Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Marshall-Middle Tennessee meet for upper hand in C-USA
10/5/2018 9:21:00 AM | Football, Word on the Herd
Teams kickoff Friday night at 7:30 in Huntington
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Mere inches separated Friday night's game between Marshall and Middle Tennessee from a battle of teams winless in Conference USA to what it is – a matchup of first-place programs.
The Thundering Herd (3-1, 1-0 C-USA) hosts the Blue Raiders (2-2, 1-0 C-USA) at 7:30 p.m., on CBS Sports Network. Marshall escaped its conference opener at Western Kentucky, 20-17, on a combination of a go-ahead touchdown with 1:44 left of the game and a strip-sack and fumble recovery with 24 seconds left to stay perfect in league play. Middle Tennessee rallied from an 18-point deficit, scored a touchdown with 38 seconds left of the fourth quarter and then opted to go for 2 and the win to beat FAU, 25-24.
MU coach Doc Holliday watched the film of MT senior quarterback Brent Stockstill, who ran for 7 yards on fourth-and-2 to extend the game-winning drive, and then rolled to his left and flicked the ball to Gatlin Casey for the decisive points.
"He made two just unbelievable plays," Holliday said of Stockstill. "He sprints out on fourth-and-2 and gets the first down there to continue the drive. Then that 2-point play he made at the end of the game to win it for them, guy was right in his face and he throws across his body to the tight end to make a play. He's a handful."
Those are season-altering plays in a competitive Conference USA. Marshall was predicted to finish second in the East Division, one spot ahead of Middle Tennessee. Now those teams are in a three-way tie for first with Florida International, while defending league champion FAU is farther down the standings. Suddenly, teams that looked up to FAU in the preseason poll can see a clearer path to the league championship game.
That adds to the stakes at Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Friday night.
"We felt that it was wide open already," Marshall senior offensive lineman Jordan Dowrey said. "Across the board, this is a very competitive conference and teams are evenly matched. At the end of the day, there's good matchups every single week. Every team you're playing against is good."
OPPOSING PLAYER TO WATCH
Stockstill, a lefty, will get his first shot at Marshall since 2015. In 2016, he was injured against UTSA the week before MT was to play at Marshall. Last season, Stockstill returned the week after the Herd went to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and routed the Blue Raiders on a Friday night.
"He's missed a couple years there where he had some injury issues," Holliday said. "He's the guy who makes them go."
Stockstill enters Friday's game 67 passing yards shy of 10,000 for his career. He has thrown a touchdown in 27 consecutive games. He is the Middle Tennessee record holder for career passing attempts, completions, passing yards per game, consecutive completions, 300-yard passing games, 400-yard passing games and total offense. If he eclipses 10,000 career passing yards, he will be the 11th player in C-USA history to accomplish the feat.
"He makes plays," Holliday said. "He's very accurate. When things do break down he's going to take off with it. He never slides. When he gets that ball in his hands, he's not going to slide and get down. He's like a running back. You can't give him easy access throws. He'll thread the needle. He's a challenge because he can beat you with his feet and get on the perimeter."
STAT TO KNOW
Marshall senior defensive lineman Ryan Bee is on the cusp of joining elite company. The 6-foot-7, 280-pound defensive lineman recorded two sacks at WKU, giving him 16.0 for his career.
With his next sack, Bee will join the top 10 in sacks in program history. BJ Cohen, with 51.0 sacks from 1994-97, is the runaway leader in the category. He is followed by Billy Lyon (30.0, 1993-96), Johnathan Goddard (27.5, 2001-04), Vinny Curry (26.5, 2008-11), John Duncan (23.0, 1993-96), Cecil Fletcher (23.0, 1985-87), Jamus Martin (19.5, 2001-04), Gary Thompson (19.0, 2013-16) and Rodney Garrett (16.5, 1990-93).
Bee has two sacks in two games this season. He has 168 tackles, 24.5 tackles for a loss and four fumble recoveries in his four-year career. The strip-sack against WKU was his first career forced fumble.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
It doesn't get any better than redshirt junior Alex Locklear, who started and played 74 snaps at Western Kentucky last Saturday, describing the feeling of getting the opportunity to play.
"Everything is centered around our team, and I love being on this team. The feel in the locker room; being around the guys. It's more of a friendship than your teammate. Whenever you get out there and you get to have fun with your friends, it's hard to explain. You work out with these guys and you go through the most grueling workouts in the offseason, and then you get to go out there and play ball. Obviously, I was pretty excited."
FOLLOW ALONG
As always, at home or on the road, the Marshall athletic department will provide in-game updates through social media websites Twitter and Facebook. Please follow me on Twitter – @chuckmcgill or www.twitter.com/chuckmcgill – and Marshall's official football account – @HerdFB or www.twitter.com/HerdFB. Questions are welcome on Twitter or by emailing mcgillc@marshall.edu
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a six-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
