are an Edwards Stadium record) and led the Herd in rushing with 63 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
The Royal Family: Marshall senior safety Chris Royal will face his younger brother Eddie (a VT receiver) on Saturday for the first time collegiately. Chris and Eddie are two of seven children and their mother, Pearl Royal, will definetly have a split allegiance for this game. Chris's younger sister Christina also attends Virginia Tech where she serves in the ROTC. Chris is in his second season as a starter at Marshall and finished last season tied for second in the nation with six interceptions, while Eddie, playing as a freshman, starred at Virginia Tech and helped the Hokies to the ACC Championship.
Marshall Coach has Strong VT Ties: Marshall tight ends coach Shaine Miles is a familiar face on the Virginia Tech campus. Miles, a Salem, Va., native, was a four-year letterwinner at Tech as a tight end from 1992-1996. He helped the Hokies to four bowl berths during his career and graduated from Virginia Tech with a BA in History in 1996 and earned his Master's in Education Curriculum and Instruction from Tech in 1997.
A Homecoming of Sorts: Marshall has 12 players that call the state of Virginia home and many of them are key contributors. Among the native Virginians are Wilbur Hargrove (Boyton), Chris Royal (Herndon), Dennis Thornton (Spotsylvania), Shawn Lauzon (Virginia Beach), Donte' Newsome (Chesapeake), Ahmad Bradshaw (Bluefield), and Floyd Wright (Hayfield).
The Herd vs. Ranked Opponents: Since moving to NCAA Division 1-A status in 1997, Marshall has posted a record of 2-5 against nationally-ranked opponents with its highest-ranked victim being then #6 Kansas State (27-20) in 2003.
Dec. 27, 1999 vs. (#25) BYU W, 21-3Sep. 1, 2001 at (#1) Florida L, 49-14Sep. 12, 2002 at (#7) Virginia Tech L, 47-21Sep. 6, 2003 at (#11) Tennessee L, 34-24Sep. 20, 2003 at (#6) Kansas State W, 27-20Sep. 11, 2004 at (#9) Ohio State L, 24-21Sep. 18, 2004 at (#3) Georgia L, 10-3
Overtime Success: Marshall played its first regular season overtime game in Division 1-A in the win over SMU, but it was not the Herd's first OT outing. Marshall is now 5-0 all-time in OT. with a 27-24 win over Western Carolina in 1990 that was played to break a tie for the Southern Conference Title, another 20-17 win over Western Carolina in the NCAA Division 1-AA playoffs that same year, a 28-21 win over James Madison in the 1994 playoffs, and a thrilling 64-61 double-overtime win against East Carolina in the 2001 GMAC Bowl make up Marshall's overtime wins.
Airing it Out: Marshall leads C-USA and ranks among the national leaders in passing yards per game with 314.2.
Mr. Versatility: Marshall sophomore running back Ahmad Bradshaw, a Doak Walker Award Candidate and a Bluefield, Va., native, ranks 8th in C-USA in all purpose yards per game with 102.2 and fourth in scoring with four TDs. He is Marshall's leading rusher with 176 yards and three touchdowns and Marshall's leading receiver with 29 catches for 229 yards and a score.
Third Down Struggles: Marshall is having a tough time converting on third downs through the first four games of the season. The Herd has managed to convert on only 14 of 54 third downs this season (26%) and that figure ranks last among the 12 teams in C-USA. Marshall's opponents meanwhile are converting at a 44% rate (28-64).
Youngest Herd in 28 Years: Marshall only has six returning starters from last season's 6-6 team and only14 seniors on the 2005 roster. In addition to this, Marshall is starting 16 players who are in the first year as starters. This is the most ever first-time starters since Marshall moved to Division 1-A status in 1997. The last time the Thundering Herd played with this many first-year starters was in 1977 when Frank Ellwood's team had 16 first-year starters. That 1977 squad, ironically, was playing in its first season as a member of the Southern Conference and posted a 2-9 overall record.
QUOTES FROM COACH SNYDER'S WEEKLY TUESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
General comments
"We're extremely excited to head down to Blacksburg. It's always fun to play a team the caliber of Virginia Tech. On a personal note, I'm excited in my first year of coaching to go against a guy like Frank Beamer, who is one of my idols. I had the chance to visit with coach Beamer when I was a young coach back in about '98 and visit with him about his special teams. He shared with me and we adopted that philosophy everywhere I've been. We have tried to implement that here. We're not quite there yet. We haven't enough time yet. Come spring, the model of his special teams will be here. He's done a great job. His kids have been in his system four or five years and understand the system and they don't beat themselves. I think the quarterback is playing extremely well right now."
On Marcus Vick
"I think he's pretty good. He's been a model of consistency so far, which is a little shocking to me seeing how he hasn't played for a year. He's throwing the ball with pinpoint accuracy. I'm still marveling at his performance against West Virginia, something like 15-of-17. He's had one interception this year. He's been a model of consistency and you think of the Vicks and you think of running, but he's been throwing the ball extremely well."
What quarterback have you coached against that is like Vick?
"The closest quarterback that I have coached against would be (Indiana's) Antwaan Randle El, but Antwaan did not throw the ball with the consistency that this kid is right now. That would be the closest I could think of."
Would you like to see Bernie Morris take baby steps or big steps this week?
"I would like to see him continue to get better and continue to take reps and eliminate mistakes - just like Virginia Tech has done with Marcus - and be consistent. That's what I would like to see and we have a great example in the team we're going to see this week. Hopefully we can change that with consistency and defense."
Offensively what worked in fourth quarter and overtime that did not work in first three quarters against SMU?
"In the overtime period, I don't know if we did anything special. Bernie made a couple plays, like he did earlier, but they just weren't as magnified as they were in overtime. He made some nice runs, but one was called back because of a clip. He made good decisions in overtime, just like he did the whole game. The big, big play last week was the third-and-10. That was the play of the game."
On visiting Lane Stadium
"It's going to be exciting. I've never been to Lane Stadium. I've heard it's extremely loud and I'm looking forward to comparing it to some of the places I've been. Whatever the noise factor is, it's going to be disturbing for us. It is a concern, especially after UCF when it kind of caught us off guard a little bit. We'll work on that this week.
A number of your players are from Virginia. This must be a special game for them.
"It really is. I'm excited for them and I'll be shocked if they don't go out and play extremely hard having the chance to go home."
Chris Royal gets to play against his brother, which also must be exciting.
"I'm sure Chris is really excited. For the first time, his mom gets both sons on the same field, so it will be a neat experience for the whole family. I just hope Chris can catch Eddie."
Will Donte' Newsome be with the team this week?
"Don't know. I'll know a little bit more after tomorrow's practice. I don't think he's going to practice today, but we'll see when we get to practice today.
Do you have to tell them not to be too wide-eyed going into Virginia Tech?
"Anytime you get to go against the number three team in the country its big. It's been our history around here that we've played very well, except the last time we went to Blacksburg, and I was going to show the team that film until I looked at it. And I don't think I'm going to show our guys that film. Besides that game, historically we've gone into some big places and played extremely well. Hopefully that will continue."
On Marcus Vick
"I think he's showing a lot of poise. You see him bringing a little something different to the table every week. I've been extremely, extremely impressed with Marcus Vick and I don't often say that in guys after four games."
Ian O'Connor has been a little up and down this year. How do you expect him to play?
"We'll see once we get there. It would be a great boost for him to boot some field goals in that nasty environment down there. It would be a great confidence boost for him.
Can you make an observation about the coaching talent you are seeing this season?
"It's competitive as far as players too. That's what makes this an exciting time for me and an exciting time for our players. I'm excited to go against coach Beamer. It's going to be fun and to match wits with guys who are at the top of their profession, as well as one of the premier players in the country. I use the analogy that I got to see (Michigan's) Chad Henne and Mike Hart last year grow up right in front of the Big Ten's eyes and now I've had the opportunity to see four games of Marcus Vick. He's having an outstanding year and I think if you ask coach Beamer and that staff, they would agree that there's some talent there. If he continues to play well, they're going to be tough to beat."
