Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Forget the gifts, Lambert wants defense to stay stingy
12/3/2020 11:04:00 AM | Football, Word on the Herd
Marshall hosts Rice this Saturday on ESPN+
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – This is the season for giving, but Brad Lambert is a bit of a scrooge.
As the defensive coordinator for one of the top defenses in college football – Marshall enters this Saturday's game ranked No. 1 in scoring defense, No. 1 in rushing defense and No. 2 in total defense – Lambert traces his players' success back to one bah humbug of a statistic: gifts.
He'd rather the Herd pass on Santa's favorite pastime.
"No gifts," Lambert said. "You really look at the drive we've given up points … if there's a 15-yard penalty in a drive, 90 percent of the time it results in some sort of points. Those are just gifts. You hit a quarterback late; you hit somebody out of bounds. That's a huge thing for us defensively. Gifts are usually penalties or mental errors."
Marshall, which is ranked No. 15 in both major polls and No. 21 in the College Football Playoff rankings, enters this Saturday's game against Rice undefeated at 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Conference USA play. The Owls are 1-2 overall, playing only league games in an oft-interrupted season. The Herd is knocking on the door of the C-USA championship game in large part because of Lambert's defense, and the longtime coach is onto something about the stinginess of his MU defenders.
The Herd has allowed nine touchdowns and three field goals in seven games, a total of 71 points for an average of 10.1 points per game. That is 12 total scores in 28 quarters of football this season.
Eastern Kentucky, Marshall's season opening opponent, was shut out. Nationally ranked Appalachian State managed one touchdown, but there were two personal fouls by the Herd on that drive, including one in the red zone.
WKU opened the game with nine fruitless drives before scoring on the final play of the third quarter and with six seconds left of the fourth quarter, although neither drive was aided by what Lambert terms "gifts." That changed the next week when Louisiana Tech benefited from two pass interference plays on its first touchdown drive.
Florida Atlantic scored twice – a touchdown and a field goal – in its 9-point showing against the Herd, but the first score was helped by a pass interference call. Later, a drive ended in a field goal after a Marshall defender was offsides on a third-and-17 play, setting up a shorter third down and convertible fourth down.
UMass benefited from a couple of "trick" plays, but there was also a 15-yard facemask penalty and a pass interference in the red zone on one of its scoring drives. Middle Tennessee scored two touchdowns, the first aided by a personal foul and the second a defensive holding call.
Overall, eight of the 12 drives in which the Marshall defense has allowed points this season has featured a so-called gift.
"Those are huge," Lambert said. "We talk to the guys about it every day. We don't want to give them anything. This game is hard enough on defense, and when you start giving them anything it makes it harder."
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Marshall has not played since its win against Middle Tennessee on Nov. 14, so there has been plenty of time to prepare for Rice. The Owls' offense will provide a different look to the Herd defense, including the rare use of a fullback.
"The biggest thing is our guys getting accustomed to it because most of the guys on our team haven't played against a fullback," Lambert said. "That's not where football is right now, whether high school or college. We've been off for a couple of weeks so we've had plenty of time to show them things and get them accustomed to it. Rice wants to have a power running game and get downhill."
Rice has 131 rushing attempts in three games, an average of nearly 44 carries per game. The Owls are averaging 3.14 yards per rush.
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Rice struggled in the passing game against Marshall last season, completing 11 of 26 attempts for 103 yards.
The Owls are unlikely to slump in that regard in 2020.
TCU transfer quarterback Mike Collins has been impressive in three appearances for the Owls. Collins has completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 802 yards and 10 touchdowns. He tossed four touchdown passes in each of his first two games, and then piled up a season-high 327 passing yards against North Texas.
"The one thing where they're a little different this year is they've got that transfer quarterback in there that has given them some stability," Marshall head coach Doc Holliday said. "He can make all of the throws."
Collins, a graduate student, is 6 feet, 5 inches tall and 217 pounds. This will not be his first start in the Mountain State. Collins appeared in nine games in 2018, including four starts. He had 229 passing yards and a touchdown in a loss at No. 20 West Virginia on Nov. 10, 2018.
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).
