Sad Faces In Happy Valley

Penn State 45, Marshall 0

By The Herd’s Headset of the HerdLine Podcast

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — There are football games you watch. And then there are football games you experience. Saturday night in Happy Valley was an experience.

Unfortunately for Marshall fans, the football game itself was one they’ll probably want to forget.

The Herd walked into Beaver Stadium for its season opener against No. 18/17 Penn State in front of 108,489 fans.

It left with a 45-0 loss, just 147 yards of total offense, and a whole lot of questions.

The statistics were ugly.

Penn State outgained Marshall 464-147 and had 25 first downs compared to Marshall’s 11. The Nittany Lions controlled the ball for more than 36 minutes, while Marshall converted just 1 of 12 third-down attempts.

Penn State scored 17 points in the first quarter, 24 by halftime, and never looked back.

Marshall never scored.

So, as we’ll do all season long, it’s time to hand out the HerdLine star ratings.

🏟️ THE HEADSET’S TAKE: THE ATMOSPHERE

5 ⭐️

Let’s start with something positive.

This was the greatest football environment I have ever experienced.

My chest was thumping on third down.

My ears were ringing.

And the student section was legitimately intimidating.

Beaver Stadium lived up to every bit of the hype.

More than 108,000 people packed the stadium, creating one of the most impressive atmospheres you will find anywhere in college football.

But what stood out almost as much as the noise was the people.

Penn State fans were incredibly kind.

Multiple people went out of their way to welcome us to Penn State, talk football with us and make us feel at home.

That’s something worth mentioning.

College football can be intense. It can be tribal. It can be downright hostile at times. But Saturday reminded us why we love this sport.

The people were great.

The stadium was unbelievable.

The atmosphere was everything you want college football to be.

Five stars. No question.

🏈 QUARTERBACK

Headset: 1 ⭐️

Trace: 1 ⭐️

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson completed 17 of 25 passes for 102 yards.

The completion percentage looks respectable.

The production doesn’t.

That’s only 4.1 yards per attempt.

Penn State’s defense made it extremely difficult for Marshall to push the football vertically, and the Herd never found a consistent way to stretch the field.

The screen game became the story.

Marshall needed explosive plays.

They didn’t come.

Del Rio-Wilson did lead Marshall in rushing with 30 yards, but asking your quarterback to be your leading rusher against Penn State isn’t exactly the formula for success.

Meanwhile, Rocco Becht went 13-of-18 for 271 yards and four touchdowns.

That’s the difference.

Becht averaged more than 15 yards per completion.

Marshall averaged just over 4 yards per pass attempt.

For a quarterback who entered the season with expectations and preseason recognition, this simply wasn’t good enough.

Carlos wasn’t the only problem Saturday.

But the quarterback position has to be better.

💀 OFFENSE

Headset: 0 ⭐️

Trace: 0 ⭐️

There isn’t much to say here.

Actually, there is.

But none of it is good.

Zero points.

147 total yards.

44 rushing yards.

11 first downs.

1-for-12 on third down.

Marshall averaged only about 2.9 yards per play.

Penn State averaged more than 6.5 yards per play.

That’s the difference between an offense that can move the football and one that spends most of the afternoon watching the defense.

The running back room was one of the biggest questions entering the season.

After Saturday?

It’s still the biggest question.

And then there’s the issue of getting your playmakers involved.

Adrian Norton finished with zero receptions.

That can’t happen.

Not if Marshall expects its best players to make a difference.

The lone offensive bright spot was Toby Payne.

Payne caught 8 passes for 55 yards, accounting for more than half of Marshall’s passing production.

But even that comes with a frustrating reality:

55 receiving yards was the team high.

Penn State’s Koby Howard had 161 yards by himself.

This offense needs an identity.

It needs explosive plays.

It needs to establish the run.

And most importantly, it needs to figure out how to get its best players the football.

🛡️ DEFENSE

Headset: 1 ⭐️

Trace: 0.5 ⭐️

The defense deserves credit for a few individual efforts.

Caleb Clark-Glover recorded 11 tackles.

There were stretches where Marshall’s defense showed some fight, particularly against the run.

But ultimately?

You can’t give up 45 points and 464 yards and call it a good defensive performance.

Rocco Becht finished with 271 passing yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

Koby Howard was the biggest problem.

6 receptions.

161 yards.

1 touchdown.

That’s nearly 27 yards every time he caught the ball.

Too many receivers were open.

Too often, Becht had time to operate.

And too often, Penn State was able to turn one play into a massive chunk of yardage.

Marshall also failed to force a turnover.

The defense wasn’t completely devoid of positives.

But as a unit?

It wasn’t nearly good enough.

🦵 SPECIAL TEAMS

Headset: 1.5 ⭐️

Trace: 2 ⭐️

This was probably Marshall’s best overall unit Saturday.

There wasn’t a ton of production to celebrate, but there was at least one legitimate reason for optimism.

Cooper Heimbach.

The freshman punter made his college debut and punted 8 times for a 42.6-yard average, with 4 punts inside the 20.

After a shaky first punt, he settled in and looked increasingly comfortable.

That’s a legitimate bright spot.

Marshall needs to develop field position.

Heimbach can help with that.

The return game didn’t provide much.

And Marshall missed a 52-yard field goal attempt.

Overall, though, special teams wasn’t the reason Marshall lost this football game.

And Cooper Heimbach may have given Herd fans something to be excited about.

The freshman was HerdLine’s Player of the Game.

🎧 COACHING

Headset: 0 ⭐️

Trace: 0 ⭐️

This is where things get uncomfortable.

Penn State was better.

Much better.

Nobody expected Marshall to walk into Beaver Stadium and dominate the Nittany Lions.

But Marshall needed to at least look like a football team capable of competing.

It didn’t.

The offense never established an identity.

The run game never developed.

The passing game rarely threatened vertically.

The defense never found an answer for Penn State’s receivers.

And the Herd converted only one third down the entire afternoon.

Penn State converted 8 of 16.

That’s a massive difference in sustaining drives.

This wasn’t simply Penn State being more talented.

They absolutely were.

But Marshall also didn’t give itself much of a chance.

That’s the part that has to be fixed.

⭐ THE HERDLINE FINAL RATING

Here are the final category ratings:

• Atmosphere: 5 ⭐️

• Quarterback: 1 ⭐️

• Offense: 0 ⭐️

• Defense: 1.5 ⭐️

• Special Teams: 2 ⭐️

• Coaching: 0 ⭐️

Overall HerdLine Rating: 1.5 ⭐️ / 5 ⭐️

It’s harsh.

But Saturday was harsh.

A 45-0 shutout doesn’t leave much room for a generous review.

Marshall was outgained 464-147.

Penn State had 25 first downs to 11.

The Nittany Lions controlled the ball for more than 36 minutes.

Marshall went 1-for-12 on third down.

And the Herd never crossed the goal line.

Those aren’t just bad numbers.

They’re warning signs.

But here’s the thing:

It’s one game.

And fortunately for Marshall, the season isn’t decided in Happy Valley.

🚨 NOW, IT’S MUST-WIN TIME

Middle Tennessee State comes to Huntington next Saturday for Marshall’s home opener.

And let’s be clear:

This is a must-win football game.

Not simply because Marshall needs a win.

Marshall needs a statement.

After getting embarrassed on national television, the Herd needs to come home and look completely different.

Establish the run.

Create explosive plays.

Get the playmakers involved.

Protect the quarterback.

Play physical defense.

Win third down.

And give the fans at Joan C. Edwards Stadium something to believe in.

Penn State was always going to be a tremendous challenge.

Nobody is pretending otherwise.

But Middle Tennessee is a different challenge.

This is the opportunity to respond.

Saturday in Happy Valley was ugly.

There were sad faces in Happy Valley.

Now Marshall gets the chance to change the story.

Get to the Joan.

Go Herd.