MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Mention Marshall football, and certain things come immediately to mind. It’s the place where Hall of Famer Randy Moss played college ball before his long and consequential NFL career; it’s the football program that lost most of its coaches and players in a 1970 plane crash and it’s the subject of the 2006 film, “We Are Marshall.”
“The story of Marshall affects all of college football,” coach Charles Huff said. “I tell recruits when they come to Marshall, ‘Marshall affected your progress in college before you even knew it.’”
Before 1970, freshmen were not allowed to play varsity football but Marshall fought the NCAA to change that in order to continue their program.
“That really opened the door to what we see now,” Huff said. “Then you’ve got the recent history, the good part, the story of the tragedy and the rebirth, and the next phase of that, you’re talking about national championships, conference championships, Hall of Famers, Randy Moss, Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, and now here we are in a bowl game with a chance to do something special. It’s not just the history, it’s the sustainability of history that to me is impressive.”
Now, as Huff readies the Thundering Herd to play UConn in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on Monday, he asks his players, “What is going to be our legacy?”
UConn (6-6), in a bowl for the first time since losing to Marshall in 2015, is trying to restart its football history 12 long, lost years after the high-water mark of making the Fiesta Bowl. Marshall (8-4), with a victory at Notre Dame on its resume, will be chasing its history.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity for us to play one more game in a wonderful environment against a great football team, a storied football program,” UConn coach Jim Mora said. “I have a lot of respect for what Marshall has established. For people of my generation, the Marshall story is a compelling one and to see them continue to play at such as high level is exciting.”
Mora, 60, worked in TV during his four years out of coaching and had the chance to work a Marshall game for ESPN.
“It was fun to watch them play football,” Mora said. “They play hard, they play physical, they play with great discipline and tenacity.”
After many losing seasons, Marshall rose as a Division I-AA (now FCS) program to win national championships in 1992 and ‘96. Since moving back to the highest level, FBS, Marshall has been a consistent winner.
Huff, who arrived last season from Alabama where he was running backs coach, has brought in 48 new players, 24 transfers. The Herd went 7-6, lost to Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl last season, and now face UConn.
Marshall has three all-Sunbelt Conference first-teamers: defensive back Micah Abraham, running back Khalan Laborn and defensive lineman Owen Porter. A deeper team that a year ago, the Thundering Herd are known for running the ball (205.6 yards per game) and stopping the run (88.8 per game).
Laborn has 1,475 yards rushing. Mora is especially concerned about dual-threat quarterback Cam Fancher, who rushed for 580 yards and threw for 1,465.
Neither team, though, is in any sort of happy-to-be-here mode, nor is either team bored with the experience. “This is like our championship game,” Huff said.
Marshall, a double-digit favorite, lost to Troy, Louisiana, Bowling Green and Coastal Carolina during the season, but can hang its helmet on that 26-21 stunner in South Bend. Keeping in mind how UConn fared in its forays against the highest level of competition at Michigan and NC State, this is no small matter.
“The kids in our locker room are confident,” Huff said. “They think we can beat the Washington Commanders. But what it did for us was, it validated our process, validated why we work so hard in the offseason, why we practice so hard, why the coaches are on you at every step. It validated everything we’ve been preaching, and sometimes until you get a tangible result, it doesn’t really hit home.”
And for UConn, this is a chance to turn Mora’s impressive one-year turn-around from 1-11 to 6-6 into a full-scale rise. Already Mora is seeing the difference on the recruiting trail.
“More people are responding to us,” he said. “There is a little more interest in us as a program because there is a little more proof as to where we are heading. Let’s not mistake it, we’re 6-6, we’re not 8-4. We have a long ways to go, but I believe this season has shown people who had some hesitation that we’re on the right path, with the right people. So they’re more open to listening to what our vision is.”
So for the Huskies, this is a chance for an historic win over a program that has already made history. That would be a something worth taking back to Connecticut with the trophy, a gift that could keep on giving.
