1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

The 1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented the Marshall University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the program's first year in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They were led by second-year head coach Bob Pruett.

1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football
MAC champion MAC East Division champion
MAC Championship Game, W 34–14 vs. Toledo
Motor City Bowl, L 31–34 vs. Ole Miss
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	East
1997 record	10–3 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach	Bob Pruett (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Nunez (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Kevin Kelly
Home stadium	Marshall University Stadium (Capacity: 30,000)

1997 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall x$		7	–	1					10	–	3
Miami		6	–	2					8	–	3
Ohio		6	–	2					8	–	3
Bowling Green		3	–	5					3	–	8
Kent State		3	–	5					3	–	8
Akron		2	–	7					2	–	9
West Division
Toledo x		7	–	1					9	–	3
Western Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	3
Ball State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Eastern Michigan		4	–	5					4	–	7
Central Michigan		1	–	7					2	–	9
Northern Illinois		0	–	8					0	–	11
Championship: Marshall 34, Toledo 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Regular season

In the 1997 season, Marshall University's first in Division I-A (now known as FBS), Randy Moss and future NFL quarterback Chad Pennington were the centerpiece of an explosive offense that led the Thundering Herd to the Mid-American Conference title. Moss caught 25 touchdown passes that season, at the time a Division I-A record, and was a unanimous first-team All-American.[1] For the season, Moss had 96 receptions for 1820 yards, and 26 touchdowns. Moss won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's leading wide receiver, and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy (finishing fourth in the balloting, behind Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning, and Charles Woodson, who won the award). Moss left Marshall with 168 receptions for 3,467 yards and a school record 53 touchdowns in 2 seasons.

The Herd became only the second team to win a conference championship in its first FBS season, after Nevada in 1992 (Big West Conference). The feat would not be repeated again until 2014, when Georgia Southern won the Sun Belt Conference title.

Schedule

The Thundering Herd finished the regular season with a record of 10 wins and 2 losses.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	12:00 PM	at West Virginia*	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Friends of Coal Bowl)	ESPN+	L 31–42	65,492
September 6	1:00 PM	at Army*	Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 35–25	30,358
September 13	3:30 PM	at Kent State	Dix Stadium Kent, OH		W 42–17	11,021
September 20	7:00 PM	Western Illinois*	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	WSAZ	W 48–7	26,724
September 27	1:00 PM	at Ball State	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	WVAH	W 42–16	20,415
October 11	7:00 PM	Akron	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 52–17	26,642
October 18	2:00 PM	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	WSAZ	L 21–45	29,027
October 25	7:00 PM	Eastern Michigan	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 48–25	21,474
November 1	1:00 PM	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	WSAZ	W 45–17	15,324
November 8	3:30 PM	Bowling Green	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	WSAZ	W 28–0	23,509
November 15	3:30 PM	Ohio	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (Battle for the Bell)		W 27–0	32,012
December 5	7:30 PM	Toledo	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (MAC Championship Game)	ESPN2	W 34–14	28,021
December 26	8:00 PM	vs. Ole Miss*	Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, MI (Motor City Bowl)	ESPN	L 31–34	43,340
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 22 Doug Chapman So WR 18 LaVorn Colclough Jr OT 63 Mike Guilliams So WR 88 Randy Moss So WR 85 Matthew Harris So QB 10 Chad Pennington  So OG 52 Brian Reed Sr OT 78 Jamie Rodgers OG 65 Burt Scarbrough Jr C 62 Jason Starkey So RB 32 Llow Turner So C 66 John Wade Sr TE 87 John White Jr WR 2 Mark Wicks Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class FS 42 Rogers Beckett So DE 5 B. J. Cohen Sr LB 4 John Grace So DL 6 Ricky Hall Jr ROV 9 Thomas Maxwell Sr LB 28 Larry McCloud Sr CB 11 Larry Moore Sr LB 55 Andre O'Neal So CB 8 B. J. Summers Sr DE 58 Paul Totten Jr DT 97 Joe Zeglowitsch Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 41 Chris Hanson Jr K 43 J. R. Jenkins Fr K 49 Billy Malashevich So	Head coach Bob Pruett Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

West Virginia

1 2 3 4 Total Thundering Herd 3 7 21 0 31 • Mountaineers 21 7 0 14 42 Date: August 30 Location: Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV Game start: 12:00 p.m. EDT Game attendance: 65,492 Game weather: 70° F, Partly Cloudy and Mild, Wind NW 4 mph Referee: Jim Maconaghy TV announcers (ESPN+): John Sanders and Jeff Bostic

Scoring summary 1 12:30 WVU Gary Thompkins 7-yard blocked punt return (Jay Taylor kick) WVU 7–0 6:04 WVU Amos Zereoué 10-yard run (Jay Taylor kick) WVU 14–0 2:24 MAR Billy Malashevich 25-yard field goal WVU 14–3 0:02 WVU Amos Zereoué 52-yard run (Jay Taylor kick) WVU 21–3 2 10:51 WVU Curtis Keaton 11-yard run (Jay Taylor kick) WVU 28–3 3:34 MAR LaVorn Colclough 24-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick) WVU 28–10 3 13:08 MAR Randy Moss 15-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick) WVU 28–17 9:24 MAR Llow Turner 53-yard run (Billy Malashevich kick) WVU 28–24 0:35 MAR Randy Moss 25-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick) MAR 31–28 4 11:07 WVU Chad Wable 15-yard pass from Marc Bulger (Jay Taylor kick) WVU 35–31 7:56 WVU Amos Zereoué 1-yard run (Jay Taylor kick) WVU 42–31

See also: 1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football team and Friends of Coal Bowl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–4	1923	L 0–81

After trailing 28–3, the Thundering Herd scored 28 straight to take a 31–28 lead into the 4th quarter. West Virginia responded with two fourth quarter touchdowns to win this much anticipated season opener, 42–31. Randy Moss had seven receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns.[2] [3] [4]

Army

See also: 1997 Army Cadets football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–1	1920	L 0–38

Randy Moss had five receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns.[5] [6]

Kent State

See also: 1997 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–18	1982	W 30–21

Randy Moss hauled in 8 receptions for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Western Illinois

See also: Western Illinois Leathernecks football

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0	1991	W 20–17 OT

Randy Moss had 5 receptions for 52 yards and 2 touchdowns.[7] [8]

Ball State

See also: Ball State Cardinals football

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Randy Moss caught 13 passes for 205 yards and a school-record 5 touchdowns.[9]

Akron

See also: Akron Zips football

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–2	1982	W 12–10

Randy Moss had 6 receptions for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Miami

See also: 1997 Miami RedHawks football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–28–1	1980	L 6–34

Randy Moss had 10 receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown.

Eastern Michigan

See also: 1997 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–1	1984	W 24–17

Randy Moss had 8 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown.

Central Michigan

See also: 1997 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–2	1976	L 7–22

Randy Moss had 7 receptions for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Bowling Green

See also: 1997 Bowling Green Falcons football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–18	1974	L 3–28

Randy Moss had 7 receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown.

Ohio

See also: 1997 Ohio Bobcats football team and Battle for the Bell

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
10–28–6	1988	W 31–14

Randy Moss had seven receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown. [10]

Toledo (MAC Championship Game)

1 2 3 4 Total Rockets 0 7 0 7 14 • Thundering Herd 3 0 14 17 34 Date: December 5 Location: Marshall Stadium Huntington, WV Game start: 7:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 28,021 Game weather: Snow Television network: ESPN2

Scoring summary 1 Marshall Billy Malashevich 22-yard field goal Marshall 3–0 2 Toledo TD Toledo 7–3 3 6:46 Marshall Randy Moss 4-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Malashevich kick) Marshall 10–7 3:48 Marshall Randy Moss 86-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Malashevich kick) Marshall 17–7 4 6:59 Marshall Randy Moss 20-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Malashevich kick) Marshall 24–7 Marshall Doug Chapman 5-yard run (Malashevich kick) Marshall 31–7 Marshall Billy Malashevich field goal Marshall 31–7 Toledo TD Marshall 34–14

Main article: 1997 MAC Championship Game

See also: 1997 Toledo Rockets football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
14–19–1	1982	L 9–17

Randy Moss had seven receptions for 170 yards and three touchdowns.[11] [12] [13]

vs. Ole Miss (Motor City Bowl)

1 2 3 4 Total • Rebels 7 0 14 13 34 Thundering Herd 10 7 0 14 31 Date: December 26 Location: Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, MI Game attendance: 43,430 Game weather: Indoors TV announcers (ESPN): Jerry Punch and Mike Gottfried

Scoring summary 1 14:36 MISS John Avery 1-yard run (Lindsey kick) MISS 7–0 14:19 MAR Randy Moss 80-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick) Tied 7–7 MAR Billy Malashevich field goal MAR 10–7 2 MAR LaVorn Colclough pass from Chad Pennington (Bill Malashevich kick) MAR 17–7 3 MISS Andre Rone pass from Stewart Patridge (Lindsey kick) MAR 17–14 MISS Deuce McAllister 20-yard pass from Stewart Patridge (Lindsey kick) MISS 21–17 4 10:12 MAR Doug Chapman 6-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick) MAR 24–21 5:39 MISS Grant Heard 19-yard pass from Stewart Patridge (kick failed) MISS 27–24 2:57 MAR Doug Chapman 9-yard run (Billy Malashevich kick) MAR 31–27 0:31 MISS Deuce McAllister 1-yard run (Lindsey kick) MISS 34–31

Main article: 1997 Motor City Bowl

See also: 1997 Ole Miss Rebels football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Playing in its first bowl game since the 1948 Tangerine Bowl, Marshall lost a back-and-forth matchup with Ole Miss. Randy Moss had 6 receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown, including an 80-yard bomb from Chad Pennington, in his final collegiate game.[14] [15] [16]

Awards and honors

• Randy Moss – Fred Biletnikoff Award,[17] Heisman Trophy Finalist (4th in Voting), Unanimous First-Team All-American, MAC Offensive Player of the Year

Team Players in the 1998 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Team
Randy Moss	Wide Receiver	1	21	Minnesota Vikings
John Wade	Center	5	148	Jacksonville Jaguars

[18]

References

1. Carter, Bob. "Moves, Emotions Have Moss Causin' a Commotion". ESPN. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
2. "Top Of His Game". Los Angeles Times. August 20, 1997. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
3. "CUT OFF FROM THE HERD RANDY MOSS, THE MOST GIFTED PLAYER IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL, IS LEADING THE REVIVAL OF A MARSHALL PROGRAM STILL HAUNTED BY A DEVASTATING 1970 PLANE CRASH". Sports Illustrated. August 25, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
4. "Marshall Makes It Close". Los Angeles Times. August 31, 1997. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
5. "Army Gets Thumped by Moss and His Teammates". The New York Times. September 7, 1997. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
6. "MARSHALL ROLLS, AS ARMY CAN'T GATHER MOSS". The Washington Post. September 7, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
7. "WESTERN ILLINOIS-MARSHALL GAME PROVIDES A VARIETY OF ATTRACTIONS". Chicago Tribune. September 19, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
8. "Gallery: Marshall vs. Western Illinois, Sept. 20, 1997". The Herald-Dispatch. May 22, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
9. "A High Five for Moss in Marshall Win". Los Angeles Times. September 28, 1997. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
10. "MARSHALL THRASHES OHIO U. FOR TITLE". The Washington Post. November 16, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
11. Rhoden, William C. (November 21, 1997). "The Best Campaign For the Heisman Is . . ". The New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
12. "Moss Herds Thundering Marshall Return". Los Angeles Times. November 23, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
13. "Moss Sets Touchdown Record as Marshall Beats Toledo, 34-14". Los Angeles Times. December 6, 1997. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
14. "The Grand Marshall". Los Angeles Times. December 14, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
15. "N.C.A.A.: FOOTBALL -- MOTOR CITY BOWL; Mississippi Captures Wild One". The New York Times. December 27, 1997. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
16. "MISSISSIPPI TOPS MARSHALL IN A SEESAW BATTLE, 34-31". The Washington Post. December 27, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
17. http://www.biletnikoffaward.com/
18. "1998 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2019.