Know Your Opponent: Week 4 - Marshall - NC State University Athletics

2017 Recap
Marshall went 8-5 in 2017, including a 3-4 mark in Conference USA matchups. The Thundering Herd advanced to their fifth bowl game in eight seasons under head coach Doc Holliday, and defeated Colorado State in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, 31-28.

2018 Outlook
Marshall was selected to finish second in the East Division in the preseason C-USA poll. Conference USA's coaches voted five Marshall players to the league's preseason team, second in the conference to Florida Atlantic's six. They are returning 17 of their 22 starters from last season.

2018 Results
Marshall is off to a 2-0 start to the season, having won at Miami (OH) 35-28 and then defeating Eastern Kentucky at home 32-16.

Like NC State, Marshall had their game at South Carolina cancelled last weekend due to Hurricane Florence.

Staff Connections
NC State cornerbacks coach George Barlow will be facing his alma mater for the second straight season. Barlow was an all-conference safety at Marshall from 1986-90, and was a member of the 1987 squad that played for the I-AA title. He later was a GA in 1991, and coached the linebackers at Marshall from 1992-93.

On the other sideline, Marshall head coach Doc Holliday is in his ninth season at Marshall. Holliday was part of Chuck Amato's staff from 2000-04. With the Wolfpack, Holliday served as associate head coach and wide receivers coach.

The Series
NC State leads the all-time series 4-0, with all four games having been played in Raleigh. From 1991-95, the Pack won three straight games, and last year the series was revived with a 37-20 NC State win.

The Return
The Wolfpack defeated Marshall in Carter-Finley Stadium last season, 37-20. NC State scored touchdowns on four straight possessions spanning the second and third quarters to win its' 2017 home opener. Down 13-3 in the second quarter, the Pack scored five of the game's final six touchdowns. The key stretch came late in the second quarter, as the Wolfpack scored three touchdowns in the final 5:26 of the first half.

Stadium Facts
Joan C. Edwards Stadium - Since its opening in 1991, Marshall has posted an impressive record of 149-26 (.851) in the facility that currently seats 38,016.

From the Radio Booth - Steven Cotton
Strength of the offense:
I would say the offense really comes back intact from last season, except for the quarterback position. There is a lot of experience in all those groups except QB. All five starters on the offensive line return and were among the nation's leaders in fewest sacks allowed last year, and that was with three redshirt freshmen playing prominent roles.

The top four receivers all return including our preseason all-conference pick Tyre Brady (942 yards, 8 TDs in 2017), who had over 200 yards against NC State last year. The top three or four running backs also return, led by Tyler King (820 yards, 7 TDs in 2017) and Keion Davis (812 yards, 6 TDs in 2017).

Strength of the defense:
The linebacker group is deep enough and talented enough, that some of those guys are getting a peak at moving to defensive end. Chase Hancock (128 tackles, 9.5 TFLs in 2017) is another all-conference preseason guy. He came as a walk-on and plans to go to med school, he just outworks everybody and has become a really good linebacker.

The secondary returns Malik Gant (100 tackles in 2017) at safety, another guy that started as a walk-on but is now one of our key guys. CB Chris Jackson (62 tackles, 3 INTs in 2017) will be in his third year as a starter since he stepped on campus.

Biggest preseason question mark:
Chase Litton (3,115 yards, 25 TDs in 2017) declared a year early for the NFL draft, and he was the only one from last year with any passing stats. Whoever wins the QB battle will have very little, if any, FBS experience. Alex Thomson is a graduate transfer from Wagner, who has starting experience, just not at the FBS level. We also have two guys that redshirted last year in Garet Morrell and Isaiah Green. Inexperience at QB is always going to be a question until that lead guy steps up (Green has started and played every snap this season).

We are also having to replace Kaare Vedvik (10-16 FGs, 71 pts. In 2017) who handling all three aspects of the kicking game: placekicking, punting and kickoffs. He was a huge weapon for us, including pinning teams back on kickoffs.

Know Your Opponent: Week 4 - Marshall

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