Marshall tight end Cade Conley runs with the ball after making a catch against Albany during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington.
Marshall tight end Cade Conley runs with the ball after making a catch against Albany during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington.
HUNTINGTON ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” A four-point win for the Marshall football team in last yearÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s season opener still comes to mind on occasion, coach Charles Huff said Monday.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œA lot,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ he said softly. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œProbably more than you would think.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The Albany Great Danes gave the Thundering Herd a run for its money at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in the 2023 lidlifter, taking a 17-14 lead into the fourth quarter before Rasheen Ali put Marshall ahead with about 12 minutes to play. The Herd won 21-17.
FCS member Albany lost its first two games to Marshall and Hawaii, both FBS programs, to start the season and then only faltered twice again the rest of the year. The Great Danes finished 11-4, with a loss to North Dakota State in the semifinals of the playoffs ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” an eight-win improvement from 2022.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhen youÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re in this new (world) of college football, any team can be totally different with one recruiting class or portal class, but we used that experience from last year,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Huff said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t have the awareness that Albany was as good as they were. When you watch film, you start to see it, but the adolescent mind (thinks), ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥˜ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s (a) lower-level school,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ and then you get in the game and youÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re in a dogfight.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
ThatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s something Marshall is hoping to avoid when Stony Brook comes to town at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Seawolves were winless for the first time ever last year, but the Herd isnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t fooled.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œAlbany was an awakening for all of us,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Marshall safety JJ Roberts said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI knew that they had good players coming into the game, but we went into that game a little bit slow and unexpecting. WeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re not sleeping on Stony Brook this year, especially with the new coach and all the players they brought in. It might be a whole different team.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
To Huff, it feels a little bit like looking in the mirror, he said, noting that Marshall, too, has experienced roster turnover, coaching changes and introduced new schemes on both sides of the football.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYou just donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t know what youÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re getting because of the transfer portal,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Huff said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI actually told them that Stony Brook is us. Forty new players, didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t have the season we wanted to have last year, we have new energy, new coaches and new systems, so whatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s the difference between us and them?ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
At the end of Saturday, the difference will be 1-0 versus 0-1.
Marshall faces two Power Four conference opponents consecutively after Stony Brook, but the Herd canÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t afford to look ahead if it wishes to avoid a scare like last season.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve got to focus on this week, canÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t think ahead to next week or the next two weeks,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ offensive lineman Logan Osburn said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe have to focus on us, and at the end of the day, it comes down to our fundamentals.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Marshall-Stony Brook is one of 59 FBS-FCS matchups on the college football slate after two were played last week. That included FCS Montana StateÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s come-from-behind win over New Mexico.
Luke Creasy is a sports reporter for HD ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥. He can be reached by phone at 304-526-2800.
