Published: September 06, 2008 01:11 am         

Stopping Hill key to Marshall effort

It cannot be overstated — Marshall must slow down P.J. Hill if it is to have any success at No. 11 Wisconsin today.

When the teams meet at noon Eastern time at 80,000-seat Camp Randall Stadium, job No. 1 for the Thundering Herd (1-0) will be to stop the Badgers’ running attack. Wisconsin (1-0) racked up 404 yards on the ground last week in a win over Akron.

Hill, a 5-foot-11, 236-pound junior, is the No. 1 back. He ran for 210 yards and two touchdowns against the Zips for his second career 200-yard game.

Hill is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

“What he has showed me on film is his ability to get in the open field and make people miss,” Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. “And he’s a pounding back.”

And, as Snyder went on to point out, Hill is not alone.

Zach Brown, a 5-foot-11, 207-pound sophomore, ran for 87 yards and a score against Akron. He ran for 568 yards last season as a freshman.

“They don’t miss a beat when (Hill) is not out there,” Snyder said.

Slowing down the Badger run will be a huge task for a Marshall defense that hopes to be much improved from last year, when opponents rushed for 191 yards per game.

The Herd held Illinois State to 98 rushing yards in last week’s 35-10 victory.

“Marshall has changed up dramatically on offense from what they did a year ago, and then defensively (they have) a new defensive coordinator (Rick Minter), but coach Snyder is a defensive guy, so he’s got those same principles,” Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said.

The Herd debuted its no-huddle spread offense last week. Freshman quarterback Mark Cann was 11-of-22 for 161 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in his first start.

Both touchdowns went to senior Darius Passmore, including an 88-yard bomb with 25 seconds remaining in the first half. The play was No. 6 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays of the Day, the third time in two seasons Passmore has been honored as such.

Sophomore running back Darius Marshall posted his first career 100-yard day, running for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Wisconsin quarterback Allan Evridge, a senior transfer from Kansas State, completed 7-of-10 passes for 75 yards, one touchdown and one pick against Akron. He did not have tight end Travis Beckum to throw to. Beckum, a candidate for several awards, was held out because of injury but will play today.

— E-mail:

gfauber@register-herald.com