It could happen. The Pirates can’t take Marshall or Tulane lightly.
Marshall is an insane place for opposing players. The Thunder Herd’s fans are nuts. They have plenty of history.
I have witnessed several Marshall games in the past when it was part of the Mid-American Conference. The Thundering Herd had constant championship battles with my alma mater, the University of Toledo.
I covered four Marshall-Toledo matchups while being Sports Editor for the Toledo student newspaper, The Independent Collegian.
Two of those games, quite possibly, were the greatest games I ever saw.
Marshall had Byron Leftwich as quarterback, while the Rockets were led by running back Chester Taylor. Both games were high-scoring affairs. Both were conference championship games.
Toledo won the game at the Glass Bowl, while Leftwich and Marshall won the following year in Huntington, W.Va.
The MAC championship game at Marshall was an unbelievable experience. Prior to the game, we would walk about the campus and see the big statue of John Marshall, as well as the fountain symbolizing the lives lost in the plane crash in 1970.
During the game, it was freezing, but still walking along the sidelines seeing the Marshall fans taunting the other players, tossing snow ball onto the field and being complete punks.
But they still showed passion for their Thundering Herd.
It is going to be a tough place to play for East Carolina.
The Thundering Herd is entering Saturday’s game with nothing to play for and really nothing to lose, while the Pirates have everything to play for. Marshall is in a position to play spoiler. It can utilize every play in the playbook.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see numerous fake punts, a quadruple flee flicker or the infamous hook-and-ladder play on just a regular 2nd-and-8 play.
The Pirates better bring their A-game on Saturday and take the cliché — one game at a time — to heart.
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