2018 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

2018 Conference USA football standings
	East Division
	West Division
	Championship: UAB 27, Middle Tennessee 25
	$ – Conference champion; x – Division champion/co-champions;

2018 Marshall Thundering Herd football
2018 Marshall Thundering Herd football
Gasparilla Bowl champion
Gasparilla Bowl, W 38–20 vs. South Florida
Conference	Conference USA
	East Division
2018 record	9–4 (6–2 C-USA)
Head coach	Doc Holliday (9th season);
Offensive coordinator	Tim Cramsey (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Adam Fuller (1st season)
Home stadium	Joan C. Edwards Stadium; (Capacity: 38,227)
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They were led by ninth-year head coach Doc Holliday. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place in the East Division. They were invited to the Gasparilla Bowl where they defeated South Florida.

Previous season[]

The Thundering Herd finished the 2017 season 8–5, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in a three-way tie for third place in the East Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they defeated Colorado State.

Preseason[]

Award watch lists[]

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Rimington Trophy^[1]	Levi Brown	C	JR
Fred Biletnikoff Award^[2]	Tyre Brady	WR	SR
Butkus Award^[3]	Juwon Young	LB	JR
Jim Thorpe Award^[4]	Malik Gant	S	JR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy^[5]	Ryan Bee	DL	JR
Outland Trophy^[6]	Ryan Bee	DL	JR
Paul Hornung Award^[7]	Keion Davis	RB/KR	JR
Wuerffel Trophy^[8]	Chase Hancock	LB	SR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award^[9]	Alex Thomson	QB	JR

Preseason All-CUSA team[]

Conference USA released their preseason all-CUSA team on July 16, 2018, with the Thundering Herd having five players selected.^[10]

Offense

Levi Brown – OL

Tyre Brady – WR

Defense

Chase Hancock – LB

Malik Gant – DB

Special teams

Matt Beardall – LS

Preseason media poll[]

Conference USA released their preseason media poll on July 17, 2018, with the Thundering Herd predicted to finish in second place in the East Division.^[11]

Predicted finish	Team
East Division
1	Florida Atlantic
2	Marshall
3	Middle Tennessee
4	FIU
5	Western Kentucky
6	Old Dominion
7	Charlotte

Schedule[]

Marshall announced its 2018 football schedule on January 23, 2018. The 2018 schedule consists of 6 home and away games in the regular season. The Thundering Herd will host CUSA foes Middle Tennessee, Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, and UTSA, and will travel to Western Kentucky (WKU), Old Dominion, Southern Miss, and FIU.^[12]

The Thundering Herd will host two of the four non-conference opponents, Eastern Kentucky of the Ohio Valley Conference at the FCS level and NC State of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and will travel to Miami of Ohio of the Mid-American Conference and South Carolina of the Southeastern Conference.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	3:30 p.m.	at Miami (OH)*	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	ESPN+	W 35–28	15,827
September 8	6:30 p.m.	Eastern Kentucky*	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	ESPN+	W 32–16	24,304
September 22	7:00 p.m.	NC State*	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	CBSSN	L 20–37	32,349
September 29	7:30 p.m.	at Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	Stadium	W 20–17	20,811
October 5	7:30 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	CBSSN	L 24–34	25,979
October 13	3:30 p.m.	at Old Dominion	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA	Stadium	W 42–20	20,118
October 20	2:30 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	CBSSN	W 31–7	23,825
November 3	3:00 p.m.	at Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	Stadium	L 24–26	20,375
November 10	2:30 p.m.	Charlotte	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	ESPN+	W 30–13	19,418
November 17	2:30 p.m.	UTSA	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	Stadium	W 23–0	18,502
November 24	12:00 p.m.	at FIU	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	Stadium	W 28–25	14,862
December 1^[a]	12:00 p.m.	at Virginia Tech*	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN3	L 20–41	31,336
December 20	8:00 p.m.	at South Florida*	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Gasparilla Bowl)	ESPN	W 38–20	14,135
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^ The game between Marshall and South Carolina, originally scheduled for September 15, 2018, was canceled in anticipation of Hurricane Florence. Seeking bowl eligibility, Virginia Tech scheduled Marshall, as both teams had a game cancelled due to the hurricane and neither had made their respective conference championship games. The game was contingent upon the Hokies defeating rival Virginia, which they did.^[13]

Schedule Source:^[14]

Game summaries[]

at Miami (OH)[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	14	7	7	7	35
RedHawks	0	7	7	14	28

Eastern Kentucky[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	0	6	7	3	16
Thundering Herd	13	7	7	5	32

NC State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolfpack	3	20	14	0	37
Thundering Herd	0	7	13	0	20

at Western Kentucky[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	7	3	0	10	20
Hilltoppers	3	7	0	7	17

Middle Tennessee[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	3	7	14	10	34
Thundering Herd	3	14	0	7	24

at Old Dominion[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	0	14	7	21	42
Monarchs	0	3	7	10	20

Florida Atlantic[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	7	0	0	7
Thundering Herd	0	10	14	7	31

at Southern Miss[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	3	7	7	7	24
Golden Eagles	3	14	3	6	26

Charlotte[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	7	3	3	0	13
Thundering Herd	10	3	17	0	30

UTSA[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Roadrunners	0	0	0	0	0
Thundering Herd	10	10	3	0	23

at FIU[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	14	0	7	7	28
Panthers	7	3	0	15	25

at Virginia Tech[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	6	0	0	14	20
Hokies	10	21	3	7	41

at South Florida (Gasparilla Bowl)[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	21	7	3	7	38
Bulls	7	3	10	0	20

References[]

^ "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
^ "2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
^ "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
^ "Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Names 2018 Preseason Watchlist". July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
^ "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
^ "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
^ "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
^ "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
^ "FB: 2018 Preseason Awards".
^ "FB: Preseason Media Poll".
^ "MCGILL: HERD FOOTBALL SCHEDULE HAS ATTRACTIVE HOME GAMES" (Press release). Marshall University Department of Athletics. January 23, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
^ "Hokies schedule Herd to keep bowl streak alive". ESPN.com. 18 November 2018.
^ "2018 Marshall Thundering Herd Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 1, 2018.

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[14] The game between Marshall and South Carolina, originally scheduled for September 15, 2018, was canceled in anticipation of Hurricane Florence. Seeking bowl eligibility, Virginia Tech scheduled Marshall, as both teams had a game cancelled due to the hurricane and neither had made their respective conference championship games. The game was contingent upon the Hokies defeating rival Virginia, which they did.^[13]

[1] "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.

[2] "2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.

[3] "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.

[4] "Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Names 2018 Preseason Watchlist". July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.

[5] "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.

[6] "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.

[7] "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.

[8] "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.

[9] "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.

[10] "FB: 2018 Preseason Awards".

[11] "FB: Preseason Media Poll".

[MU17-12] "MCGILL: HERD FOOTBALL SCHEDULE HAS ATTRACTIVE HOME GAMES" (Press release). Marshall University Department of Athletics. January 23, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.

[13] "Hokies schedule Herd to keep bowl streak alive". ESPN.com. 18 November 2018.

[15] "2018 Marshall Thundering Herd Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 1, 2018.

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v t Marshall Thundering Herd football
Venues	Central Field (1895–1927) Fairfield Stadium (1928–1990) Joan C. Edwards Stadium (1991–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games East Carolina Ohio: Battle for the Bell West Virginia: Friends of Coal Bowl
Culture & lore	Marco the Bison "Sons of Marshall" Marching Thunder Southern Airways Flight 932 Marshall University: Ashes to Glory We Are Marshall
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
National championship seasons in bold

2018 Conference USA football standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
East Division
Middle Tennessee x		7	–	1		8	–	6
Marshall		6	–	2		9	–	4
FIU		6	–	2		9	–	4
Charlotte		4	–	4		5	–	7
Florida Atlantic		3	–	5		5	–	7
Old Dominion		2	–	6		4	–	8
Western Kentucky		2	–	6		3	–	9
West Division
UAB x$		7	–	1		11	–	3
North Texas		5	–	3		9	–	4
Louisiana Tech		5	–	3		8	–	5
Southern Miss		5	–	3		6	–	5
UTSA		2	–	6		3	–	9
UTEP		1	–	7		1	–	11
Rice		1	–	7		2	–	11
Championship: UAB 27, Middle Tennessee 25
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions