Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Virginia Tech
MCGILL: Herd falls at Virginia Tech, awaits bowl fate
12/1/2018 4:03:00 PM | Football, Word on the Herd
Brenden Knox rushes for 204 yards in loss
BLACKSBURG, Va. – As the fog cascaded down the aluminum bleachers inside Lane Stadium in the minutes before Saturday's game here, something ominous seemed afoot.
By the time the thin, white cloud had lifted during the second half, host Virginia Tech had the game in hand and its nation-leading bowl streak was intact following a 41-20 win against Marshall. The sounds of Metallica had barely stopped reverberating inside the 65,632-seat stadium when the Hokies forced a turnover six seconds into the game, and Virginia Tech parlayed that early miscue into a lead it would not relinquish.
"Early there in the first half we turned the ball a couple of times and put our ourselves in a little bit of a hole and it was too deep to get out of it," Marshall coach Doc Holliday said.
The single game contract signed in November by the athletic directors at each school was a victory for the Marshall football program, which secured a 12th regular season game and future home-and-home series with the Atlantic Coast Conference school. But in keeping with the low visibility of under a mile at kickoff and dark, overcast skies, the sun didn't find the Herd often enough on this day.
Marshall entered on a three-game winning streak and 20-3 in the program's last 23 December matchups. The Thundering Herd had largely been successful when the turnover margin was not much of an eyesore – 0-3 before Saturday when MU was minus-two in turnovers; 8-0 in every other game. But turnovers plagued the Marshall offense twice in the first quarter, and a pass defense that had not allowed a touchdown through the air in three games – 219 minutes and 28 seconds of game clock, to be exact – gave up four passing scores to Virginia Tech quarterback Ryan Willis in the first half alone.
The Herd (8-4) trailed at halftime, 31-6, which at the time was the team's largest deficit this season. Virginia Tech (6-6) reached bowl eligibility, extending the nation's longest streak to 26 years.
A bright spot for Marshall was freshman running back Brenden Knox, whose hard-nosed running style helped him emerge as the starting running back last month. Knox carried 15 times for 158 yards in the first half alone, highlighted by a 67-yard run, the longest rush of the season by any Herd player. He finished with 27 attempts for 204 rushing yards, his third 100-yard game in four appearances as a running back.
Knox helped Marshall to 452 yards of offense, two fewer than Virginia Tech's 454. The Herd finished minus-two in turnover margin and the offense was stopped twice on fourth down.
"Knox ran for over 200 yards and we moved the ball up and down the field, we just don't score enough points," Holliday said. "Give Virginia Tech credit. They played well and we made too many mistakes."
Redshirt freshman quarterback Isaiah Green rallied to finish with 220 passing yards a touchdown, extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one passing TD to nine games. On that play, Green found sophomore tight end Xavier Gaines for a 34-yard touchdown, Gaines' first collegiate score. Gaines and fellow tight end Armani Levias led the way in receiving, as Gaines finished with 54 yards and Levias posted a career-best 69 yards.
Defensively, linemen starred for the Herd. Junior defensive tackle Channing Hames recorded two sacks, which totaled 21 yards in losses for Virginia Tech. That sack yardage is tied for the fifth most in program history. Defensive end Ty Tyler, who leads Marshall in sacks this season with eight, also recorded a sack. Senior linebacker Chase Hancock registered a team-high 11 tackles.
Marshall outscored Virginia Tech 14-10 after halftime, but the opening possession of the game proved to be a harbinger for the Herd.
After the Hokies' faithful had calmed down following Virginia Tech's famed entrance into Lane Stadium, the home team won the coin toss and deferred decision until the second half. After a touchback, Marshall opened at the 25 and opted to test the Hokies' secondary out of the gate. But Green's right arm was hit as he dropped back to pass, resulting a fumble that was recovered by Virginia Tech's TyJuan Garbutt at the MU 17. The Hokies ran three plays and settled for a field goal to open scoring.
On the next MU possession, the Herd put together a lengthy drive and advanced the ball into the red zone. Marshall entered Saturday's game with recent red zone struggles, coming away with points in only six of the team's last 11 trips inside the 20. On third and 7 from the 9, Green again looked right, but the ball sailed over the head of junior receiver Obi Obialo and into the arms cornerback Bryce Watts. The Herd was minus-two in turnover margin before scoring a point, and a week after holding Virginia to 10 points in four trips to the red zone, the Hokies – the ACC's leader in takeaways inside the red zone – had another victory when it mattered most.
Marshall climbed within 4 points, at 10-6, when Knox followed his 67-yard run with a 2-yard score on the ground to end the first quarter. But Virginia Tech outscored the Herd by three touchdowns in the second quarter, and cruised from there.
Marshall will now await its bowl fate. The Thundering Herd will likely learn its destination and opponent by Sunday afternoon, and the team will begin planning and preparing to bounce back from Saturday's road loss. Marshall is 6-0 in bowl games since Mike Hamrick took over as athletic director before the 2009 season, and 5-0 since Hamrick hired Holliday to take over the football program after the '09 season.
"We've got to get ready to go play in a bowl game and find out where that is," Holliday said.
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).
