American college football season
1996 Marshall Thundering Herd football Conference Southern Conference Sports Network No. 1[1] 1996 record 15–0 (8–0 SoCon) Head coach Offensive coordinator Larry Kueck (1st season) Defensive coordinator Kevin Kelly (1st season)Home stadium Marshall University Stadium (capacity: 30,000)Seasons
The 1996 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season . Led by first-year head coach Bob Pruett , the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 15–0 with mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the SoCon title. Marshall advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship playoffs, where they beat Delaware in the first round, Furman in the quarterfinals, Northern Iowa in the semifinals, and Montana in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game to win the program's second NCAA Division I-AA title. 1996 was Marshall's final season competing at the NCAA Division I-AA level as they moved to NCAA Division I-A competition and joined the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 1997.
Schedule [ ]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 7 7:00 pm Howard * No. 1 W 55–2726,054
September 14 7:00 pm West Virginia State * No. 1 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV W 42–721,851
September 21 3:30 pm at No. 13 Georgia Southern No. 1 Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA WSAZ W 29–1313,977
September 28 7:00 pm No. 12 Western Kentucky * No. 1 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV W 37–320,755
October 5 7:00 pm Chattanooga No. 1 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV WSAZ W 45–022,078
October 12 1:00 pm at VMI No. 1 Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA W 45–209,165
October 19 7:00 pm Western Carolina No. 1 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV WSAZ W 56–2119,330
October 26 1:00 pm at No. 20 Appalachian State No. 1 SS W 24–1023,458
November 2 1:00 pm The Citadel No. 1 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV WSAZ W 56–2521,038
November 9 2:00 pm at No. 7 East Tennessee State No. 1 WSAZ W 34–1013,131
November 16 1:00 pm No. 12 Furman No. 1 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV W 42–1722,615
November 30 1:00 pm No. 11 Delaware * No. 1 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (Division I-AA 1st Round Playoff Game) WSAZ W 59–1415,429
December 7 1:00 pm No. 13 Furman No. 1 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (Division I-AA Quarterfinal Playoff Game) WSAZ W 54–014,096
December 14 1:00 pm No. 3 Northern Iowa * No. 1 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (Division I-AA Semifinal Playoff Game) WSAZ W 31–1414,414
December 21 2:00 pm No. 2 Montana * No. 1 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (I-AA National Championship ) ESPN W 49–2930,052
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
Roster [ ]
1996 Marshall Thundering Herd football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
RB
39
Jason Balwanz
Fr
RB
22
Doug Chapman
Fr
WR
18
LaVorn Colclough
So
OT
63
Mike Guilliams
Fr
QB
15
Eric Kresser
Sr
WR
1
Tim Martin
Sr
WR
88
Randy Moss
Fr
QB
10
Chad Pennington
So
OG
52
Brian Reed
Sr
OG
65
Burt Scarbrough
So
C
62
Jason Starkey
Fr
RB
3
Erik Thomas
Sr
RB
32
Llow Turner
Fr
C
66
John Wade
Jr
OT
60
Jamie Wilson
Sr
TE
87
John White
So
WR
2
Mark Wicks
Jr
QB
7
Mark Zban
Jr
Defense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
DB
42
Rogers Beckett
Fr
DE
5
B. J. Cohen
Jr
DB
12
Andy Cowan
Fr
DB
25
Melvin Cunningham
Sr
LB
4
John Grace
Fr
DL
6
Ricky Hall
So
DT
86
Billy Lyon
Sr
CB
9
Thomas Maxwell
Jr
LB
28
Larry McCloud
Jr
DE
93
Giradie Mercer
Fr
DB
11
Larry Moore
Jr
LB
55
Andre O'Neal
Fr
CB
8
B. J. Summers
Jr
DE
58
Paul Totten
So
DT
97
Joe Zeglowitsch
So
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
P
41
Chris Hanson
So
K
40
Tim Openlander
Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Larry Kueck – Offensive coordinator
Brian Dowler – Wide receivers
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Game summaries [ ]
Howard [ ]
Howard at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Bison
10
10 7 0
27
• Thundering Herd
10
14 24 7
55
Date: September 7Location: Marshall Stadium Huntington, WV Game attendance: 26,054
[2]
West Virginia State [ ]
West Virginia State at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Yellow Jackets
0
0 0 7
7
• Thundering Herd
21
14 7 0
42
Date: September 14Location: Marshall Stadium Huntington, WV Game attendance: 21,851
Georgia Southern [ ]
#1 Marshall at #13 Georgia Southern
1
2 3 4 Total
• Thundering Herd
10
7 6 6
29
Eagles
0
7 6 0
13
Date: September 21Location: Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA Game attendance: 13,977
Scoring summary 1 Marshall Tim Openlander 26-yard field goal Marshall 3–0
4:08 Marshall Randy Moss 42-yard pass from Eric Kresser (Openlander kick) Marshall 10–0
1 GSU Corey Johnson 1-yard run (kick) Marshall 10–7
4:52 Marshall Randy Moss 4-yard pass from Eric Kresser (Openlander kick) Marshall 17–7
3 GSU Grant Chestnut fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed) Marshall 17–13
Marshall Doug Chapman 3-yard run (conversion failed) Marshall 23–13
4 Marshall Jason Wellman 6-yard pass from Eric Kresser (conversion failed) Marshall 29–13
[3]
Western Kentucky [ ]
#12 Western Kentucky at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers
0
3 0 0
3
• Thundering Herd
10
7 6 14
37
Date: September 28Location: Marshall Stadium Huntington, WV Game attendance: 20,755
Scoring summary 1 10:57 Marshall Randy Moss 3-yard pass from Eric Kresser (Openlander kick) Marshall 3–0
0:21 Marshall Tim Openlander 22-yard field goal Marshall 10–0
1 2:11 WKU Jeff Poisel 37-yard field goal Marshall 10–3
1:12 Marshall Doug Chapman 19-yard run (Openlander kick) Marshall 17–3
3 7:55 Marshall Tim Openlander 42-yard field goal Marshall 20–3
4:30 Marshall Tim Openlander 37-yard field goal Marshall 23–3
4 9:11 Marshall Mark Wicks 35-yard pass from Eric Kresser (Openlander kick) Marshall 30–3
1:49 Marshall Llow Turner 15-yard run (Openlander kick) Marshall 37–3
[4]
Chattanooga [ ]
Chattanooga at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Mocs
0
0 0 0
0
• Thundering Herd
17
14 7 7
45
VMI [ ]
#1 Marshall at VMI
1
2 3 4 Total
• Thundering Herd
21
14 0 10
45
Keydets
7
0 10 3
20
Date: October 12Location: Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA Game attendance: 9,165
Western Carolina [ ]
Western Carolina at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Catamounts
0
7 7 7
21
• Thundering Herd
28
21 7 0
56
Appalachian State [ ]
#1 Marshall at #20 Appalachian State
1
2 3 4 Total
• Thundering Herd
7
0 10 7
24
Mountaineers
7
3 0 0
10
The Citadel [ ]
The Citadel at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs
7
9 3 6
25
• Thundering Herd
7
14 14 21
56
East Tennessee State [ ]
#1 Marshall at #7 East Tennessee State
1
2 3 4 Total
• Thundering Herd
0
10 14 10
34
Buccaneers
3
0 0 7
10
Date: November 9Location: Memorial Center Johnson City, TN Game attendance: 13,131
Furman [ ]
#12 Furman at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Paladins
0
17 0 0
17
• Thundering Herd
7
7 14 14
42
Date: November 16Location: Marshall Stadium Huntington, WV Game attendance: 22,615
Delaware (Division I-AA First Round Playoff Game) [ ]
#11 Delaware at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Fightin' Blue Hens
0
14 0 0
14
• Thundering Herd
7
14 24 14
59
Date: November 30Location: Marshall Stadium Huntington, WV Game attendance: 15,429
Randy Moss caught 8 passes (3 TD) for a school record 288 yards.[5]
Furman (Division I-AA Quarterfinal Playoff Game) [ ]
#13 Furman at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Paladins
0
0 0 0
0
• Thundering Herd
14
10 16 14
54
[6]
Northern Iowa (Division I-AA Semifinal Playoff Game) [ ]
#3 Northern Iowa at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Panthers
0
0 0 14
14
• Thundering Herd
7
3 14 7
31
Date: December 14Location: Marshall Stadium Huntington, WV Game attendance: 14,414
[7]
Montana (Division I-AA National Championship) [ ]
See also: 1996 Montana Grizzlies football team and 1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
#2 Montana at #1 Marshall
1
2 3 4 Total
Grizzlies
0
6 0 23
29
• Thundering Herd
14
9 16 10
49
Date: December 21Location: Marshall Stadium Huntington, WV Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:25Game attendance: 30,052Game weather: 39° F, Sunny, Wind NE 10-15 mphTV announcers (ESPN ): Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson
Scoring summary 1 9:13 Marshall Randy Moss 19-yard pass from Eric Kresser (Openlander kick) Marshall 7–0
2:09 Marshall Doug Chapman 61-yard run (Openlander kick) Marshall 14–0
2 14:08 Marshall Randy Moss 70-yard pass from Eric Kresser (kick blocked) Marshall 20–0
8:14 Marshall Openlander 20-yard field goal Marshall 23–0
5:05 Montana Larson 40-yard field goal Marshall 23–3
0:15 Montana Larson 27-yard field goal Marshall 23–6
3 14:05 Marshall Randy Moss 54-yard pass from Eric Kresser (Openlander kick) Marshall 30–6
5:03 Marshall Doug Chapman 9-yard run (Openlander kick) Marshall 37–6
3:34 Marshall Safety, intentional grounding by Ah Yat in the end zone Marshall 39–6
4 14:51 Marshall Randy Moss 28-yard pass from Eric Kresser (Openlander kick) Marshall 46–6
10:52 Montana Douglass 4-yard pass from Ah Yat (Neil pass from Ah Yat) Marshall 46–14
7:09 Montana Branen 2-yard run (Douglass from Ah Yat) Marshall 46–22
4:18 Marshall Openlander 37-yard field goal Marshall 49–22
2:09 Montana Paffhausen 18 pass from Ah Yat (Larson kick) Marshall 49–29
Randy Moss hauled in 9 passes for 220 yards and 4 TD as the Thundering Herd avenged the previous season's loss to Montana in the title game.[8]
[9]
References [ ]
^ "Final Sports Network's 1996 Division I-AA College Football Poll" . The Sports Network. Archived from the original on June 7, 2009. Retrieved June 1, 2009 .
^ "Past and Passes Key Moss's Future" . The Washington Post . August 31, 1996. Retrieved January 12, 2019 .
^ "Marshall 29, Georgia Southern 13" . Associated Press . September 21, 1996. Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "Western loses quarterback, then Marshall romps 37-3" . The Courier-Journal via Newspapers.com . September 29, 1996. Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "Marshall 59, Delaware 14" . Chicago Tribune . December 1, 1996. Retrieved January 5, 2019 .
^ "Marshall Routs Furman in NCAA I-AA Playoffs" . Tulsa World . December 8, 1996. Retrieved January 5, 2019 .
^ "Marshall 31, N. Iowa 14" . Associated Press . December 14, 1996. Retrieved January 5, 2019 .
^ "Moss, Marshall Thunder Montana" . The Spokesman-Review . December 22, 1996. Retrieved January 5, 2019 .
^ "No Slipping for Marshall, Moss" . Chicago Tribune . December 22, 1996. Retrieved January 5, 2019 .
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