By Bret Strelow | App State Athletics
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — App State and Marshall are facing each other for the third straight season, but this throwback matchup has received a modern-day makeover now that they're Sun Belt Conference counterparts.
Squaring off in a league game for the first time since 1996, the Mountaineers and Thundering Herd will meet Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Longtime App State fans can recall the intense rivalry with Marshall from their time together in the FCS-level Southern Conference from 1977-96, with both teams being ranked in eight of their last 13 meetings during that time period. In addition to a one-off game in 2002, the rivalry resumed in 2020 with Marshall claiming a home win, and the Mountaineers earned a 31-30 victory in dramatic fashion last season at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
A four-game deal also called for a nonleague matchup at Marshall in 2022, but realignment led to this game quickly changing dates on the schedule and becoming a league game. Both teams will take the field Saturday at 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the Sun Belt.
"It's just a great rivalry," said App State head coach
Shawn Clark, a native of Charleston, W.Va. "You're talking about two great fan bases that are passionate about their programs and expect to win. I don't see that changing any time soon, and it's going to be a great atmosphere in Huntington."
The Mountaineers are seeking their first win in Huntington since 1995, when Clark was an all-conference offensive linemen helping his second-ranked team grind out a 10-3 victory against No. 3 Marshall. Dexter Coakley recorded 21 tackles, and Scott Satterfield scored the game's only touchdown on a 5-yard keeper with 4:18 remaining.
Could this be another low-scoring thriller?
"We've had some great games against them in the past," Clark said. "I think our players realize now that this is a big game. The young guys in 2020 probably didn't understand the magnitude of playing Marshall, and we got beat in Huntington. We came back here and won at the very end last year. I don't think either team planned to be 5-4 here going into Week 11, but there's a lot to play for."
Marshall ranks among the national leaders in third-down defense (No. 1 by allowing a 20.6 conversion rate), fewest rushing yards allowed per game (No. 3 at 78.7), fewest points allowed per game (No. 6 at 15.6), fewest total yards allowed per game (No. 8 at 274.6), defensive interceptions (No. 7 with 13), turnovers forced (No. 5 with 21), fewest first downs allowed (No. 6 ranking) and lowest passing efficiency by opposing quarterbacks (No. 3 at 103.7).
Defensive lineman Owen Porter has 7.5 sacks among his 10.0 tackles for loss, while cornerbacks Micah Abraham and Steven Gilmore have combined for seven interceptions and 11 pass breakups. Andre Sam, a safety, leads the team with seven breakups.
App State has averaged 254.8 rushing yards per game in its five wins but has rushed for less than 90 yards in its last three losses, with totals of 63 yards against JMU, 41 yards at Texas State and 88 yards at Coastal Carolina. The work up front by the Mountaineers' offensive line and running from a deep group of backs will be important to avoid a one-dimensional approach requiring lots of throws from quarterback
Chase Brice, who enjoyed down-the-field success with
Dalton Stroman and others in the previous two games.
"They've got great players that play very fast," Clark said. "All across the field, they have athletes. We have to do a great job of being successful on first down and not getting into second and long or third and long."
Defensively, App State will attempt to slow down 212-pound running back and Florida State transfer Khalan Laborn, who ranks fourth nationally with 1,200 rushing yards and fifth with 13 rushing touchdowns. His big season has followed the 1,401-yard season in 2021 from Rasheen Ali, a redshirt sophomore on the 2022 roster.
At quarterback, 6-foot-3 Texas Tech transfer Henry Colombi started the first six games, but 6-1, 195-pound redshirt freshman Cam Fancher has started the last three. The left-handed Fancher took over after the Thundering Herd totaled 20 points in a pair of Sun Belt loss, and he helped lead Marshall to a 26-12 win at James Madison. He threw for 320 yards in a 24-13 loss to Coastal Carolina before the Thundering Herd kicked four field goals in a 12-0 shutout of ODU.
Injuries at two of four linebacker spots have forced App State to frequently tweak its personnel on the second level of the defense, but the Mountaineers have held their opponents to 17 points or less in four of their five wins and held their opponent to less than 90 rushing yards in four of their five wins.
"They're going to try to get their run game established, dink and dunk you a little bit and then throw some shots down the field," Clark said. "We have to be prepared for both quarterbacks and those two great running backs they have. These kinds of games are fun to play in."
On Saturday, Marshall's football team will wear black helmets that include the Young Thundering Herd logo for the annual "75" game.
On the stripe of the helmet features the names of 75 individuals who lost their lives in 1970, when Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed into a hillside, killing all aboard.
