Despite key injuries, Head Football Coach Doc Holliday’s team has been red hot in its last three conference games but now swings its attention to a winless Rice University.

“It is going to be a fight for us,” Holliday said. “Everyone looks at Rice’s record and thinks they are not a very good football team, but just look at their scores. Everyone they have played they have taken it right to the wire.”

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Isaiah Green has stressed the importance of younger players stepping up in the absence of key veteran playmakers. Recently, not only has that happened but the entire Marshall team has upped their play, including Green.

After turning the ball over four times against Middle Tennessee University in the teams first conference game, Green has been more consistent in the pocket. Without veteran receivers, he still has thrown for 611-yards and four touchdowns and only one interception in the last three conference matchups. 

One of the young players that has stepped up to the challenge is freshman wide receiver Broc Thompson. Against its latest win over WKU, Thompson led the team in receiving yards with 91-yards on three receptions.

Even though he is not a younger player, redshirt senior Tyler Brown made an immediate impact for the defense when starting redshirt junior linebacker Jaquan Yulee went down with an injury in game one. With Brown having 30 total tackles and 5.5 sacks and one of them accounting for a safety, the Herd’s defense will need him to continue his level of play against a Rice team that has explosive offensive playmakers.

“We went through a lot of adversity at the start of the season,” senior defensive back Kereon Merrell said. “Through it all, we have never separated, everything that we have went through made us come together.

Prior to Marshall’s win over Western Kentucky where senior kicker Justin Rohrwasser drilled a career long 53-yard field goal to win 26-23, the Hilltoppers controlled the East Division of Conference-USA. While even though WKU is still number one in the East Division because of more games played thus far, if the Herd and Hilltoppers win the rest of their games, Marshall will be crowned the winner based on power of schedule.

“It was one of the best moments of my life, but as far as I am concerned it is over,” Rohrwasser said. “Now we are on to a really good team in Rice and I have to go my job against a new opponent.”

The Herd will make the trip to Texas to take on the Owls at 3:30 p.m. EST Saturday Nov. 2nd.

Brigham Warf can be contacted at [email protected].