Marshall’s 2013 football schedule, its first in the new-look Conference USA, includes 6 home games, 6 road games and 4 teams that were in bowl games last year. The Herd also have two Thursday games and a Friday game on their schedule as well. Their full schedule is listed below, but first let's preview the 2013 Marshall Thundering Herd.
Fourth-year head coach Doc Holliday can clearly recruit talent. But it’s about time for him to start attracting a few more wins to Huntington. t’s now been a full decade since the Thundering Herd was a champion. Since 2002, the year Marshall won the MAC and 11 games, it has gone nine consecutive seasons of losing at least six games. Last fall was supposed to be different. Instead, it was business as usual, as the Herd lacked consistency from start to finish and went 5-7.
Marshall had the top ranked passing attack in the country last year and most of it returns. Last year, QB Rakeem Cato, passed for 4,201 yards and 37 touchdowns with just 11 interceptions and was named Conference USA offensive player of the year. This year he has back WR Tommy Shuler, who had 110 catches last year and TE Gator Hoskins, who chipped in with 35 grabs and all but one of their OL. This team not only throws the ball but they can run it as well. The trio of Kevin Grooms, Steward Butler and Remi Watson combined for 1,617 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. They represent the secret weapons of an offense possessing an underrated level of balance and pop in the running game.
On Defense the Thundering Herd must get better after allowing 43 ppg last year, including allowing 51 points to Rice and Purdue and more than 60 points to both West Virginia and East Carolina. A new defensive staff takes over and they must replace both starting safeties and a linebacker while also improving a unit that was equally porous stopping the run (203 yards per game) as the pass (254 yards per game).Marshall has a solid unit up front and will move DB D.J. Hunter (102 tackles) to safety, but there are plenty of questions elsewhere on the defense. Marshall also needs to improve in their pass rush as well. They do return their top two rush linemen in Jeremiah Taylor and Brandon Sparrow, who combined for 10.5 of the team’s 19 sacks.
Marshall almost made it to a bowl game last year but they should to feel confident going into 2013 considering all the offensive firepower they have. With the bulk of the defense returning and nowhere to go but up on that side of the ball, the Herd could find itself in a better position in a conference welcoming several new teams this season that should present better matchups. I expect the Herd to have a very nice year on their way to facing Tulsa in the Conference USA title game. Key Trends: 0-5 ATS last 5 at Ohio... 6-1 ATS last 7 games vs Miami OH... 2-12 ATS as favorites off a non-conference game.
2013 Marshall Football Schedule
Aug. 31 Miami (Ohio)
Sept. 7 Gardner-Webb
Sept. 14 at Ohio
Sept. 21 at Virginia Tech
Oct. 5 UTSA
Oct. 12 at FAU
Oct. 24 at Middle Tennessee
Nov. 2 Southern Miss
Nov. 9 UAB
Nov. 14 at Tulsa
Nov. 23 at FIU
Nov. 29 East Carolina
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