Country Roads, Take Me Away to Huntington
ODU and Marshall have been partners, spending eight years together in Conference USA and both moving to the Sun Belt Conference in 2022, keeping the series alive and going. Unfortunately, the series has been rather one-sided. ODU has only beaten Marshall once, back in 2016 in Norfolk. It was by far ODU’s best football season, winning ten games and its first and only bowl game, the Bahamas Bowl. That year also coincided with one of the Thundering Herd’s worst seasons going 3-9. Otherwise it has been all Marshall, winning the remaining seven games. Most recently the Herd handed the Monarchs a 12-0 shutout in Norfolk. The Monarchs need to turn this series around and it all starts when they face Marshall in Huntington on September 30th.
Charles Huff enters year three of his tenure coaching Marshall. He began the same year as Coach Rahne. Yet, in his first two years his team reached two bowl games. First, losing to Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl in 2021 and then defeating Connecticut in the Myrtle Beach Bowl in 2022. This year, Marshall and Coach Huff have high hopes to be competitive for the Sun Belt Conference title itself.
Last season, Texas Tech transfer quarterback Henry Colombi did not work out for the Herd. Redshirt freshman Cam Fancher eventually took over. Fancher was inconsistent, only completing 55.7% of his passes but he made up for it with his legs, rushing for 466 yards. He did eventually find his groove throwing three straight 200-yard, two-touchdown games to close out the regular season. Fancher returns as a sophomore and likely starts unless legacy freshman Cole Pennington, son of Marshall alum and former New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, can unseat him.
But this offense is more likely to have a ground-and-pound style anyways. Star running back Rasheen Ali returns from an injured knee which sidelined him in ‘22. In ‘21 he ran for 1,401 yards and scored a ridiculous 23 touchdowns. The offensive line should be in good shape for him to run with four starters returning. However, they did lose their top receiver when Corey Gammage transferred to UCF. Despite the loss, the returnees have experience. Sophomore Charles Montgomery may take over as the top target for the rare times they want to pass. Last year, they scored 24.5 points per game. Given the added experience at QB, the returning line, and the return of Ali, they are likely to increase that number.
Marshall had the best defense in the Sun Belt in ‘22. Led by defensive coordinator Lance Guidry, the D allowed just 295 yards per game and a mere 16 points per game (and shut out the ODU offense). Guidry was poached by Miami in the offseason thanks in large part to the defensive success he found with The Herd.
Huff refilled the defensive coordinator spot with Jason Semor, a linebacker coach at Georgia Tech last season and former DC for Valdosta State and Montana. They also only return four starters, but those starters are some of the best defensive players in the Sun Belt. Defensive end Owen Porter, linebacker Eli Neal and cornerback Micah Abraham give the defense talent and leadership at all three levels. The defense should be solid, but expect a step back from 2022 simply because the numbers are just very hard to repeat, especially with a new defensive coordinator.
Overall, the Thundering Herd could compete for the Sun Belt East title. Vegas predicts 7.5 wins. But the schedule is not easy as they draw East Carolina and NC State both on the road as well as SBC West heavyweight South Alabama. They also face Virginia Tech in Huntington and the rest of the rugged SBC East. Honestly, they are probably overlooking ODU with such a lopsided series against the Monarchs. But every comeback starts with one game at a time and the Monarchs will seek to go 1-0 when they travel to Huntington.
Want more? Check out our Game 6 Opponent Preview: Southern Miss.