It’s rebound day for both Marshall and West Virginia.
The Mountain State’s two Division I football teams both had tough losses last week, with the Mountaineers losing to Ohio in Athens and the Thundering Herd dropping a one-point decision at home to Missouri State.
This week, it’s time for both teams to find a way to right their respective ships.
For the Mountaineers, there’s no time like the present, given that this is the Backyard Brawl.
I don’t need to remind anyone that the last time Rich Rodriguez coached in this game, it didn’t go well. WVU’s 13-9 loss to Pitt at Milan Puskar Stadium cost it a chance at a possible national championship in 2007.
WVU isn’t the favorite for this game, and the loss to the Bobcats proved costly, with the loss of running back Jahiem White and wide receiver Jaden Bray to season-ending injuries.
White is the Mountaineers’ leading rusher this season with 133 yards on 24 carries and three TDs.
Although there’s some experience, it appears, lined up behind White to handle or at least share the workload against the Panthers, WVU will be facing the nation’s sixth-best rush defense in Pitt, according to ESPN.
Bray’s loss is another blow to an offense that was already struggling to convert on third downs. If the offense can’t help the defense stay off the field, it could and likely will be a long day for the Mountaineers.
There’s no rebound here.
The prediction: Pitt 35, WVU 13.
That brings us to the Thundering Herd, which is host to Division I FCS program Eastern Kentucky at Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Saturday.
It’s the 22nd time the two programs have met, including Marshall’s 59-0 win over the Colonels in 2020, the last matchup between the two. MU leads the series 12-8-1.
The Herd and the Colonels have been playing off and on for the last 99 years, and during the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was a full-blown rivalry.
I was at Marshall's final game at Fairfield Stadium in 1990 when Eastern Kentucky, ranked No. 1 in what was Division I-AA, arrived in Huntington and denied the Herd a possible playoff spot with a 15-12 win.
That was the last time the Colonels defeated the Herd in Huntington. A year later, Marshall beat Eastern Kentucky in the 1991 I-AA national semifinals, 14-7, at what is now Edwards Stadium. In 1992, it was all MU, 44-0.
Those were the glory days for the Herd, and first-year coach Tony Gibson has had trouble finding his footing early on this year.
Last week’s loss to Conference USA foe Missouri State dropped Marshall to 0-2.
MU couldn’t hold a two-possession lead in the second half, and it allowed the Bears to get a road win, as well as their first victory at the FBS level.
Gibson and the Herd need to rebound and in the worst way. Eastern Kentucky presents that perfect opportunity.
However, Marshall will need to have a defense that tackles better and makes stops when it needs them. The offense needs to have a game plan, which seemed to be lacking against the Bears.
Eastern Kentucky needed a late touchdown to get by Houston Christian for a 20-10 win to even the Colonels’ record to 1-1 this season.
Marshall will be the second FBS program Eastern Kentucky has played this season, after a loss two weeks ago at Louisville, and it might see an opportunity to get the Colonels' first win in Huntington in 35 years.
The Herd can’t let that happen.
The prediction: Marshall 28, EKU 10.
