The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Sports

November 1, 2009

Marshall can attain bowl goal with win

By Gary Fauber

Marshall’s march toward bowl eligibility begins tonight.

On the cusp of a postseason berth, the Thundering Herd will play at Conference USA nemesis Central Florida on ESPN. Kickoff from Bright House Networks Stadium is set for 8:15 p.m.

Marshall (5-3, 3-1) has four tries to gain the magical sixth win required for a bowl berth. Marshall coach Mark Snyder is trying to keep the team as grounded as possible.

“I am sure it is in the back of their minds, everybody is human,” Snyder said. “But this is the most important game because it is the next game.”

The fifth-year coach draws upon his past experience from championship runs at Ohio State in putting the Herd’s situation into perspective.

“It is a process where you just move on to the next week,” Snyder said. “You never look forward and you never look back. You live in the moment, then all of a sudden you wake up one morning and you are champions.

“That is what we are trying to do right now — live one day at a time, one practice at a time and one game at a time. I think the kids have bought into that.”

Marshall has lost four straight to the Knights, all four since the teams joined C-USA in 2005. The Herd was 3-0 against UCF when they were members of the Mid-American Conference.

Brynn Harvey, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound sophomore, leads the ground attack for UCF (4-3, 2-2) with 632 yards and six touchdowns.

He ran for 150 yards in last year’s 30-14 win in Huntington.

Quarterback Brett Hodges has started five straight games for the Knights, taking the job from sophomore Rob Calabrese. Hodges has completed 97 of 165 passes for 1,216 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Hodges has spread the ball around well. The Knights have six players in double figures in receptions, led by Rocky Ross’ 21 for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns. A.J. Guyton and Jamar Newsome each have 19, Guyton for 306 yards and a score and Newsome 239 and three TDs.

UCF is 11th in the nation in run defense at 92.3 yards per game. Marshall tailback Darius Marshall (952 yards, 136.0 per game, 10 TDs) will be the focal point of the Knights defense.

Having the home crowd on their side will also be huge for the Knights.

“It is nice to get this game on a Sunday because I think we are the only football game in town,” UCF coach George O’Leary said. “I believe my Yankees are going at it (against Philadelphia in game three of the World Series), but the NFL does not have a late game Sunday night. I am hoping we get a great crowd for the game that night.

“Anytime we get on national television with exposure, it is great for the program and it is very important from a fan standpoint and a student body standpoint. It is very important to pack the stadium because that is what people notice the most.”

Snyder expects it to be rocking.

“It is going to be packed. We know that,” Snyder said. “It is tough to watch the end zone film there (because of the movement of the stadium). I likened it to Penn State ... you try to watch the end zone film and the whole thing is shaking. It is hard to watch the film.

“But this will be a fun environment. We have been in some hostile environments, but I really think our guys are ready to play.”

Temperatures in Orlando are expected to be in the mid-70s at kickoff.

— E-mail: gfauber@

register-herald.com

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