Marshall University Athletics
Football Hosts C-USA West Division Leader SMU Saturday
11/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 18, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Marshall will host C-USA West Division Leader SMU on Saturday in the final home game for 15 Thundering Herd senior football players. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Marshall will honor its senior class during pre-game introductions on Saturday. Marshall will pay tribute to 15 seniors who will be taking the field at Joan C. Edwards Stadium for the last time. They are: Daniel Baldridge, James Burkes, Montel Glasco, Craig Ratanamorn, John Jacobs, Ashton Hall, Albert McClellan, Lyndl Jones, Jimmy Rogers, Cody Slate, Andre Portis, Josh Miller, John Saunders, Sean McClellan and Brandon Burns. Courtney Edmonson, who is a senior, was injured in the opener and will apply for a medical hardship waiver with the NCAA following the season and therefore will not take part in the senior day tribute.
Marshall and SMU will be meeting for only the third time on Saturday and the series is currently tied at 1-1. Marshall defeated SMU 16-13 in overtime on October 1, 2005 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium (The Herd's first conference game as a member of C-USA) and dropped a 31-23 decision to SMU in Dallas on Oct. 14, 2006.
Second-year head coach June Jones has brought his high-powered offense to SMU and it shows statistically. The Mustangs are averaging 378.3 yards and 27.8 points per game. SMU stands a top the C-USA West Division standings with a league mark of 5-1 and the Mustangs are bowl eligible with an overall record of 6-4. One of SMU's top play makers is wide receiver/punt returner Emmanuel Sanders who leads all active NCAA FBS players in career receiving touchdowns with 32. Sanders has 77 catches for 977 yards and five touchdowns this season to go along with 13 punt returns for 211 yards and a TD. Defensively, Chase Kennemer has 104 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two interceptions to his credit and Rock Dennis leads the Mustangs with four interceptions.
Marshall is coming off of a 27-20 home loss to Southern Miss, while SMU is coming off of a 35-31 home win over UTEP. SMU is now in sole possession of first place in C-USA West at 5-1 and is 6-4 overall. Marshall is now 5-5 overall and 3-3 in C-USA. All three C-USA losses for the Herd have come by 7 points or less and to C-USA East Division members that are now all bowl eligible. Marshall lost to league leader and defending C-USA Champion East Carolina by four points (21-17), UCF by one point (21-10) and dropped last week's game to Southern Miss by 7 points (27-20).
The Thundering Herd also suffered a huge loss when All-America and Mackey Award Semi-finalist Cody Slate went down with a season-ending ACL tear in his right knee. Slate, who entered last week's game leading all FBS tight ends in receiving yards and catches, sustained the injury in the first quarter of the Herd's 27-20 loss to Southern Miss. The injury forced him from the game after only two catches for 25 yards. Slate will miss the remainder of the 2009 season and his collegiate career.
Slate, a senior from Chipley, Fla., has accumulated 2,619 receiving yards and 23 TD receptions in his career. He is one of eight semi-finalists for the John Mackey Award and with his performance in the 2009 opener against Southern Illinois, passed former MU standout Sean Doctor's career total of 2,100 receiving yards to become the top receiving tight end in Marshall History. His 2,619 career receiving yards put him 8th all-time at Marshall and his 199 career receptions are the sixth most in MU history.
Slate is the only tight end that is ranked among the NCAA's active career statistical leaders in all of the major categories. Slate ranks among the NCAA active career leaders in catches (199), rec. yards (2,619), rec. touchdowns (23). No other tight end in the country appears on all three of those lists.
The Thundering Herd has the opportunity to post its first winning season since 2003 and is in need of just one more win to gaurantee its first non-losing season since 2004 and secure conditional bowl eligibility with two games remaining (home to SMU and at UTEP) in the regular season. Currently, C-USA has five bowl eligible teams (Houston, SMU, East Carolina, UCF and Southern Miss).
Herd kicker Craig Ratanamorn is one of 20 semi-finalists for the Lou Groza Award (national kicker of the year) and is one of three kickers chosen as this week's Lou Groza Award Stars of the Week. Ratanamorn hit a season-long 46 yard field goal and added another from 27 yards to remain perfect of the year. He is 13-for-13 in field goal tries and is 24-for-24 on extra points this season. No other kicker in the nation with 10 or more attempts is still perfect on the year in field goal tries and no other kicker is perfect in both field goals and PATs. In fact, Houston's Matt Hogan (9-for-9) is the only other kicker in the NCAA FBS statistical rankings without a missed field goal.
Junior running back Darius Marshall continues to rank among the top rushers in the nation. He currently ranks second in Conference USA and ranks 11th nationally in rushing yards per game with 117.11 yards per game. Marshall, an outstanding kick returner, also ranks 10th in the nation in all-purpose yards with 172.56 yards per game. Marshall suffered an ankle injury that limited him and eventually forced him out of last week's game with Southern Miss. He managed only 22 yards on 11 carries vs. the Golden Eagles.
TELEVISION INFORMATION: The game will not be televised.
INTERNET: A live video stream from the stadium video board and audio from the Thundering Herd/ISP Radio Network is available to subscribers through Herd All-Access at Herdzone.com.
THUNDER WALK: The pre-game "Thunder Walk" is scheduled to start approximately two hours prior to kickoff at 2:30 p.m. The route begins in front of Hodges Hall of the Marshall campus, continues in front of the new student recreation center before crossing into the Stadium West Lot. Fans are encouraged to line the route to cheer on the team as it makes its way to the locker room.
FAN APPRECIATION DAY: Fans who buy two tickets for Saturday's contest will receive a third ticket free as part of Marshall's fan appreciation day promotion. Call 1-800-THE-HERD for more information. This offer is valid for advance ticket sales only and is not available on game day.
FACULTY AND STAFF APPRECIATION SPECIAL: All Marshall University faculty and staff members are eligible to receive two free tickets and can by two tickets half-off with a valid University ID at the Cam Henderson Center Ticket Office. Call 1-800-THE-HERD for details. This offer is valid for advance ticket sales only and is not available on game day.
PROMOTIONAL ITEMS: The first 3,000 fans at Saturday's game will receive a Marshall University Football Seniors Photo courtesy of Aaron's Business Solutions. The first 1,000 Youth (Age 12 and Under) will receive a 10-trading card set featuring Marshall University Football Players courtesy of Wal-Mart.
