1995 Marshall Thundering Herd football team
The 1995 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The team advanced to the national championship game but lost to Montana Grizzlies, 22–20.
| 1995 Marshall Thundering Herd football | |
|---|---|
Division I-AA Championship Game, L 22–20 vs. Montana | |
| Conference | Southern Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Sports Network | No. 6 |
| 1995 record | 12–3 (7–1 SoCon) |
| Head coach | Jim Donnan (6th season) |
| Offensive coordinator | Chris Scelfo (3rd season) |
| Home stadium | Marshall University Stadium |
| 1995 Southern Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Appalachian State $^ | 8 | – | 0 | 12 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Marshall ^ | 7 | – | 1 | 12 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Georgia Southern ^ | 5 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Furman | 5 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Tennessee State | 4 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VMI | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chattanooga | 2 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Carolina | 2 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Citadel | 0 | – | 8 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Regular season
Marshall was quarterbacked by true freshman and future NFL starter Chad Pennington. Starting running back Chris Parker set the Marshall single season rushing record with 1,833 rushing yards.[1]
Postseason
Marshall advanced to the 1995 NCAA I-AA playoffs with an at large bid, but held home field advantage for the first two games, defeating Jackson State and Northern Iowa in Huntington before going on the road against McNeese State in the semifinal game. Marshall defeated McNeese State and advanced to the I-AA National Championship game, which was held at Marshall's stadium against the Montana Grizzlies. This was the fourth consecutive I-AA National Championship game hosted by Marshall. Marshall lost the championship game, 22–20.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 31 | at NC State* | No. 2 | L 16–33 | |
| September 9 | Tennessee Tech* | No. 3 | W 45–14 | |
| September 16 | No. 13 Georgia Southern | No. 4 | W 37–7 | |
| September 30 | at Chattanooga | No. 4 | W 35–32 | |
| October 7 | VMI | No. 3 | W 56–21 | |
| October 14 | at Western Carolina | No. 3 | W 42–3 | |
| October 21 | No. 2 Appalachian State | No. 3 | L 3–10 | |
| October 28 | at The Citadel | No. 7 | W 21–19 | |
| November 4 | East Tennessee State | No. 7 | W 52–0 | |
| November 11 | at Furman | No. 7 | W 31–6 | |
| November 18 | Hofstra* | No. 6 | W 30–28 | |
| November 25 | Jackson State* | No. 6 | W 38–8 | |
| December 2 | No. 18 Northern Iowa* | No. 6 | W 41–24 | |
| December 9 | at No. 1 McNeese State* | No. 6 | W 25–13 | |
| December 16 | No. 8 Montana* | No. 6 | L 20–22 | |
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