Marshall Thundering Herd
Conference USA
Marshall snuck into a bowl game following a thrilling overtime victory over ECU. That gave the Thundering Herd a 6-6 record during Coach Doc Holliday’s second season in Huntington, West Virginia. This is a team that rarely blew anybody out, with the lone exception coming against UAB at home. Yet, the defense seems more than willing to give up a lot of points. In fact, despite the .500 record, the Thundering Herd was outscored by the opposition by nearly 100 points.
2011 Record: 6-6, 5-3
Last Bowl Appearance: 2010 Beef O’Brady Bowl vs. Louisville (L 28-31)
Big Wins: 9/10 Southern Miss (26-20), 10/1 at Louisville (17-13)
Bad Losses: 9/17 at Ohio (7-44), 10/8 at UCF (6-16)
Coach: Doc Holliday (11-13 at Marshall, 11-13 overall)
Bowl Record: 0-0 at Marshall, 0-0 overall
Offensive Coordinator: Bill Legg and Tony Petersen
Defensive Coordinator: Chris Rippon
Strengths:
The defensive line, most notably Vinny Curry, is the reason Marshall fought their way into the postseason. Curry will be playing on Sunday’s next year and spent a ton of time in the opposing backfield. He tallied 11.0 sacks, 21.0 tackles-for-loss, forced six fumbles and blocked three kicks. The 6-4 senior is a difference maker and when Marshall wins, he usually has something to do with it. With players like George Carpenter, Tyson Gale and Delvin Johnson also pushing into the backfield, the Thundering Herd is consistently making the opposing quarterback nervous. That leads to some interceptions, mostly by free safety and leading tackler Omar Brown. Overall the defense does not put up great numbers, but such is life in Conference USA. The secondary may not be great, but they are well tested and with Curry leading the pass rushing attack, this defense can be surprisingly good on any given day.
Weaknesses:
Besides getting to the quarterback, this team is not particularly good at anything. The offense can struggle mightily for large stretches at a time. Quarterback Rakeem Cato has been very inconsistent and is not a big time playmaker. His passing accuracy is quite low and he is prone to throwing a few too many interceptions. The offensive line will not give Cato too much time either. However, Cato is coming off of a huge game against East Carolina where he threw for two touchdowns and 337 yards. More importantly, he did not throw an interception in that game. Cato has one of the most underappreciated wide receivers at his disposal. Aaron Dobson will not put up huge numbers, but he makes the most out of his limited opportunities. While the passing game will occasionally be pretty good, the ground attack is pretty much non-existent. Travon Van and Tron Martinez will split carries and Coach Doc Holliday does have the luxury of riding the hot hand, but more often than not the hot hand does not exist.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Tron Martinez, RB, 591 yards
Passing: Rakeem Cato, QB, 1,833 yards
Receiving: Aaron Dobson, WR, 587 yards
Tackles: Omar Brown, S, 107
Sacks: Vinny Curry, DE, 11.0
Interceptions: Omar Brown, S, 4; Rashad Jackson, CB, 4
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 123.08 (93rd in nation, 9th in conference)
Passing Offense: 212.25 (75, 10)
Total Offense: 335.33 (100, 11)
Scoring Offense: 22.00 (97, 9)
Rushing Defense: 155.00 (62, 5)
Pass Defense: 262.83 (100, 8)
Total Defense: 417.83 (87, 7)
Scoring Defense: 30.17 (84, 6)
Turnover Margin: .17 (44, 4)
Sacks: 2.08 (43, 3)
Sacks Allowed: 2.17 (74, 8)
