Before the Old Dominion game, Trace Johnson wrote about Marshall football making the most of the big game opportunities it has had recently. We have since beaten Old Dominion and the winning streak mentioned is one game longer.
The Charles Huff era of Marshall football is in year three and the Thundering Herd has continued to get better throughout his time as head coach. Currently, Marshall is on an eight-game winning streak dating back to last season and has started the 2023 season with a bang at 3-0. While there is still much to improve on as a team, you cannot argue with 3-0. Wins over Albany and East Carolina got the season started positively, but the Herd’s week 3 win is the win that’s captured more eyes.
In week two of the 2022 season, Marshall shocked the college football world by knocking off then-#8 Notre Dame 26-21. That triumph over the legendary Fighting Irish is regarded as likely a top two win in Marshall football history and the single biggest marquee opponent the program has ever defeated. However, this past weekend gave the Herd another shot at knocking off a marquee, brand name opponent when the Virginia Tech Hokies came to town.
Marshall took advantage of a packed Joan C. Edwards Stadium filled with loud and energetic Herd fans and defeated Virginia Tech 24-17 for its first win over Tech since 1940. While the Hokies are far from their past glory days and are in a rebuilding stage, they are still a Power Five program and Marshall capitalized on the rare opportunity to play a Power Five team at home. This was the first time since 2018 that Marshall hosted a Power Five opponent, and the first time Virginia Tech came to town since 2011. It was also the Herd’s first win over an ACC team since the 2013 Military Bowl win over Maryland.
The Herd is no stranger to playing with and/or beating Power Five opponents. However, prior to the Huff era, Marshall had only four Power Five wins since the turn of the 21st century. But just in the last two seasons, the Herd has two with wins over Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, which is the first time since 1998 and 1999 that Marshall has a Power Five win in consecutive seasons. In an era of college football where the Power Five and Group of Five are becoming more separated, any time a Group of Five program such as Marshall can knock off a Power Five program, it’s a big deal. These are opportunities that Marshall didn’t capitalize on in recent memory.
The win over Notre Dame last season was unprecedented and had the entire college football world talking. While the Virginia Tech win isn’t on that same level nationally, it’s still a big win over a historic, brand name program. Now that Marshall is starting to take advantage of these types of marquee matchups, the program is growing more and more all the time. There is such a buzz around Marshall athletics as a whole right now and seeing the athletic department’s biggest sport do well sets the standards high across the board.
Big wins help with a number of different aspects, most importantly recruiting. Seeing Marshall defeat Notre Dame and Virginia Tech has to be appealing to high schoolers on the Herd coaching staff’s radar. It also creates bigger fan engagement, which is the lifeblood of a program. Huff and company would love a better result after the Power Five win this season compared to last season when Marshall lost to Bowling Green a week after defeating Notre Dame. Marshall hosts Old Dominion on Saturday for homecoming to open up Sun Belt conference play. Marshall is a prime contender in a rugged Sun Belt this season and hopefully the Herd can build on the win over the Hokies and carry it into a conference championship season.
