Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Takeaways key in FAU-Marshall football matchup
10/17/2019 12:05:00 PM | Football, Word on the Herd
Owls and Thundering Herd play Friday night on CBS Sports Network
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Brad Lambert has a sunny disposition. He looks at the bright side of things. Maybe the Sunshine State is where his defense will heat up when it comes to takeaways.
"We work on it and work on it and work on it, and I think the biggest problem we've had is that we can't build any momentum with turnovers," said Lambert, Marshall's defensive coordinator. "We had an opportunity at Middle Tennessee, we had two in our hands, and that can affect you. You want to create turnovers and you work on it, and sometimes they don't come your way. We've got to keep rallying the ball and try to get the ball out, and when we have opportunities, we've got to make them."
The Football Bowl Subdivision level has 130 teams, and only four have fewer takeaways than Marshall (3-3 overall, 1-1 Conference USA), which plays here at Florida Atlantic on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network.
The Thundering Herd hasn't forced a turnover in two games, and hasn't had an interception in its last four games. Marshall has not had an interception in the first half, and the current streak is 104 passes attempted the opposition without a pick.
"We're focusing on working together and executing the plan," said Omari Cobb, a senior linebacker. "Takeaways come after that. We always focus on trying to get the ball, trying to create fumbles and turnovers. We're really just executing the calls."
Marshall had a fumble recovery against Boise State, Ohio and Cincinnati, and interceptions against VMI and Boise State. Jaylon McClain-Sapp is responsible for one of those interceptions, and Cobb the other.
"We have got to create more turnovers from a defensive standpoint," Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. "We're going to work hard to get that done."
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FAU (4-2 overall, 2-0 Conference USA) has had plenty of takeaways. The Owls are No. 1 in Conference USA with eight interceptions, including six in the past two games, but rank last in the league in passing defense.
Florida Atlantic's style is high-risk, high-reward. That led to three interceptions at Charlotte and three interceptions in last Saturday's win against Middle Tennessee. FAU won both games.
"They do a good job in the secondary," said Tim Cramsey, Marshall's offensive coordinator. "They made some big plays to get some pressure on the quarterback and force the quarterbacks they've played to make some bad decisions. We need to do a good job of holding onto the football."
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Friday's matchup will be a battle of sophomore quarterbacks. Last December, Marshall's Isaiah Green and FAU's Chris Robison shared Conference USA Freshman of the Year honors. It was the third time in league history that a pair of freshmen have shared the honor, but the first time it was shared by QBs.
This season, Robison is second in the league in passing with 1,557 yards, 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. Green has 1,171 yards and eight touchdowns. Robison has thrown two picks in 208 attempts – one against UCF and one against Charlotte.
Robison is averaging 300.5 passing yards per game with 12 touchdowns against one interception during FAU's four-game winning streak.
"He's done a good job throwing the ball," Holliday said of Robison. "You can see he's matured. He was a freshman a year ago, as our guy was. He's matured and made some progress."
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Marshall sophomore Darius Hodge had a record-tying game against Old Dominion, piling up 4.5 sacks to equal a 33-year-old school mark. For his efforts, Hodge was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week.
As a result, Hodge shot up the national rankings for sacks by an individual player. Hodge, with 6.0 sacks this season, is tied for No. 8 nationally with nine others. Boise State's Curtis Weaver is the national leader with 9.0 sacks this season.
"We have a lot of work to do as a team, so I'm not really focused on that record right now," Hodge said. "We have a lot of team goals to finish."
Hodge entered the ODU game with 3.5 career sacks. Now he is one back from the C-USA lead, trailing Western Kentucky's DeAngelo Malone, who has 7.0 in six games.
"He's an explosive young kid who is very athletic," Holliday said of Hodge. "He does a good job of rushing the passer. Let's see if we can get back-to-back games like that out of him."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a seven-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).
