Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Herd hits road to face Hokies with streaks on the line
11/30/2018 10:00:00 AM | Football, Word on the Herd
Marshall and Virginia Tech play non-conference football game Saturday at noon
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The stakes are high for Virginia Tech when Marshall visits Lane Stadium this Saturday at noon.
The Hokies, 5-6 overall, are searching for a sixth win and bowl eligibility in a non-conference game that is the regular season finale for both teams. The Thundering Herd, 8-3 overall with a three-game winning streak, is secure in its bowl fate, although the destination is still unknown. That does not mean, however, that Marshall has a lack of motivation for a road date with an Atlantic Coast Conference school.
"It's always a motivation to win any game," junior safety Malik Gant said. "Just to have the extra incentives behind it pushes us even more."
The extra incentive Gant references is spoiling Virginia Tech's 25-year bowl streak. The Hokies have reached bowl season each year since the 1993 Independence Bowl, a game in which Virginia Tech defeated Indiana, 45-20, with current Herd assistants Cornell Brown and J.C. Price leading the defensive line for the Hokies. Florida State had reached a bowl in 36 consecutive seasons, but finished the season 5-7.
Virginia Tech has lost five of seven since a 3-1 start to the season, putting its 25-year streak in peril. The next longest streak belongs to Georgia, which has now reached a bowl game in 22 straight years.
The Marshall-Virginia Tech game came about after both schools had a September matchup wiped out because of inclement weather. The schools announced Sunday, Nov. 18, that a conditional matchup had been agreed upon if the Hokies reached its fifth win in its final ACC game. Virginia Tech defeated in-state rival, Virginia, 34-31 in overtime last Friday to make the matchup a reality.
The Herd had traveled to Miami to face FIU the following day, and players and coaches were gathered in a ballroom at the team hotel for dinner when the Hokies-Cavaliers unfolded on national television.
"During dinner we had two or three TVs on watching it and the whole room was cheering whenever Virginia Tech would score because we were looking forward to playing this game," said Ryan Bee, a fifth-year senior and team captain.
At the surface, it might seem Marshall has little to gain by playing Virginia Tech, which has won eight consecutive games in the series. But MU athletic director Mike Hamrick brokered a deal to secure a future home-and-home series with the Hokies as part of the agreement. That is a long-range benefit to the athletic department, but there are achievements to be had in the near-term.
This Saturday is typically reserved for conference championship matchups, so there are fewer games to command the eyeballs of football-hungry Americans, who watched a reported 48.4 billion minutes of football last week.
"It's a great opportunity on a big stage," Bee said. "There's probably only a few games on Saturday and we're on at noon."
There are, in fact, 16 games that include FBS teams on this Saturday, a number inflated slightly by other teams making up games cancelled because of inclement weather throughout the season. Marshall, too, can still reach a 10-win season with wins against Virginia Tech and in the bowl game against an opponent that has yet to be determined.
But for players like Bee, the motivation to face the Hokies is simple. It does not have anything to do with streaks or signature victories.
"I get to put the Herd uniform on one more time," Bee said.
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Marshall coach Doc Holliday has made at least a dozen trips to Lane Stadium from his time as an assistant coach at other institutions, plus a previous visit as head coach of the Herd.
There are other ties, too.
The aforementioned Brown, who coaches defensive ends at Marshall, and Price, who handles the defensive tackles, were stars for the Hokies when the program's bowl streak began in 1993. Brown was a true freshman on that '93 team, and became one of the greatest pass rushers in program history. He had his No. 58 retired at Virginia Tech on Nov. 20, 2002.
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Notes:
*This is Virginia Tech's first December game at Lane Stadium since 2001, when the Hokies lost to top-ranked Miami. Marshall is 20-3 in its last 23 December games, including 6-1 under Holliday.
*Marshall has outscored opponents 74-22 in the first quarter. The defense, which earlier this season had a streak of 11 consecutive games without allowing a first quarter touchdown, has allowed one touchdown and five field goals in 11 games this season. Five MU opponents have failed to score in the opening 15 minutes. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, has been outscored 77-3 in the third quarter of its last five games at Lane Stadium.
*The Herd defense is one of three FBS teams that rank in the top 25 nationally in these six categories: Total defense, pass defense, rush defense, scoring defense, sacks and takeaways. The first three defensive category ranks are according to average yards per play. The other two schools on the list are Miami and Iowa.
*The Marshall defense has improved as the season has progressed. Using only November's stats (four games), Marshall ranked No. 3 nationally in total defense, No. 4 in rush defense and No. 5 in pass defense.
*The Herd remains one of four teams that has yet to allow a 100-yard rusher this season, along with Clemson, Northern Illinois and Southern Mississippi. Virginia Tech has not produced a 100-yard rusher in eight games, dating back to the Hokies' 49-35 loss at Old Dominion, when leading rusher Steven Peoples carries 20 times for 156 yards.
*Fast starts continue to help the Herd. Marshall has won 17 consecutive games when scoring first, and the Herd is 37-1 overall when scoring first dating back to the opening of the 2013 season. MU has a 6-0 record this season when leading after the first quarter.
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).
