Published: February 26, 2008 11:28 pm      

Herd to play nine bowl teams in ’08

HUNTINGTON — Marshall’s 2008 football schedule includes games against nine teams that appeared in bowl games last season.

The schedule released Tuesday includes the season opener at home on Aug. 30 against Illinois State, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision.

Marshall also has home games against Memphis, Cincinnati, Houston, Central Florida and Tulsa, and road games at Wisconsin, Southern Miss, West Virginia, UAB, East Carolina and Rice.

“We have six home games and for the first time we have five opponents coming to Huntington who played in bowl games a year ago. I think that is exciting for not only our fans, but our program as a whole,” Marshall athletic director Bob “Kayo” Marcum said. “The overall strength of this schedule also leads to national television opportunities for our program at home and that exposure is a big plus.”

The Cincinnati game will be on Friday, Oct. 3, and the Houston game is on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Both games will be televised by ESPN.

“This is a challenging schedule from top to bottom, with that said, I like the way the games fall,” Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. “We are going to have to be ready to play every week and improve each week as a team.”