Marshall running back A.J. Turner (5) fends off James Madison safety Jacob Thomas (7) as he carries the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Harrisonburg, Va., Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Daniel Lin/Daily News-Record via AP)
Marshall running back A.J. Turner (5) fends off James Madison safety Jacob Thomas (7) as he carries the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Harrisonburg, Va., Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Daniel Lin/Daily News-Record via AP)
HARRISONBURG, Va. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” The Marshall football team will hit the road for a third consecutive week when it faces Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference championship game Saturday, Dec. 7 at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The game will be nationally televised on ESPN. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
That announcement by the league office Sunday morning came after averaging out the rankings for each the Thundering Herd and the Ragin' Cajuns in four different computer polls, which favored Louisiana, after both took home wins the final games of their regular seasons Saturday, helping them each finish with 7-1 records in SBC play.Â
Marshall reached that mark by winning six consecutive games following a mid-October loss to Georgia Southern, in which the Herd squandered a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter to lose by a point, 24-23.Â
"We just created history ... we're forever gonna cherish this moments," Herd defensive end Mike Green said after Saturday's win. "Sometimes you don't really necessarily get everything that you deserve, but when you get placed in good situations (and) you do get what you deserve, it's fulfilling."
MU players said after that loss in Statesboro, Georgia, that every game moving forward would be a must-win in order to reach the conference title game, and that proved to be true.Â
Saturday's 35-33 double-overtime victory over James Madison clinched the East Division and cemented the Herd's spot in the title bout, while a loss would have given the Eagles the head-to-head tiebreaker and kept Marshall out of the championship game.Â
One of Marshall's preseason goals has been fulfilled by winning the East Division, but the larger goal remains ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” winning the title.Â
"It means the world," Marshall quarterback Braylon Braxton said. "When I first came here (from Tulsa), I told coach (Charles) Huff and (offensive coordinator Seth) Doege when we had our little player meetings, and like he asked, 'What do you want out of this season?,' and I told coach, 'I want to win the Sun Belt championship,' so it's here now. We gotta go do it."
Louisiana owns three Sun Belt championships (2005, 2020 and 2021), including a pair during the championship game era. Marshall, which joined the Sun Belt before the 2022 campaign, is searching for its firstSun Belt football title.
Just five teams ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina and Marshall out of the East Division and Louisiana and Troy out of the West Division ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” have ever competed in the SBC title game.
Luke Creasy is a sports reporter for HD ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥. He can be reached by phone at 304-526-2800.
