2014 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

The 2014 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Doc Holliday and played their home games at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of Conference USA. They finished the season 13–1, 7–1 in C-USA play to win the East Division title. As East Division champions, they played West Division champion Louisiana Tech in the C-USA Championship Game, defeating the Bulldogs 26–23 to become C-USA Champions. They were invited to the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl, where they defeated MAC champion Northern Illinois, 52–23.

2014 Marshall Thundering Herd football
C-USA champion C-USA East Division champion Boca Raton Bowl champion
C-USA Championship Game, W 26–23 vs. Louisiana Tech
Boca Raton Bowl, W 52–23 vs. Northern Illinois
Conference	Conference USA
Division	East Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 22
AP	No. 23
2014 record	13–1 (7–1 C-USA)
Head coach	Doc Holliday (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Legg (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Chuck Heater (2nd season)
Home stadium	Joan C. Edwards Stadium (Capacity: 38,227)

2014 Conference USA football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 23 Marshall x$		7	–	1					13	–	1
Middle Tennessee		5	–	3					6	–	6
Western Kentucky		4	–	4					8	–	5
UAB		4	–	4					6	–	6
Old Dominion*		4	–	4					6	–	6
FIU		3	–	5					4	–	8
Florida Atlantic		2	–	6					3	–	9
West Division
Louisiana Tech x		7	–	1					9	–	5
Rice		5	–	3					8	–	5
UTEP		5	–	3					7	–	6
UTSA		3	–	5					4	–	8
North Texas		2	–	6					4	–	8
Southern Miss		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Marshall 26, Louisiana Tech 23
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * Ineligible for postseason bowl due to transition from FCS As of 22:24, 20 December 2014 (UTC); Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	3:30 PM	at Miami (OH)*		Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	ESPN3	W 42–27	19,005
September 6	7:00 PM	Rhode Island*		Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	ASN	W 48–7	25,106
September 13	12:00 PM	Ohio*		Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV (Battle for the Bell)	CBSSN	W 44–14	31,710
September 20	2:00 PM	at Akron*		InfoCision Stadium Akron, OH	ESPN3	W 48–17	13,357
October 4	12:00 PM	at Old Dominion		Foreman Field Norfolk, VA	FSN	W 56–14	20,118
October 11	12:00 PM	Middle Tennessee		Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	FSN	W 49–24	30,210
October 18	6:00 PM	at FIU	No. 25	FIU Stadium Miami, FL	ASN	W 45–13	13,163
October 25	3:30 PM	Florida Atlantic	No. 23	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	FS1	W 35–16	27,236
November 8	7:00 PM	at Southern Miss	No. 23	M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	ASN	W 63–17	22,949
November 15	2:30 PM	Rice	No. 21	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	FSN	W 41–14	30,680
November 22	12:00 PM	at UAB	No. 18	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	WCHS	W 23–18	28,355
November 28	12:00 PM	WKU	No. 19	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	FS1	L 66–67 ^OT	23,576
December 6	12:00 PM	Louisiana Tech		Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV (C-USA Championship)	ESPN2	W 26–23	23,711
December 23	6:00 PM	vs. Northern Illinois*		FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL (Boca Raton Bowl)	ESPN	W 52–23	29,419
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

[1]

Game summaries

Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	14	14	0	14	42
RedHawks	0	3	17	7	27

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–30–1[2]	2013	MARSH, 52–14

Rhode Island

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	0	0	7	7
Thundering Herd	7	10	21	10	48

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Ohio

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	0	0	7	7	14
Thundering Herd	17	10	14	3	44

Further information: Battle for the Bell

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
19–32–6[3]	2013	OHIO, 34–31

Akron

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	17	14	10	7	48
Zips	0	3	0	14	17

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–4[4]	2004	AKRON, 31–28

Old Dominion

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	28	14	14	0	56
Monarchs	7	0	0	7	14

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	7	10	0	7	24
Thundering Herd	14	14	14	7	49

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–1[5]	2013	MTSU, 51–49

Florida International

	1	2	3	4	Total
#25 Thundering Herd	7	7	10	21	45
Panthers	7	0	0	6	13

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–0[6]	2013	MARSH, 48–10

Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	3	13	0	0	16
#23 Thundering Herd	7	7	7	14	35

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0[7]	2013	MARSH, 24–23

Southern Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
#23 Thundering Herd	7	21	14	21	63
Golden Eagles	14	3	0	0	17

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–5[8]	2013	MARSH, 61–13

Rice

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	7	0	7	14
#21 Thundering Herd	3	17	14	7	41

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–2[9]	2013	RICE, 41–24

UAB

	1	2	3	4	Total
#18 Thundering Herd	7	10	0	6	23
Blazers	3	3	6	6	18

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
7–2[10]	2013	MARSH, 56–14

Western Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Hilltoppers	28	21	0	10	8	67
#19 Thundering Herd	21	21	7	10	7	66

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–1[11]	1996	MARSH, 37–3

Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	10	7	6	0	23
Thundering Herd	0	13	3	10	26

See also: 2014 Conference USA Football Championship Game

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–1[12]	1942	LaTech, 26–0

Northern Illinois–Boca Raton Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	14	10	14	14	52
Huskies	7	6	7	3	23

See also: 2014 Northern Illinois Huskies football team and 2014 Boca Raton Bowl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–4[13]	2001	MARSH, 37–15

Rankings

Further information: 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	23	23	23	21	18	19	RV	RV	23
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	22	23	22	21	18	20	RV	RV	22
CFP	Not released									NR	NR	NR	NR	24	NR	NR	Not released

References

1. "2014 Marshall Thundering Herd Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
2. "Marshall Game by Game against Miami (OH)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
3. "Marshall Game by Game against Ohio". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
4. "Marshall Game by Game against Akron". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
5. "Marshall Game by Game against Middle Tennessee". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
6. "Marshall Game by Game against Florida International". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
7. "Marshall Game by Game against Florida Atlantic". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
8. "Marshall Game by Game against Southern Mississippi". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
9. "Marshall Game by Game against Rice". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
10. "Marshall Game by Game against UAB". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
11. "Marshall Game by Game against Western Kentucky". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
12. "Marshall Game by Game against Louisiana Tech". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
13. "Marshall Game by Game against Northern Illinois". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved December 8, 2014.