Purdue beat the Boat-Rowers (WMU) last year, too.

We have to get pressure on Birdsong and have a decent running attack to have a chance.

I agree with all three of Jeff's posts here -- what a rarity.

I think the key players for Marshall are #47 RB, Johnson; #11 QB, Birdsong; and #21 S, Lang. They also used their TE very effectively. We will have more days to prepare for them than they will have to prepare for us, which I think will give us some advantage. Also, I suspect that we will have an opposite approach to this game and use the run to open up the pass. We did it the other way around versus Idaho. Strategic thinking again! ;-)

Initially I didn't think our 9 days of rest vs. Marshall's 6 was going to be a huge factor, since we were having to fly back 2500 miles and 3 time zones whereas Marshall had a home game and then a 75 mile bus ride to Athens. But after seeing how much cramping Marshall players had yesterday, I think fatigue could be a huge factor in our favor.

This is gonna get interesting....

I only saw the 1st half of this game, but here are my observations;

1) Marshall played with a great deal of emotion
2) Their #47 is a beast @ RB.
3) Their QB is big and strong.
4) Their fans really get into the game. I expect many will travel to Athens next week.

Having said all this, Purdue threw 4 INT's that can certainly make a difference in the outcome. If they had no turnovers would the score been different?
The Purdue coach is definitely on the HOT SEAT this year. If they don't get to 6 wins, which will give them a Bowl invite, Darrell is out. What did his resume look like at Kent? 2 good years?




GO BOBCATS

OK . . . fearless prediction time:

Sept. 5 – at Marshall - L
Sept. 12 – INDIANA STATE - W
Sept. 19 – NOTRE DAME - L
Sept. 26 – BOWLING GREEN - W
Oct. 3 – at Michigan State - L
Oct. 10 – MINNESOTA - W
Oct. 17 – at Wisconsin - L
Oct. 24 – Open
Oct. 31 – NEBRASKA - W
Nov. 7 – ILLINOIS - W
Nov. 14 – at Northwestern - L
Nov. 21 – at Iowa - L
Nov. 28 – INDIANA - W

Total 6-6

Note they have three weak sister conference teams at home: Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana. Beating Minnesota at home will be the key, IMHO. Also, BG will present a challenge, but their D is still very suspect.

Let's see what happens as the season unfolds.

Bobcats open as a 6 pt. underdog...

but apparently some early money on Ohio forces a line shift. spread drops to 4.5

Greetings from a Marshall fan. You guys look to have a good team this year and I'm looking forward to a good game. Just a few thoughts on this. You guys might beat us, but win or lose, you should know that this isn't a rebuilding year for Marshall.

You mention our #47 being a beast, and people seem to think he's the only good player we returned from last year, but he was a relatively small factor in the Purdue game and we still won. His numbers were way down, and he fumbled at the end of his best run.

Marshall's go-ahead 84 yard drive in the 4th quarter was almost 100% passing, with #47 just punching it in from the 3 yard line.

You mention Purdue's 4 turnovers as if that was the only difference in the game. Well, Marshall had 3 turnovers too. There were missed opportunities on both sides. Someone could argue that Purdue would've won if not for the turnovers. But on the flip side, you could argue that Marshall would've won by 3 TDs if not for their own turnovers.

And it's not as if Purdue's turnovers were unforced errors. They were good plays by the Marshall defense. Two of the interceptions (the non-pick 6's) were definitely forced by pressure on Purdue's QB. The two defensive touchdowns were bad throws but still good reads and plays on the ball by Marshall's safety.

We lost Cato, but Birdsong brings some different strengths that Cato didn't have. We at Marshall all love Cato, but he was definitely a high risk/high reward type of player and could be erratic at times, when trying too hard to make a play. See the 3 or 4 interceptions in his final regular season appearance with Marshall in the loss against WKU last year. Birdsong doesn't scramble and extend broken plays as well as Cato but we will probably use him on designed runs more than we did with Cato.

In addition to #47, we have a deep stable of running backs behind him. We have probably one of the most talented receiving corps we've had in a while and return an excellent TE from last year.

Many are saying our O line is one of the best at Marshall in recent years.

Our D line is probably the weakest part of the team but we still have decent talent and good depth. They struggled with Purdue a little but came through when it matter and pressured Purdue's QB at times.

We have young linebackers but they are talented, but return DJ Hunter, a senior former 4 star recruit. We also return Evan McKelvey, who was a veteran linebacker out with a medical redshirt last year.

Our secondary was the strong point of our D last year and we return most of our players there. We also return a dangerous kick returner in Deandre Reeves and our kickers are quite good.

Anyway, good luck Saturday. See you all there

Spread now @ 3.5







GO BOBCATS

this will be game 7 in the most recent chapter of the series, tied 3-3.

both teams have 1 blowout win at home-
OU 44, MU 7 ('11)
MU 44, OU 14 ('14)

the other 4 games have been decided by 4pts or less-
MU 21, OU 17 ('09)
MU 24, OU 23 ('10)
OU 27, MU 24 ('12)
OU 34, MU 31 ('13)

If I had to guess I would say this will be another close game with the final score in the mid to high 20s. No idea who finishes on top.

This series should not have breaks! I also feel that at some point Peden ultimately should have a 30,000 capacity with the hill for overflow. I know Ohio won't average 30,000 but for games against Marshall, Cincinnati, Homecoming, band day, parents weekend, Kansas, etc most seats would be filled. A larger capacity may also help get the Purdue types to Peden. An additional 6,000 seats at $40 a head for a P5 opponent could generate an additional $240,000 which could be used pay a higher guarantee to the visiting teams. It seems at least 2 or 3 times per season Peden's capacity is exceeded. Keep that up and at some point it will happen.

What would the annual payment be on such an stadium expansion? Would it be >$480,000?

Bigger student side with upgraded concessions is justified. Enrollment will be 25,000 in Athens by the end of the decade. Stadium seats only 22,000 not counting Victory Hill. Peden is still the smallest stadium in the MAC and that doesn't make sense leading the conference in attendance. I'd say 4,000 is a safe number to expand by. 26k seats with ability to overflow to 30k. I bet the university would have no problem selling 2,000 more family packs in an upper deck so the stadium fills up. It would bump up attendance for midweek games some too.