Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Seasons change, but Herd D still tops in the nation
10/6/2020 1:02:00 AM | Football, Word on the Herd
Marshall football ranks No. 1 in scoring defense among FBS teams
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Much has changed since the Marshall football team last played a game.
That game was last month – way back on Sept. 19 – and it was the twilight of summertime. Appalachian State was still ranked before the Mountaineers lost to the Thundering Herd, and then Marshall slipped into the Top 25. Back then, Oklahoma was in a familiar position – undefeated and in the top five nationally. Now, the Sooners received fewer points than the Herd from this week's Associated Press voters.
What hasn't changed: Marshall remains the No. 1 scoring defense in the country, allowing 3.5 points per game. Notre Dame is second, Air Force is third, Georgia is fourth and BYU rounds out the top five. Not bad company.
But consider this: Marshall is No. 5 in total defense, allowing 265.0 yards per game. The team balances that between pass defense (No. 12, 174.0 yards per game) and rush defense (No. 13, 91.00 yards per game). There are only four other teams that rank in the top 15 nationally in those four major team defensive categories: BYU, Pittsburgh, Air Force and Oklahoma State.
"It is their approach to their daily work," said Brad Lambert, Marshall's second-year defensive coordinator. "They have really worked hard under some difficult situations, and then watch them come out and how hard they play and how fast they play. That's been the fun thing for me to watch. They've been really, really locked in."
The numbers back up Lambert's words.
So far, the Herd defense has been on the field for 21 drives. EKU was shut out in its 10 offensive trips, ending drives on punts (six times), turnover on downs (twice), an interception and a missed field goal.
Appalachian State took its first possession 11 plays for 85 yards in five minutes and 18 seconds, scoring for the first time this season against the Herd defense. After that, though, Marshall buckled down, forcing six punts, coming up with an interception and a fumble, and forcing a Mountaineers' missed field goal.
App State averaged 7.73 yards per play on the opening drive, but 4.74 yards per play thereafter.
The numbers were even more staggering in the run game, which had historically been a source of strength for Appalachian State. The Mountaineers rushed 33 times for 96 yards, an average of 2.9 yards per rush.
For comparison, the App State run ground produced 308 yards and four touchdowns in the season opener win against another Conference USA opponent, Charlotte. On. Sept. 26, the Mountaineers bounced back with 404 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns against Campbell, giving the program 30 consecutive wins when rushing for 200-plus yards.
"Our guys up front are playing extremely well and we're getting so much production out of Tavante (Beckett) right now," Lambert said. "He's playing at a really high level; just makes so many plays for us."
Beckett, a 5-foot-10, 214-pound senior linebacker, earned Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week honors and was named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Appalachian State.
Beckett said the team isn't focused on numbers or the margin of victory this Saturday at Western Kentucky, the C-USA opener for the Herd.
"Most importantly, we just want to win," he said Monday. "we want to dominate and we want to keep what we've been doing, keep that ball rolling. We want to set the tone with the first conference game.
"But if we win by 1 point, it's still a win in the column."
Marshall is 2-0 overall with only league games left on the schedule. Keeping the conference record perfect will be a more likely result if the defense can perform like it did in the first two games.
"You want to keep them out of the end zone; that's the name of the game on defense, try to not let them score," Lambert said. "Our guys have done a good job of that. They are playing hard, playing fast, playing smart. They've done a good job of keeping people out of the end zone. I'm really proud of how hard they are playing and how hard they are practicing."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and an eight-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).
