Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Strength meets strength in Christmas Day Camellia Bowl
12/24/2020 3:46:00 PM | Football, Word on the Herd
Marshall faces Buffalo on Friday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
Here's a gift for Christmas Day.
The nation's No. 1 rushing offense faces college football's No. 2 rushing defense in an ESPN bowl battle on Friday afternoon. Marshall (7-2) faces Buffalo (5-1) in Montgomery, Alabama, in the Camellia Bowl. The Thundering Herd has been among the nation's top defenses against the run in 2020, and the Bulls have been an explosive, high-scoring offense with not one but two running backs averaging more than 100 yards per game.
Whew.
"It's going to be a tough chore for us," Marshall defensive coordinator Brad Lambert said. "They really execute at a high level. Their offensive line has experience. They do a good job of executing their schemes. They'll be really similar to UAB and App State. Tackling is going to be at a premium.
"We're going to have to come out and play fast and tackle extremely well because these two backs can make you miss in the open field. They do run the ball and are a run-first team, but they're pretty efficient throwing the ball. They can present some problems for you."
Marshall held each of its first seven opponents under 100 rushing yards as a team, winning all seven games. The Mid-American Conference Bulls, who won five consecutive games to start the season before falling in the MAC title game, rank No. 1 in rushing offense at 309.5 yards per game. The Bulls' 7.23 yards per carry nearly a yard better than any other team. Buffalo has scored 30 rushing touchdowns in a shortened six-game season.
The two backs leading the charge are Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks, Jr. Patterson rushed for 1,072 yards and 19 touchdowns. Marks Jr. ran for 603 yards and six touchdowns as a complementary piece in the backfield. Patterson was the MAC's MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. He rushed for a touchdown in all six games and followed up a ho-hum 301-yard rushing performance at Bowling Green with a 409-yard rushing performance against Kent State.
Patterson leads the nation in average yards rushing per game.
"He's really got good vision and he can make you miss," Lambert said. "They do a good job up front. They do good job with their scheme. They are a complete offense."
Indeed. The Bulls' run game success is not only because of backs who are hard to bring down. Left tackle Kayode Awosika and center Mike Novitsky were first team All-MAC selections. PFF College named Buffalo's entire offensive line to its first team.
Not only did UB rank first in the nation in rushing yards per game, but the Bulls are No. 3 in scoring offense at 47.8 points per game. Buffalo is No. 9 in total offense.
Before the Bulls' loss in the MAC title game, the team had scored 49, 42, 42, 70 and 56 points in regular season play.
"They have two really good backs," Marshall linebacker Abraham Beauplan said. "They are fast and very elusive and shifty guys. They run the ball a lot, so we're going to have to stop the run."
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Buffalo has an explosive offense, which will collide with Marshall's stingy defense. The Herd has not allowed a running play longer than 35 yards this season. Buffalo is tied for fourth nationally with 11 rushing plays of 50-yards or more.
The teams in front of Buffalo on the list of 50-yard runs have played 12 games (Appalachian State), 11 games (North Carolina and Louisville), 10 games (Arkansas) and nine games (Nevada and Ole Miss). Buffalo has only played six games.
The Bulls are No. 2 in 40-yard rushing plays with 10. The leader, App State, has 13 in 12 games.
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By the time Marshall kicks it off with Buffalo on Christmas Day, it will be seven months and five days since a majority of the football team will have returned to campus. There was an automatic quarantine period that followed, plus testing and a medical evaluation before student-athletes were cleared for offseason workouts. Players have endured constant testing for the coronavirus and have not been allowed to travel, mingle with friends or see family.
"It's been very difficult," Beauplan said. "You don't get to go home and be with your family and your parents and your little siblings. We have team chemistry, though. We're like a family. That really helps a lot."
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The Marshall offense has averaged 1.63 points per quarter over the last two games. Grant Wells, Marshall's quarterback and the Conference USA Freshman of the Year, has shouldered the blame for those struggles. He has the solution, too.
"From the get-go we need to make plays," he said this week. "Whether that's a 5-yard completion or a 10-yard run, whatever that is to get the spark going in this offense. We only need one spark, whether that's a completion or a good catch or a broken tackle, all this offense needs is one spark and we're going."
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Buffalo allowed 30 points in the season opener at Northern Illinois. Kent State scored 41 points. Ball State added 38 points in the MAC championship game.
Most might see an opportunity for Marshall's offense to have a big day, but Buffalo has challenges it can present. While Marshall ranks No. 4 nationally with 4.42 yards per play allowed, the Bulls are in the top half of college football with 5.37 yards per play allowed. That ranks No. 38 nationally.
Buffalo ranks No. 36 nationally in sacks per game with 16 in six games. Marshall is No. 32 this season.
"They're a good defense," Marshall offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey said. "They are not a big blitz operation. They play a couple different coverages. They play solid, disciplined football. Very good defensive line. They're a good defense which feeds off the offense. They are in the same boat as us. They played the same night as us. They did not win. They found out (about the bowl) Sunday just like we did. They're probably itching to get on the field just like we are."
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).
