They're predicting that we will finish 4th in the EAST and finishing below .500.
Predicting JMU to face ULL in the Conference Championship Game.
2024 projection: 103rd in SP+, 5.4 average wins (3.7 in Sun Belt)
We've grown accustomed to first-year coaches loading up on transfers. It makes sense. If you're taking a new job, there's a good chance you're inheriting a roster in quite a bit of flux, and with signing day in mid-December, signing high schoolers on short notice might not bear much fruit. So you load up on transfers, hope for some instant success and hope you can wean yourself off the portal over time.
Marshall's Huff is hoping for a different portal boost. After winning 16 games with a pair of top-70 teams in 2021 and 2022, the Thundering Herd slipped to 6-7. The offense was decent enough, but after losing coordinator Lance Guidry and about seven starters, the defense collapsed from 17th to 98th in defensive SP+.
Combined with perpetually bad special teams, Marshall dove from 67th to 99th in SP+, and only a fast start and a 4-1 record in one-score finishes kept the Herd bowl-eligible. Then 34 players entered the portal. Huff didn't have much of a choice: He took in 30 transfers of his own.
On offense, with new coordinator Seth Doege -- approximately the 400th former Mike Leach quarterback coaching in college football -- taking the reins, Marshall could start a transfer at quarterback (Wake Forest's Mitch Griffis or Tulsa's Braylon Braxton), running back, all receiver and tight end spots, and a few offensive line spots. The defense welcomes seven transfer linemen, a pair of linebackers and a pair of DBs.
A few playmakers stayed in Huntington. Senior receiver DeMarcus Harris averaged 16.5 yards per catch; center Logan Osburn was honorable mention all-conference; defensive tackles TyQaze Leggs and Isaiah Gibson Sr. combined for 10 TFLs; sophomore defensive end Michael Green was strong as a backup; and junior nickel Josh Moten made 10 havoc plays. But this is a lot of turnover at a time when a head coach's culture is supposed to be kicking in. We'll see whether Huff's redo attempt takes hold.
My favorite player: DE Michael Green. Like Georgia Southern's Da'Shawn Davis, Green was a small-sample star in 2023. The Virginia transfer recorded a forced fumble and sack against Virginia Tech -- like a good Cavalier -- then made 4.5 TFLs, 4 run stops and 1.5 sacks in the last three games. He also finished with a stellar pressure rate of 14.4%, suggesting that he was close to a lot more than 4.5 sacks.
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Predicting JMU to face ULL in the Conference Championship Game.
Marshall Thundering Herd
Head coach: Charles Huff (fourth year, 22-17 overall)2024 projection: 103rd in SP+, 5.4 average wins (3.7 in Sun Belt)
We've grown accustomed to first-year coaches loading up on transfers. It makes sense. If you're taking a new job, there's a good chance you're inheriting a roster in quite a bit of flux, and with signing day in mid-December, signing high schoolers on short notice might not bear much fruit. So you load up on transfers, hope for some instant success and hope you can wean yourself off the portal over time.
Marshall's Huff is hoping for a different portal boost. After winning 16 games with a pair of top-70 teams in 2021 and 2022, the Thundering Herd slipped to 6-7. The offense was decent enough, but after losing coordinator Lance Guidry and about seven starters, the defense collapsed from 17th to 98th in defensive SP+.
Combined with perpetually bad special teams, Marshall dove from 67th to 99th in SP+, and only a fast start and a 4-1 record in one-score finishes kept the Herd bowl-eligible. Then 34 players entered the portal. Huff didn't have much of a choice: He took in 30 transfers of his own.
On offense, with new coordinator Seth Doege -- approximately the 400th former Mike Leach quarterback coaching in college football -- taking the reins, Marshall could start a transfer at quarterback (Wake Forest's Mitch Griffis or Tulsa's Braylon Braxton), running back, all receiver and tight end spots, and a few offensive line spots. The defense welcomes seven transfer linemen, a pair of linebackers and a pair of DBs.
A few playmakers stayed in Huntington. Senior receiver DeMarcus Harris averaged 16.5 yards per catch; center Logan Osburn was honorable mention all-conference; defensive tackles TyQaze Leggs and Isaiah Gibson Sr. combined for 10 TFLs; sophomore defensive end Michael Green was strong as a backup; and junior nickel Josh Moten made 10 havoc plays. But this is a lot of turnover at a time when a head coach's culture is supposed to be kicking in. We'll see whether Huff's redo attempt takes hold.
My favorite player: DE Michael Green. Like Georgia Southern's Da'Shawn Davis, Green was a small-sample star in 2023. The Virginia transfer recorded a forced fumble and sack against Virginia Tech -- like a good Cavalier -- then made 4.5 TFLs, 4 run stops and 1.5 sacks in the last three games. He also finished with a stellar pressure rate of 14.4%, suggesting that he was close to a lot more than 4.5 sacks.
Sun Belt preview: Sizing up App State, Troy, JMU and other contenders
Outlooks, projections, players to watch and top games from one of the Group of 5's best conferences.
