No. 18 Marshall continues run at perfection

Birmingham, AL (SportsNetwork.com) – Only two games remain between the 18th- ranked Marshall Thundering Herd and an unbeaten regular season. First on the docket is the UAB Blazers this weekend in a Conference USA clash at Legion Field.

Marshall moved up three spots in the AP Top-25 from No. 21 after the Herd defeated defending C-USA champion Rice, 41-14, last weekend. Marshall is certainly bound for the postseason, but first has its eyes set on capturing the Conference USA title.

UAB has been relatively up and down this season, but is currently down after last outing’s 40-24 loss to Louisiana Tech. The Blazers have dropped three of their last games, with a long win against Florida Atlantic separating the streak.

Marshall leads the all-time series against UAB, 7-2. The last time the Blazers were victorious against the Herd was back in the 2012 season. Marshall won last season’s matchup by a commanding 56-14 score.

Although the game was in West Virginia, many thought Rice stood somewhat of a chance against the Thundering Herd. That was proven completely wrong by Marshall, as the Herd stampeded to a 41-14 victory over last season’s conference champions.

“It was a really good game for us,” Marshall defensive coordinator Chuck Heater said. “We have a lot of respect for those guys and they’re capable guys and tough guys. … What they did to us last year (in the title game), I feel good about what our guys did because as a team, we have a high level of respect for them.”

Marshall has been overwhelming teams this season offensively, evidenced by the Herd’s 47.1 ppg average (ranked second in the FBS) and 567.2 offensive ypg mark (also second in the FBS – both behind Baylor). At the heart of it all is quarterback Rakeem Cato, who has been setting passing records all season long. He’s compiled 2,613 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and has a completion percentage just shy of 60. His accuracy has improved over the weeks, having thrown just six interceptions all season long.

Although Cato lost one of his major weapons last season to the NFL (Gator Hoskins), he’s retained reliable target Tommy Shuler (605 yards, six touchdowns), and has talented freshman Angelo Jean-Louis (413 yards, four touchdowns) and tight end Eric Frohnapfel (354 yards, three touchdowns) to whom he can throw the ball.

The real surprise this season has been the emergence of Devon Johnson at running back. The tight end convert is up toward the top of the FBS standings in terms of yards gained (1,402) and touchdowns scored (16). Against Rice, he rushed for 199 yards and a touchdown one week after sitting out as a precaution for a leg injury. As a team, Marshall is gaining 294 rushing ypg this season.

While Marshall’s offense has been steam rolling opponents, one would think the defense could simply take a game off every now and then. But that hasn’t been the case, as the Thundering Herd are allowing just 16.3 ppg to opponents this season, and only 322.2 offensive ypg. Marshall held Rice – one of the hottest teams in the conference – to 15 first downs and just 180 yards of offense in the win.

“We have good guys up front,” senior cornerback Darryl Roberts said. “Our defensive line gets good push up front. We have fast linebackers running sideline to sideline and we’ve got good guys coming off the edge. We just cause chaos.”

Indeed they do. Linebacker Neville Hewitt leads the team with 74 tackles, but has pumped up the stat sheet in all other areas with eight tackles for loss, four sacks, five quarterback hurries and three pass breakups. Jermaine Holmes is right behind Hewitt with 70 tackles on the year, and defensive back D.J. Hunter has recorded nine tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Lineman Arnold Blackmon has notched a team-best 11 tackles for loss and six sacks. He has been, and will continue to be a huge factor on the Thundering Herd’s defense.

UAB fell behind early to Conference USA’s West Division leader Louisiana Tech, and could never catch up. Running back Jordan Howard still had a stellar game, rushing for 148 yards and a touchdown in the defeat. That’s been characteristic of Howard’s season. The sophomore running back has gained 1,157 yards and scored 10 touchdowns on 232 carries this season, and is averaging 115.7 rushing ypg. He’s one of the offensive leaders on a Blazers squad that is fighting for bowl eligibility.

Cody Clements got the work under center for UAB against Louisiana Tech in the team’s last game, but didn’t do too much with the start. In nine games played, Clements has passed for 1,910 yards and 11 touchdowns against eight interceptions. Clements runs the UAB offense that averages 33.5 ppg and 428.9 offensive ypg. He averages 212.2 ypg passing for the Blazers.

Six UAB players average double-digit receiving totals per game who have played in all 10 contests this season. JJ Nelson has hauled in 32 receptions for 625 yards and three touchdowns to lead the team, while Kennard Backman has added 29 catches for 299 yards and another three scores.

Defensively, the Blazers have been relatively inconsistent on the season. In the team’s last four games, UAB has allowed 34 points, 45 points, 28 points and 40 points, respectively. Only one of those (the 28-point effort) resulted in a win. That doesn’t bode well for UAB (31.2 ppg allowed) this weekend going against the nation’s second-best scoring offense.

Jake Ganus leads the Blazers with 54 tackles and 13 tackles for loss this season, adding in five sacks and one fumble recovery. He, Shaq Jones (nine tackles for loss) and Diaheem Watkins (eight tackles for loss, team-best six sacks) will be the key players on a defense facing Cato, Johnson and the high- flying Thundering Herd.

Categorized in: NCAA Football