Nearly 25 years ago, Marshall Football secured its third straight Mid-American Conference Championship title against the Western Michigan Broncos after overcoming a 23-point deficit to win 34-30 with the offense led by quarterback Chad Pennington.

“We had played them in the regular season as well and beat them there. And then we had to face them again in the MAC Championship,” Pennington said. “That game was extremely memorable being down 23-to-0 with about eight minutes left in the third quarter.”

The Herd rallied from the four-score deficit and found itself situated on the goal line down 30-27 in the waning seconds of the game. At the snap of the ball, Pennington located senior fullback Eric Pinkerton in the flat and launched the one-yard pass into the endzone to give the Herd the game-winning score.

“Pinkerton came open, and what’s so fitting for that play is that he had just moved to fullback his senior year,” Pennington said. “He had played linebacker for four years, including his red-shirt year. He moves to fullback his senior year. He had never run a route for us at all.”

Pinkerton’s route that resulted in the game-winning score was in the team’s goal line package but hadn’t been run all season.

“At the most crucial point of the game and of the season, his number was called, and it wasn’t a great throw. He goes down and scoops it on a low throw and makes the grab,” Pennington said. “It’s one of those sports moments that can only be created in those situations, and it was pretty awesome to witness.”

The Herd’s position to score was set up by a 33-yard scramble from Pennington that also resulted in a personal foul called on the Broncos to put the Herd in the red zone with less than one minute left.

“I was working a read, and that rush lane just flashed in my face,” Pennington said. “When that rush lane came open, I felt like I should hit it, get to the sideline and grab eight to 10 yards, get out of bounds and stop the clock. When I got to the sideline there was nobody there. So, I just turned down the sideline and rode it out.”

Until the third quarter, the Herd was held scoreless by the Broncos’ defense. Marshall’s defense also struggled in containing the Western Michigan offense led by quarterback Tim Lester.

The Broncos came out of halftime with a dominating 20-point lead and soon added a field goal in the early moments of the third quarter to push the lead to 23. 

Pennington attributes the Bronco’s dominance of the first half to adjustments that Western Michigan and Lester had made following the team’s previous matchup in the season.

“Anytime you face a senior quarterback, especially the second time, there’s going to be some different things that he’s going to be able to capitalize on based upon what he saw the first time,” Pennington said. “They were able to run the ball relatively effectively, and they had a good mixture of pass and run. Offensively, we were sputtering; we didn’t help our defense out at all.”

With the game beginning to spiral on the Herd, a collection of plays swung the momentum of the game back in favor of Marshall and got the crowd that had previously fallen silent back into the game.

“One was the James Williams touchdown in the right-hand corner going toward the building. Makes a great catch, one- on- one play,” Pennington said. “And then, Maurice Hines, who had an interception. And in those two plays, you could really feel the energy of the stadium change.”

The Herd’s first score of the game was a 38-yard touchdown pass from Pennington to wide receiver Nate Poole.

“Once we got that first touchdown, it started to snowball back in our favor again. We were able to get another turnover, and we scored 27 points in roughly 10 minutes,” Pennington said.

Claiming the 1999 MAC Championship title capped off a historic regular season for the Herd that was filled with highs, such as beating the Clemson Tigers on the road, being ranked in the AP Poll, 

going undefeated and ultimately winning the Motor City Bowl to end the season.

The 1999 season was also a unique season for the Herd and its roster.  

“The most unique thing about that year was we had at least 20 seniors that had come in together as true freshmen, and then we were fifth-year seniors,” Pennington said. “It was a special group and a special time to be a part of Marshall Football.”

Despite the success of the season, Pennington said he and his teammates maintained the same goal throughout the season.

“We focused on the goal at hand, and that was to win the game every time they spotted the ball,” Pennington said. “And I think that was because of our veteran senior lead-

ership and coaching staff who did a great job of keeping us focused and challenged all the time.”

Bonds that were created during the 1999 season have lasted over two decades since the conclusion of that season.

“We had a lot of fun. And of course, winning creates that environment, but at the same time, you really have to like the people you’re playing with to be successful,” Pennington said. “To this day, we have a ton of friendships from that team, and we still keep in touch with each other. We’ll always have that common bond because of our experience together.”

Joseph DiCristofaro can be contacted at [email protected].