Combining both write-ups here due to the short week:
Offense
There is very little that remains to be said regarding Marshall’s epic collapse against Georgia Southern. Instead of sitting at 4-2 and in the driver’s seat of the Sun Belt East, The Herd is now 3-3 and preparing to take on Georgia State this Thursday night. For the first time this season, an offensive lineman received the top PFF grade and that honor goes to Elijah Ellis who played 74 snaps and scored a 79.2 (87.9 pass block; 81.9 run block). Now for a look at how the rest of the Thundering Herd performed.
Quarterbacks:
In what was a revolving door of quarterbacks, that at times seemed to have no rhyme or reason, on Saturday night, Stone Earle received the highest grade at 55.7. Earle was nine of 17 passing for 97 yards with one interception. He also rushed 12 times for 45 yards. In contrast, Bralon Braxton was nine of 12 passing for 92 yards with two touchdowns and ran the ball 8 times for 36 yards. Braxton also had two costly fumbles down the stretch. As such, Braxton graded 47.7 – the lowest among Marshall’s offensive side of the ball.
Running Backs:
A.J. Turner continues to lead the way out of the backfield as he had 14 carries for 97 yards and received a PFF grade of 69.5. Jordan Houston followed suit with 6 carries for 18 yards and two catches for 25 yards while grading 62.3. Ethan Payne carried the ball three times for four yards and graded 54.5.
Wide Receivers:
Despite only recording one catch for four yards, Tychaun Chapman earned the top grade among Marshall’s wide receivers at 74.4. Christian Fitzpatrick, who led the team in receiving with five catches for 49 yards, was next in like with a grade of 72.1. Chuck Montgomery graded 67.1 while tallying four catches for 45 yards and Carl Chester, who had two catches for 46 yards, graded 57.7. Other grades of note: DeMarcus Harris: 53.5; Bralon Brown: 47.9.
Tight Ends:
Although The Herd’s usage of tight ends continues to be underwhelming, especially in comparison to off-season expectations, Toby Payne scored two touchdowns and graded 60.1. Cade Conley received a grade of 57.0 and Justin Holmes earned a 56.5.
Offensive Line:
With Marshall’s top offensive grade for Week 7, Elijah Ellis played 74 snaps and scored a grade of 79.2 (87.9 pass block; 81.9 run block). Ellis was followed by Bryce Ramsey who also played 74 snaps and graded 73.1 (45.2 pass block; 77.3 run block). Logan Osburn graded 66.8 (71.8 pass block; 66.9 run block) on 71 snaps, while Jeremy Jones played 74 snapes and scored 62.3 (69.4 pass block; 58.3 run block). Jalen Slappy rounds out the offensive line with a grade of 61.0 (71.9 pass block; 58.1 run block) on 52 snaps.
