Marshall gets another 'tuneup' before Conference USA slate begins

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Posted 7:01PM on Thursday, September 21, 2006

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Marshall should be ready to face Conference USA opponents after this week is over. The Thundering Herd (1-2) travels to No. 15 Tennessee (2-1) on Saturday after playing West Virginia and Kansas State in two of its first three games. ``We won't be shell-shocked by anybody, that's for sure. We've played some pretty good teams,'' second-year Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. The Herd struggled on defense in a 42-10 loss to then-No. 5 West Virginia in the opener and had trouble getting the offense going in a 23-7 loss to Kansas State last week. In between, Marshall beat Hofstra 54-31. ``We're trying to reach our full potential and do all the fundamentals of any level of football and get better at those ... against some really good people,'' Snyder said. ``That adds a challenge, but now you know what you can do when you get to conference play. Hopefully you can learn from it and that's what we're preaching to these kids.'' Marshall will begin its second year in C-USA Oct. 4 in an ESPN2 weeknight game against Central Florida. The Volunteers lost 21-20 to archrival Florida last week in their first Southeastern Conference game of the season and will step out of conference this week for Homecoming and next week at Memphis before a pivotal East division game at Georgia on Oct. 7. ``First, we're getting over the tough loss to Florida. It was a hard fought football game, and we're trying to move on to Marshall,'' Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said earlier this week. ``Marshall's a good team and a dangerous team. They've got some big guys, a very good quarterback and several good receivers. We'll have to play well defensively, and do the same things we've been doing on offense over the past three weeks.'' The Herd had only 142 yards on offense against Kansas State, and Marshall scored its only touchdown when Phillip Gamble blocked a punt and J.J. Johnson recovered and returned it 17 yards. Against West Virginia, the Herd had 322 yards of total offense but its defense allowed 485 yards, 312 of which came on the ground. ``I think we've made some progress. The only issue I have is that each week it's a different segment (that fails): against West Virginia it was our defense, Kansas State it was our offense. I'm wondering what it's gonna be this week,'' Snyder said. ``At some point we're gonna have to put all three phases together and play one of those games.'' The most glaring problem for Tennessee last week was running the ball. The Vols were held to minus 11 yards rushing, the worst ever under Fulmer. ``I think Marshall will be a pretty good I won't say tuneup because we've already played an SEC game, but our running game needs a tuneup,'' Vols offensive guard David Ligon said. ``They have some big defensive linemen that are going to be a challenge to move off the ball, and they've got some good linebackers. So I think it will be a good preparation game.'' If the running game doesn't go against Marshall, Tennessee has the pass, which has been much more reliable. Erik Ainge has already thrown for 807 yards and seven touchdowns. Robert Meachem has 344 yards and four TDs on 17 catches, and Jayson has 14 catches, 216 yards and two scores. ``We still know we have to have a balanced attack to win in the SEC. We've got to get that done,'' Swain said. ``If one is not getting it done, we have to do our best to make plays in other areas to win the game.'' On the Net: Marshall: www.herdzone.com Tennessee: www.utsports.com (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Marshall gets another &#39;tuneup&#39; before Conference USA slate begins

Marshall gets another 'tuneup' before Conference USA slate begins