The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Sports

October 13, 2009

Herd QB hopes to build on last game

By Gary Fauber

Marshall didn’t get a lot of time to show how good its passing game can be, what with Tulane controlling the ball more than half the game.

But, in their limited opportunities, quarterback Brian Anderson and Co. looked better than they have all season.

Anderson had his best game since the season opener against Southern Illinois in Saturday’s 31-10 win at Tulane. With most of the Green Wave’s attention on tailback Darius Marshall, the Herd was able to operate its air attack effectively.

“We came out and executed very well,” Anderson said Monday. “We didn’t have the ball a whole lot, but when we did we definitely made the best of it.”

Anderson was on target, completing 18 of 22 passes for 207 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His 21-yard touchdown pass to Chuck Walker put the Herd ahead 21-7 with 34 seconds to play before halftime.

It was a vast improvement for Anderson from his performances of the previous four games, when he combined to go 52 of 101 for 440 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

“The (offensive) line did a great job of blocking and giving me time to throw,” said Anderson, who was not sacked by Tulane. “The receivers ran good routes for me and, fortunately, I found them.

“I have all the confidence in the world in my receivers and they have all the confidence in the world in me. It was just a matter of coming out and executing as well as we could.”

The Green Wave concentrated on stopping Marshall, which didn’t happen. He ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns, but Tulane’s attention to the nation’s leading rusher (he is now No. 2) opened things up for Anderson.

“It was only a matter of time before somebody stacked the box to try to stop him,” Anderson said.

Marshall (4-2) got its best performance from Anderson since he was 27 of 36 for 316 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-28 win over Southern Illinois.

Now the Herd can draw upon another earlier game to help it prepare for Saturday’s Friends of Coal Bowl at West Virginia (4-1).

Marshall played in a hostile environment at Virginia Tech back on Sept. 12. Well over 60,000 fans were at Lane Stadium for the Herd’s 52-10 loss to the Hokies.

Obviously, the Herd wants a different result against the Mountaineers, but having already played in front of that many opposing fans should have Marshall ready for what’s in store at Mountaineer Field.

“I think it helps to have already played in one crazy environment,” Anderson said. “Hopefully we will execute better than we did in that game.

“You would like to look at (the Coal Bowl) as just another game, but everybody knows it’s not. This is a huge game for our fans and we play for them.”

— E-mail: gfauber@

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