2009 NCAA - Marshall
It was just 10 years ago that Marshall, under then coach Bob Pruett, navigated through a perfect 13-0 season in the Mid-American Conference. The Thundering Herd and its fans have always had unreasonably high expectations, especially since the school effectively navigated up to 'big boy' status, elevating from the I-AA ranks to the MAC in the late 90s before eventually working themselves into C-USA after the 2004 season. But the decline was already in order - Marshall finished just 6-6 in its final MAC season. An off-season lawsuit filed by the school's former compliance director in August 2003 was finally settled earlier this year, and the allegations of improper jobs to ex-players, scapegoating, and other ugly messes reared their respective heads. The slow decline has had little to do with the job Mark Snyder has done. The Marshall faithful understand that he was left with quite a mess after Pruett resigned AFTER spring practice in 2005, yet their patience has to be wearing thin after a 16-31 record in Snyder's first four seasons.
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Marshall
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The Herd have some pieces of the puzzle to get back to six wins, perhaps seven with some luck. It starts with all-everything DE Albert McClellan, who was the C-USA defensive player of the year in 2006 before suffering a devastating early injury in 2007. He appears to be back to the form of three years ago. The linebackers are solid, and the secondary should be slightly better. On the other side, none of four potential candidates has separated himself as a leading starting candidate and that's the immediate concern. The O-line is capable, there is a returning 1,000 yard rusher (Darius Marshall) and TE Cody Slate is a Mackey Award candidate. |
| ASK the bookie? - Seven of the 12 teams on Marshall's schedule last fall scored 27 or less, not bad considering some of the potent offenses in the league. Still, MU lost seven of eight to close out last season. Can a quarterback emerge to help pilot the Herd? If not, it will likely cost Snyder his job. With road trips to Virginia Tech and West Virginia outside of the league, wins won't come easy. It looks like .500 is the best this team can hope for, but a losing season and the likely axe for Snyder is more probable. |
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