Game Thread: Marshall vs Ohio

[Chris McLaughlin]

There have been several and he hit his receiver in the hands beyond hhs marker on a 3rd down, how is that the wrong read? I'm not saying birdsong has been playing lights out but his line has been a joke, he hasn't been able to get in rhythm because of penalties and the offense has no chemistry. also remember we had 4 less days to prepare for this game than they did. The only side of the ball that hasn't played well is Defense.

There's been one. Not several.

Look, I admire you for having Birdsong's back but this game is on him. Take away Rock's run and the three points from the muff and we were extremely close to being shut out.

I don't think the season is over and I'm not giving up on the redhead yet but I think we're in serious, serious trouble.

 

[redsfan5590]

Defense either wore down or giving up on the last OU drive. Ran right down the field and their running back bounced outside over and over as Danniel and Thompson had absolutely no containment at the defensive end positions.

Someone needs to point out to Doc that, hey, they play pretty darn good football at somewhere else besides south Florida. Check the OU roster, only a handful of players from Florida AND Georgia.

As for offense, pretty damn vanilla the whole game- - -basically the KISS concept (keep it simple stupid). Legg and Doc both have a stubborn conservative streak related back to Don Nehlen's philosophy at WVU. Pretty easy to see why Solich had a very successful HEAD COACHING career at the highest level, Nebraska, while Doc spent 3 decades as an assistant coach- - -there are several reasons, folks!!!

Finally, if its really true that a team makes the most improvement from GAME 1 to GAME 2, we are in really, really DEEP DOO DOO!!

So we are really going to start with this crap? Doc is one of the best coaches in our teams history and we are going to start throwing him under the bus this quickly. What do you mean "point this out to doc that they play football other places"??? Are you saying you're unhappy with our recruiting? Would you rather be OU? Best marshall every two years and finish the year 6-6 or be marshall and lose to OU every 2 years and finish with 8-10 wins? I'd rather be a marshall fan but if you feel like cheering for the Bobcats because of how great Solich is, go ahead.

 

[ThunderStruck1992]

Birdsong sucks ass. Stare down receivers no read option. Blows.

 

[redsfan5590]

There's been one. Not several.

Look, I admire you for having Birdsong's back but this game is on him. Take away Rock's run and the three points from the muff and we were extremely close to being shut out.

I don't think the season is over and I'm not giving up on the redhead yet but I think we're in serious, serious trouble.

I've counted at least 3.
Our running game has been anemic.
We've had dibilitating penalties on almost every drive.
Ohio's secondary has been all over our receivers all game. Very solid coverage.

It's easy to say "ah it's on birdsong! He's no Cato! It's all on him!!!" But this is on everyone from special teams to play calling to Johnson, to the o-line, to birdsong.

No QB on our roster wins this game tonight. And idk if Cato wins this game.

 

[ThunderStruck1992]

No audibles at line looked shell shocked.

 

[oldeherd]

So we are really going to start with this crap? Doc is one of the best coaches in our teams history and we are going to start throwing him under the bus this quickly. What do you mean "point this out to doc that they play football other places"??? Are you saying you're unhappy with our recruiting? Would you rather be OU? Best marshall every two years and finish the year 6-6 or be marshall and lose to OU every 2 years and finish with 8-10 wins? I'd rather be a marshall fan but if you feel like cheering for the Bobcats because of how great Solich is, go ahead.

Redsfan, if our "recruiting" is so damn superior, then it must be coaching that is why OU has beaten, and frankly embarrassed us, 3 out the last 4 meetings. I mean, after all, they play in a decrepit high school stadium, right? Nobody outside of Athens cares about them, right? They play in the mediocre MAC, a conference we have left in our rear view mirror, right? Solich has the acumen to figure out the flaws/weaknesses in MU's system and how to exploit the same. Doc, and staff, for some reason, have a problem adapting to, and combating, what Solich throws at the Herd, and if we as MU fans aspire to higher goals in FBS, we are not going to come close being under .500 against the likes of Ohio U.

 

[redsfan5590]

Redsfan, if our "recruiting" is so damn superior, then it must be coaching that is why OU has beaten, and frankly embarrassed us, 3 out the last 4 meetings. I mean, after all, they play in a decrepit high school stadium, right? Nobody outside of Athens cares about them, right? They play in the mediocre MAC, a conference we have left in our rear view mirror, right? Solich has the acumen to figure out the flaws/weaknesses in MU's system and how to exploit the same. Doc, and staff, for some reason, have a problem adapting to, and combating, what Solich throws at the Herd, and if we as MU fans aspire to higher goals in FBS, we are not going to come close being under .500 against the likes of Ohio U.

We've lost 6 games in the past three seasons.
Ohio lost 6 games last season.

You feel like Solich is so much better than Doc, go cheer for them.

 

[sportsphantom1]

Yeah I mean it's not like we've won in Athens anytime recently. Also we can still win our conference... But this is why our fans bug me "we lost a game! The season is over!!!!! Second game of his marshall career the QB sucks!!!!" Same people wanted Holliday gone 4 years ago

It may be Birdsong's second career Marshall game but he has been playing college football 4 years now including 20+ overall starts. It's not like he is a freshman. By his fourth year in college football he should be able to read defenses and not lock onto one player from the time he takes the snap to the time he throws it. He should be able to throw a 3rd down pass to the running back out of the backfield without throwing it into the ground. He should know its not a wise decision to try to force the ball in double and triple coverage.

As for Doc, look he is a great recruiter and this team is loaded with talent but as far as X's and O's he is very mediocre.

 

[Trebel06]

I've counted at least 3.
Our running game has been anemic.
We've had dibilitating penalties on almost every drive.
Ohio's secondary has been all over our receivers all game. Very solid coverage.

It's easy to say "ah it's on birdsong! He's no Cato! It's all on him!!!" But this is on everyone from special teams to play calling to Johnson, to the o-line, to birdsong.

No QB on our roster wins this game tonight. And idk if Cato wins this game.

Cato wins this game by at least two scores.. We had 4 drives that started at the 50 or better and we got 3 points out of those drives.. I'm sorry I don't care how bad everyone else plays Cato alone allows us to gets at least 14 points on those 4 drives

 

[PizzaPieSally]

I understand everyone's frustration about losing yet again in Peden Stadium. What I don't understand is how so few fans saw it coming. If you've watched this series over the years you must have had some clue that things might go very badly. And what makes anybody think we would have won it with Cato? He didn't win in Athens either. 0-2.

The good news is we don't play there again until 2020. And when that game comes around there will be people on here predicting a blowout victory for the Herd and scratching their heads afterward, wondering what happened. One guy picked us to win by 27. Made me scratch my own head.

The season is not over. They aren't going to play this poorly every week. But another conference title, well that might be a tall order this year?

 

[VA Herd]

I think that fans hanging this game on Birdsong are over simplifying our struggles tonight. Penalties on every special teams play, offensive penalties every drive, Johnson fumbles, line couldn't block a plastic bag and wideouts drop passes. Yes birdsong has been bad, but I feel like throwing this guy under the bus this early into the season for a road game where we always struggle, is a little over the top.

Good assessment!

 

[VA Herd]

Cato's deep ball was a thing of beauty.
Birdsong's is miserable. Need more throws down the seams.

Cato didn't have a deep ball. By the way, the Bobcats wiped the floor with Cato and company in 2011. Solich is an experienced Head Coach and owns Marshall.

 

[PizzaPieSally]

It's maddening but it happens every time we go up there. Every team we've sent up there has played like shit. The 3 victories in 98, 02 and 04 happened because those Ohio teams were so over matched that Marshall was able to win despite playing poorly. But I have never seen a game played in Athens by any Marshall team in which the Herd played well.

Way too early to give up on this team or its QB.

 

[Trebel06]

I understand everyone's frustration about losing yet again in Peden Stadium. What I don't understand is how so few fans saw it coming. If you've watched this series over the years you must have had some clue that things might go very badly. And what makes anybody think we would have won it with Cato? He didn't win in Athens either. 0-2.

The good news is we don't play there again until 2020. And when that game comes around there will be people on here predicting a blowout victory for the Herd and scratching their heads afterward, wondering what happened. One guy picked us to win by 27. Made me scratch my own head.

The season is not over. They aren't going to play this poorly every week. But another conference title, well that might be a tall order this year?

Because our defense played lights out.. If Cato would have got that kind of defensive effort against Ohio in 2012 and at home in 2013 the only game against Ohio Cato would have lost would have been 2011 when he was a freshman playing in his second college football game ever

 

[PizzaPieSally]

Because our defense played lights out.. If Cato would have got that kind of defensive effort against Ohio in 2012 and at home in 2013 the only game against Ohio Cato would have lost would have been 2011 when he was a freshman playing in his second college football game ever

If, if, if. Cato beat Ohio only on his 4th try and only at home. Never in Athens.
Birdsong is not entirely responsible for the loss. How many of the 198 penalty yards was he responsible for?

This reminds me of 2000 when everybody was ready to run Leftwich out of town after a few games.

 

[beefcake0520]

If, if, if. Cato beat Ohio only on his 4th try and only at home. Never in Athens.
Birdsong is not entirely responsible for the loss. How many of the 198 penalty yards was he responsible for?

This reminds me of 2000 when everybody was ready to run Leftwich out of town after a few games.

Comparing apples to oranges man. Birdsong is an older player, had a year to learn the playbook. Now, had he had an average game in Athens, nothing fancy, nothing to jump out of your seat about and not such a butt ugly performance and still lost, then so be it. I think it would be easier to accept. Some of the things that we witnessed in the first game and the second game cant be taught or corrected by coaching. What we learned is he cant handle pressure, has no touch on the ball, doesn't know the playbook like everyone expected and basically playing like a true freshman who has never taken a snap. That last one is the more deflating issue. We wrote off some of the issues we saw against Purdue, because........well its Purdue, was supposed to be one of the toughest and more talented teams we would face this year, but I don't think we can say the same about OU. Penalties hurt, yes, but that isn't what caused such a major sub par performance by our QB. This is up to him to recognize the issues and try to overcome them. The only thing I will put on the coaches besides the penalties is not pulling him to see if someone else could spark the offense, Gunner at least has been here long enough to earn a chance.

 

[GalliaCat]

Ohio went 4-3 in the most recent series including 4-1 in the last 5. Did it ever cross your mind that maybe Ohio is not over matched? 1 game can be a fluke and 2 a coincidence. But the outcomes of these games seem indicate these teams are for the most part evenly matched. Any OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE fan would recognize it. Don't confuse different styles with one team being superior. As for our "high school" stadium why are you so concerned with it? Do you hear Ohio fans complain about Marshall's basketball arena or lack of a baseball stadium when our facilities in those 2 sports are clearly superior? No you don't because it has zero impact on the outcome of the game.

 

[beefcake0520]

What are you talking about? I don't think very many said we are vastly superior over Ohio. As far as a program goes, yours is respected but more often than not Marshall beats themselves in Athens, 2011 being an exception. We never play good up there even during the glory years and your sucky years. If there was one MAC school that I had to chose over all others to be in a conference with, Ohio and Toledo would be my first choices, followed by NIU, CMU and WMU. There just isn't much to gloat about in the MAC, hardly any of the programs receive much support, as does a few CUSA programs. Put the top of the MAC and the top of CUSA together and that would be a dandy of a conference.