Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 63. Marshall
We Are Marshall
Marshall fans, you’ve been spoiled. Not only have you been a top 10 Group of 5 team since moving up to Division 1-A in 1997, you also won 2 Division 1-AA national titles in the 5 years prior. Marshall had hovered around .500 for most of their existence, but everything changed in the late 1980’s, making 6 Division 1-AA national title games in 10 years. Moving up was a no brainer, and with players like Chad Pennington and Randy Moss, the transition was seamless.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+----------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+----------+------+--------------+--------+
| 5 | Marshall | 1999 | 36.87 | 13-0 |
| 10 | Marshall | 2014 | 33.816 | 13-1 |
| 20 | Marshall | 1998 | 20.92 | 12-1 |
| 22 | Marshall | 2001 | 15.314 | 11-2 |
| 30 | Marshall | 2002 | 13.272 | 11-2 |
| 24 | Marshall | 1997 | 12.845 | 10-3 |
| 33 | Marshall | 2013 | 10.568 | 10-4 |
| 36 | Marshall | 2015 | 9.512 | 10-3 |
| 41 | Marshall | 2022 | 5.974 | 9-4 |
| 46 | Marshall | 2003 | 4.165 | 8-4 |
| 41 | Marshall | 2020 | 4.014 | 7-3 |
| 48 | Marshall | 2018 | 0.556 | 9-4 |
| 49 | Marshall | 2019 | -0.926 | 8-5 |
| 55 | Marshall | 2017 | -3.621 | 8-5 |
| 50 | Marshall | 2000 | -4.975 | 8-5 |
| 60 | Marshall | 2011 | -6.939 | 7-6 |
| 73 | Marshall | 2021 | -11.225 | 7-6 |
| 71 | Marshall | 2009 | -11.618 | 7-6 |
| 67 | Marshall | 2004 | -14.004 | 6-6 |
| 84 | Marshall | 2010 | -24.894 | 5-7 |
| 86 | Marshall | 2012 | -25.89 | 5-7 |
| 87 | Marshall | 2006 | -27.194 | 5-7 |
| 95 | Marshall | 2008 | -28.675 | 4-8 |
| 96 | Marshall | 2005 | -29.514 | 4-7 |
| 101 | Marshall | 2007 | -37.43 | 3-9 |
| 118 | Marshall | 2016 | -43.988 | 3-9 |
+------+----------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 15407 (63rd)204-124 record
6 conference titles
13-5 bowl record
1 consensus All-American
23 NFL players drafted
18 bowl appearances in 26 years is…really freaking good. Especially for a Group of 5 team. I haven’t crunched the numbers, but that’s gotta be in at least the top 50, maybe top 25-30, for bowl appearance rate. 6 conference titles is also incredible for such a short span of time. Marshall won the MAC 5 times in 6 years from 1997-02, arguably the best dynasty in the conference’s history, and they did it as an FBS newcomer. The one consensus All-American was, of course, Randy Moss, who in 1997 won the Biletnikoff Award with a staggering 96 catches for 1820 yards and 26 TD, setting an NCAA record for TD receptions in a season. Moss is the most notable NFL player from the Herd, followed by, in no specific order, WR Troy Brown, QB Chad Pennington, QB Byron Leftwich, and RB Ahmad Bradshaw.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2016 (3-9 overall, 2-6 Conference USA)
Coming off of 3 straight 10-win seasons, the wheels finally fell off in 2016 due to a defense that would make swiss cheese blush. Marshall avoided the bottom of the Conference USA East by beating cellar dweller FAU 27-21, and even had a blowout win over 8-5 Middle Tennessee. But they had some real stinkers though, namely 38-65 to Akron, 28-59 to Louisville, and 6-60 to Western Kentucky. 6’6 QB Chase Litton was fine, throwing for 2500+ yards with 24 TD 9 INT and the offense averaged 26.4 PPG, it was just the defense that let them down with 35.2 PPG allowed. Things would return to normal the following year, and Marshall’s only had winning seasons since. The offense only scored 0.3 more PPG in 2017 but allowed 15.3 PPG less.
5. 2002 (11-2 overall, 7-1 MAC)
The 5th MAC title in 6 years. This was “only” the 4th best of them, which is pretty nifty to say your 4th best season in 6 years was a top 25 finish. QB Byron Leftwich entered the year as a Heisman candidate, and delivered. Leftwich was coming off a season where he threw 38 TD 7 INT, and more specifically coming off a game at the end of 2001, the GMAC Bowl, where he threw for 576 yards against East Carolina. They entered the year #16 but fell out by week 3 after a 21-47 loss to Virginia Tech, unable to hang with the big boys. After a 26-21 win over fellow MAC contender UCF, Marshall got to work against a soft schedule, winning 5 straight before losing to Akron to fall to 6-2. Matched up with rival 7-3 Miami (OH), it was expected to be a future NFL QB battle between Leftwich and Ben Roethlisberger, but Leftwich was on crutches. Backup Stan Hill accounted for 5 Marshall TDs, and the Herd scored a TD with just 5 seconds left to steal a wild 36-34 victory. In a rematch of the MAC title game from last season, Marshall got revenge against Toledo in this year’s championship with a 49-45 victory to claim their 5th title in 6 years. Leftwich threw 4 TDs in a 38-15 win over Louisville in the GMAC Bowl.
Leftwich won MAC Offensive POTY for the 2nd straight season, completing 67% of passes for 4000+ yards 30 TD 10 INT. He also finished 6th in Heisman voting, receiving 22 first place votes, and was the 7th overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. WR Darius Watts led with 1030 receiving yards and 12 TD, and was a 2nd round pick in 2004.
4. 2001 (11-2 overall, 8-0 MAC)
Marshall entered the year having won 4 straight MAC titles. With Leftwich returning for his 2nd season as a starter, a repeat seemed inevitable. After a loss to Steve Spurrier’s #1 Florida, Marshall won 10 straight, notching wins over Urban Meyer’s Bowling Green, 37-15 against Joe Novak’s Northern Illinois, and 27-21 over rival Miami (OH) with Roethlisberger. It was #20 Marshall vs 9-2 Toledo for the title, with the Herd just 3 point favorites. After going up 23-0 in the 1st quarter, Marshall watched their lead evaporate, unable to stop Toledo and future NFL RB Chester Taylor, who ran for 188 yards and 2 TD. Buoyed by Taylor and a fake FG touchdown, Toledo stormed back to take the title 41-36 and end Marshall’s reign atop the conference (until next year). In one of the most exciting bowl games every played, Marshall rallied back from a 38-8 halftime deficit to win 64-61 in 2OT, thanks to 576 passing yards from Leftwich. He won MAC Offensive POTY with 4000+ yards and 38 TD to just 7 INT, while WR Darius Watts led the conference in every major receiving category with 91 catches for 1417 yards and 18 TD. Watts would go on to finish 2nd in NCAA history in career TD receptions with 47.
3. 1998 (12-1 overall, 7-1 MAC)
Life with Randy Moss sure is sweet, huh? Except Moss wasn’t on this team, he was setting records in the NFL as a rookie. Chad Pennington held down the fort for Marshall’s 3rd best team ever. An 8-0 start included wins of 24-21 over South Carolina, 31-17 over an eventual 10-1 Miami (OH) team, and a combined 84-17 over Kent/Ball State. A momentary lapse against Bowling Green ruined an unbeaten season, but stay tuned for 1999. Marshall locked up their spot in the MAC title game with a 28-0 shutout of 5-3 Central Michigan, and beat Toledo 23-17 in the MAC championship in what would become a recurring rivalry, with the two meeting in 4 of 6 MAC championships from 1997-02. Pennington threw for 411 yards and 4 TD in a 48-29 bowl win over Louisville for the program’s first ever bowl win. Despite not having a receiver go for more than 650 yards, Pennington threw for 3830 yards 28 TD 7 INT, helped by the run game of RB Doug Chapman, who had 1544 yards and 20 TD from scrimmage. DB Danny Dericott led the MAC with 6 INTs. Bob Pruett won MAC Coach of the Year for the 2nd straight season.
2. 2014 (13-1 overall, 7-1 Conference USA)
There was just 1 player drafted into the NFL from this team, but they had heart over height, with their best players on offense being a 180 lb QB, 170 lb RB, and 5’7 WR. In the first year of the College Football Playoff Committee, Marshall was the litmus test to see how much respect Group of 5 teams would get in the polls. The answer? Not much. Despite an 11-0 start, Marshall was ranked just #24 by the committee! It seemed harsh—Marshall’s SOS was weak, sure, but they dominated the competition, blowing out 4 bowl eligible teams: 44-14 over Ohio, 49-24 over Middle Tennessee, 41-14 over Rice, and 23-18 over UAB. That set up a crazy shootout with Western Kentucky, where Marshall finally received their first loss, losing 66-67 in OT on a WKU 2 point conversion. Both QBs (Rakeem Cato of Marshall and Brandon Doughty of WKU) combined for 15 passing TDs. Marshall walked into the C-USA title game with their tail tucked between their legs, but still recovered to beat Louisiana Tech, and blew out an 11-2 Northern Illinois team 52-23 in the Boca Raton Bowl. I think this Marshall team was underrated—maybe not as good as #10 as my algorithm had them in 2014, but definitely better than their final AP ranking of #23.
Senior QB Rakeem Cato finished an illustrious career, throwing for 3903 yards 40 TD 13 INT, also rushing for nearly 500 yards with 8 TD. Cato won C-USA Offensive POTY for the 2nd straight season and finished 6th in NCAA career total yardage with 14,918. RB Devon Johnson would’ve won Offensive POTY just about any other year, posting a ridiculous statline of 1767 rushing yards and 17 TD on 8.6(!!) YPC. WR Tommy Shuler, built like a RB at 5’7 188 lbs, tied an NCAA record with a 3rd straight 1000+ yard receiving season, earning 1st Team All-CUSA alongside Cato and Johnson. LB Neville Hewitt, a former junior college transfer, won C-USA Defensive POTY, logging 123 tackles, 5 sacks, 8 TFL, and 1 INT 3 PBU. Doc Holliday won C-USA Coach of the Year. Overall, 10 players made 1st Team all-conference.
2014 Marshall is my 21st best Group of 5 team, and the 316th best overall.
1. 1999 (13-0 overall, 8-0 MAC)
There’s almost too much to mention here, as so much happened in the 1999 unbeaten run. Against a Clemson offense coached by Tommy Bowden and Rich Rodriguez, Marshall held the Tigers to just 10 points, scoring a TD with 1:10 left to win it 13-10. QB Chad Pennington led the 11 play 74 yard game winning drive, and Clemson missed a 34 yard FG in the dying seconds. Strong defense and big plays from Pennington would be the theme all season. After a 3-0 start, Marshall entered the top 25 at #21. Later, Marshall was 5-0 hosting Toledo in a rematch of the past 2 MAC title games. ESPN College GameDay was in attendance for a 38-13 Marshall victory, and people were starting to take Marshall seriously as the best non-Power 6 team in the nation. Both Marshall’s offense and defense continued to hum en route to an 11-0 regular season with blowout win after blowout win. It was then #11 Marshall vs 7-4 Western Michigan for the MAC title and lone conference bowl slot. Poised to pull off the upset, WMU took a 23-0 lead in the 3rd quarter before Pennington stormed back to win it 34-30, scoring a 1 yard TD with just 4 seconds left. Turned away from being a “BCS buster”, Marshall settled for the Motor City Bowl vs BYU, the defense doing its thing in a 21-3 victory. After a blind side sack on BYU QB Kevin Feterik in the 2nd quarter, Feterik ripped into his offensive line for allowing the free rusher. BYU didn’t score a single point after that.
Statistically this team was nuts. The defense ranked 1st in the country, allowing just 10.5 PPG. The offense was top 10 in the nation as well, averaging 35.6 PPG. Pennington was invited to Manhattan for the Heisman ceremony, finishing 5th. He won the MAC Offensive POTY and Sammy Baugh Trophy after throwing for 3800 yards 37 TD 11 INT. 7 out of 11 starters on offense made 1st Team All-MAC, and 10 out of 11 starters on defense made 1st/2nd Team All-MAC, which is just unreal. Practically the entire starting lineup was all-conference. Coach Bob Pruett, the mastermind behind the whole operation, went on to coach Marshall for 5 more years, winning 2 more MAC titles. Pennington became a 2x NFL Comeback Player of the Year, and had a respectable career with the Jets and Dolphins.
199 Marshall is my 15th best Group of 5 team, and the 247th best overall.
5th Quarter
How impressive was Marshall’s rise from 1970 to today? How good was that 1999 team, could they have competed with Florida State or Virginia Tech in the BCS title game? Is calling 1999 Marshall the 15th best Group of 5 team and 247th best team since 1983 accurate? Was the 2014 team in fact underrated by the polls that year, or do you agree with their ranking of around 20 to 25 given their strength of schedule? What players/plays/games do you think of when you think of Marshall?
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