Marshall Preview
September 06, 2007 09:45 AM | General
September 6, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After 92 years the time has finally come. This Saturday at about 11 o’clock in the morning West Virginia University is going to play a football game at Marshall University.
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| Marshall quarterback Brian Anderson, right, hands off to running back Chubb Small during the second quarter of a football game against Miami on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007, at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
AP photo/Wilfredo Lee |
The last time West Virginia traveled to Huntington in 1915 the Mountaineers won 92-6. This year’s game figures to be a lot more competitive.
Rest assured West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez has prepared his team for its first trip down to Huntington. Earlier this week when a reporter asked him if Marshall beating No. 3 West Virginia would be an upset on par with Appalachian State beating Michigan, Rodriguez simply scoffed.
“Marshall is a quality I-A program. I think our guys understand what Marshall is,” Rodriguez said. “They knew last year. There was more hype last year than this year but our guys remember that.”
What Rodriquez knows from watching video tape is that Marshall gives maximum effort on every play, while utilizing fast athletes at the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions.
“They play hard and have great passion and talented athletes at the skill positions. They have got as good a skill group as anyone,” Rodriguez said. “Some of the wideouts are spectacular and their tight end is really impressive.”
Receivers Courtney Edmonson and Darius Passmore led the way for Marshall last week in a 31-3 loss at Miami combining to catch five passes for 100 yards. Edmonson is a 6-foot, 175-pound speedster while Passmore is a 6-foot-3-inch receiver that can attack the ball in the air. True freshman running back Darius Marshall also caught five balls against the Hurricanes.
Tight end Cody Slate is another weapon WVU must account for. The 2006 first-team All-CUSA selection was limited to three catches for 13 yards against Miami but has had big games in the past.
Marshall failed to establish anything in the running game against the Hurricanes, toting the ball 32 times for a total of 44 yards but a lot of that had to do with Miami’s talented defensive front four. Marshall will face another still challenge running the ball against West Virginia’s 3-3-5 stack defense that gave up just 32 yards on 32 carries last week against Western Michigan.
The key to Marshall’s offense is quarterback Bernie Morris. The senior from Orlando, Fla., was 16 of 26 for 162 yards and three interceptions against the Hurricanes. Rodriguez believes the talented dual-threat signal caller presents a host of problems for his defense.
“I have always been impressed with Morris. He has a strong arm and he is a very good runner that can make plays,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of those interceptions were more a product of Miami’s guys making plays than they were his bad decisions.”
Marshall Coach Mark Snyder is not ruling out the possibility of inserting redshirt freshman Brian Anderson into the game at quarterback as he did at Miami. The Louisville, Ky., native was 3 of 8 for 21 yards with an interception in limited action in the opener.
“We will start with Bernard and see how the game goes,” Snyder said. “Brian Anderson will play. How much he plays depends on the game, how the game is going and if we are staying out of third and long.”
Marshall struggled mightily on third down against the Hurricanes, converting just 6 of 18 last Saturday. Part of that was due to an inability to establish the run. Of the 18 third down plays, Marshall only had four that were less than seven yards. That third-and-long scenario is tough for any offense to deal with. This will be an intriguing statistic to watch on Saturday as WVU strives to improve its third down defense. The Mountaineers allowed Western Michigan to convert on 8 of 19 third down opportunities – the same rate of third-down success the defense permitted last season.
Defensively, Marshall is looking to improve upon a defensive performance that saw them yield 272 yards rushing to Miami. Freshman running back Graig Cooper led the way for the Hurricanes, carrying 12 times for 116 yards. Javarris James just missed the century mark carrying 14 times for 99 yards.
Free safety C. J. Spillman led the Herd in tackles last week with nine against Miami.
West Virginia, which has won all six games against Marshall, racked up 316 rushing yards against Western Michigan last week despite seeing a great deal of cover zero defense by the Broncos. Steve Slaton is currently the nation’s active leader in career touchdowns (41), rushing yards per game (124.3), yards per carry (6.36) and points per game (10.3). Slaton rushed for 109 yards last week while White carried nine times for 98 yards and also added 192 yards and two TDs passing.
Marshall will try to slow down West Virginia’s offense without the services of 2006 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Albert McClellan. The defensive end tore his ACL in the preseason and is out for the year.
Despite the adversity, Rodriguez sees Marshall defensive coordinator Steve Dunlap starting to mold the Marshall defense into his personality. Rodriguez expects his offense to see a different Marshall defense than the one his team saw last year.
“It’s a little different with coach (Steve) Dunlap there. He is putting his stamp on the defense. I have watched two games and it looks similar with some things and different with others,” Rodriguez said. “They are doing some different things in the secondary. Going into this game, you don’t know what his plan of attack will be. You have an idea, and you have to prepare for some, but you can’t plan for everything.
“You have to adapt.”
One thing that Rodriguez knows for certain is that his team will get Marshall’s best shot amid a raucous atmosphere this Saturday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
“It’s going to be an intense atmosphere. It was like that last year and it will be even tougher this year going down to their place,” Rodriguez said. “This game has been sold out for a long, long time and our guys know we are going to take a great shot from them.”
The 92-year wait in Huntington is about over.
