Marshall Football returns home for a big game to remember the 75 Saturday, Nov. 8, against the James Madison University Dukes.
The annual 75 game is the closest home game date-wise to the anniversary of the 1970 plane crash that killed 75 Marshall Football players, coaches, staff, patrons and plane crew while coming home from a game against the East Carolina Pirates.
James Madison is currently sitting at the top of the Sun Belt East with an overall record of 7-1, currently undefeated in conference play.
The Dukes are coming off a blowout game against the Old Dominion Monarchs, where James Madison dominated on offense, scoring 63 points to ODU’s 27.
JMU junior quarterback Alonza Barnett III is a player to keep watch on because he is averaging 178 yards per game, and in his last five games, he averaged 2.15 touchdowns, both passing and rushing.
Other wins James Madison had this season were against Liberty (31-13), Georgia Southern (35-10), Georgia State (14-7) and Louisiana (24-14), with the team’s only loss against Louisville (28-14).
“A lot of times in that game, it felt like we were out of it, and they just kept finding way, so you know going back watching please with the effort,” head coach Tony Gibson said. “We still have some technique stuff to clean up – scheme stuff to clean up on both sides of the ball.”
Gibson also gave praise on his special team’s performance during the Texas State homecoming game.
“Lorcan (Quinn) was huge in that game, count 14 points, but the boys have my back, and we got to win, so now it’s time to move on,” he said.
Quinn was named Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Week due to his performance in the game.
“We’ve been to overtime games, we’ve had big wins, we’ve had close wins – our kids are in a groove right now, so we just have to keep it rolling.” Gibson said. “We have to keep repairing the right way; we have to keep doing things the right way on and off the field: taking care of our bodies, getting rest – all the things that you need to do to be a good football player.”
The Herd currently holds a 4-1 record against the Dukes dating back to its first win during the 1987 season when the Herd won 41-12.
The game is set for a noon kickoff and will either be shown on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
Nate Harrah can be contacted at [email protected].
