The Herd Buries the Bear: Marshall Conquers a Skeleton in the Closet Marshall 30, Missouri State 24

Oh, what a difference a year makes.

A year ago, Marshall faced off against Missouri State in what everyone expected would be an easy win.

Little did we know we would go on to watch one of the worst losses in Marshall football history.

A year later, the Herd goes on the road, into a so-called “sellout” crowd at Missouri State, and gets revenge.

Marshall 30. Missouri State 24.

The skeleton is out of the closet.

The Bears have officially been buried.

Due to prior engagements, Trace was unable to watch the majority of the game. So here is how I graded out the Herd in my weekly Star Ratings.

Quarterback — ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson got the nod after a little bit of fan speculation following Zion Turner’s performance a week ago.

And honestly, Carlos looked pretty good.

The playbook opened up.

He threw the ball down the field more.

And he was allowing his receivers to make plays.

That was good to see.

But I still think Carlos runs too much.

He’s a big, physical runner. He’s able to get yards after contact. And when he takes off, he can make things happen.

But when your quarterback is leading your team in rushing attempts, that tells you something.

It says something about your running game.

And it also says something about the quarterback’s desire to tuck the ball and run.

Sometimes it works.

Other times it doesn’t.

And the fumble late in the game was a big one. That could have iced the game and allowed Marshall to walk away without all the drama we had to endure at the end.

That said, Carlos was efficient in a lot of areas and played well overall.

Personally, I’d still like to see him throw the football more and run it less.

But it appears this is going to be part of the formula moving forward.

Overall, it was a solid performance.

He led his team to a road victory.

Well done, Carlos.

Offense — ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The offense woke up.

A little bit.

Kinda.

But seriously, this was the best offensive performance we’ve seen this season.

176 yards through the air.

267 yards on the ground.

That’s improvement.

Jo’shon Barbie had himself a nice night as a workhorse, leading the Herd with 81 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Judah Price also had a big night.

There were some runs where he looked like a guy who could be poised and ready to be an RB1 at some point in his career.

I was very impressed with what I saw from him.

Then there’s Khalil Wilkins.

I really like what they’re doing with him.

He lined up at running back and was also a threat to throw the football.

I’ve said it before, but every time Khalil is on the field, he looks like the fastest guy on the field.

Find ways to get him more involved.

Find ways to get him the football.

When he gets the ball in his hands, big things can happen.

TJ Lester was phenomenal as a receiving back.

3 receptions for 64 yards.

He also added 27 yards on the ground.

And there were several moments where you could see that he’s ready to make a leap forward in his weekly contributions.

Then, once again, there was Zay Turner-Bradshaw.

Six receptions.

73 yards.

Killer speed.

Lethal when he gets the ball.

The offense was good.

But it still has some things to clean up.

The red zone was a problem again. Multiple drives stalled out where Marshall had to settle for field goals.

But overall?

This was the best offensive performance of the season.

You can see this team starting to come together.

There’s still a ways to go.

But there is improvement.

And that’s what you want to see.

Defense — ⭐️⭐️

I’m going to be honest.

There wasn’t a whole lot that I loved about this defensive performance.

Missouri State’s quarterback threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns, and at times it looked like the Bears could throw the football against the Herd whenever they wanted.

There were multiple busted coverages where Missouri State receivers were running around with nobody even close to them.

That’s frustrating.

And it’s especially frustrating when you’re watching college athletes who are receiving real NIL money get completely overwhelmed defensively.

This defense still has a LONG way to go.

But…

There were some positives.

The tackling was better this week.

We didn’t see nearly as many missed arm tackles, which is a step in the right direction.

As a team, Marshall finished with 58 tackles, 34 solo tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 2 pass breakups.

Caleb Clark-Glover led the Herd with 7 tackles, all seven of them being solo tackles.

Daytione Smith, Brayden Hall and Cannon Lewis each finished with 6 tackles.

Javae Gilmore had 3 tackles and a pass breakup, while Cam Chmura and Terrente Hinton each recorded a half tackle for loss.

Kenyatta Hardge also recorded a tackle for loss.

So while this defense wasn’t lighting up the stat sheet, there were still guys making plays.

And when the Herd absolutely had to get a stop?

They got one.

Missouri State finished 0-for-1 on fourth down, and that fourth-down stop came when it mattered.

Late in the game, the Bears drove all the way down to the Marshall 7-yard line.

Fourth down.

Game hanging in the balance.

And Javae Gilmore got his hand on the pass to turn the Bears away.

That’s a football play.

That’s the kind of play that wins you a game.

And then, when Missouri State had its final opportunities, the Herd defense didn’t give the game away.

That’s important.

Is this a Sun Belt-contending defense?

No.

Dare I say, this isn’t even a good defense right now.

But it is better than a year ago.

And I’m trying to be optimistic.

I’m trying to celebrate the growth.

Because there was some.

But let’s not pretend this defense is where it needs to be.

It isn’t.

There is still a LOT of work to do.

But tonight, when Marshall absolutely had to have a stop, the defense found a way to make the play.

And that’s a big reason why the Herd is walking out of Missouri with a 30-24 victory.

Special Teams — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cooper Hembach has been our special teams superstar so far this season.

Tonight, he wasn’t needed much.

But when he was needed, he delivered.

46-yard punt to flip the field.

That’s what you want.

Jorge Diaz Nicholas was perfect.

3-for-3 on field goals.

3-for-3 on extra points.

That’s a big night.

Chris Culliver also had a good night returning kicks, with a 36-yard return being the highlight.

But the big special teams moment came from

Kenyatta Hardge II.

He blocked a Missouri State field goal.

And that was HUGE.

That took momentum away from the Bears heading into halftime.

Those are the plays that don’t always show up in the final box score, but they matter.

Special teams continues to be one of the better parts of this football team.

Overall?

Really good night.

Coaching — ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Herd won.

The offense woke up.

The defense improved.

Ever so slightly.

And Marshall found a way to win a close game on the road rather than lose it.

That’s coaching.

Tony Gibson and Co. found a way to get this team out of Springfield with a win against the same team that embarrassed Marshall a year ago.

That’s important.

Now, is there still a LOT of coaching to be done with this football team?

Absolutely.

But I fully expect this team to continue improving as the year goes on.

So overall, I’ll give the coaching staff a solid night.

Overall — ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This wasn’t pretty.

It wasn’t dominant.

It wasn’t the kind of game where you walk away saying, “Man, Marshall has arrived.”

But that’s okay.

Because Marshall went on the road and won.

The offense showed improvement.

Special teams continues to be a strength.

The defense still has major issues, but made the plays when they absolutely had to.

And most importantly…

Marshall is 2-1.

A year ago, Missouri State was a nightmare.

Tonight?

The Herd got revenge.

The skeleton is out of the closet.

Final Thoughts

Marshall is 2-1 heading into Homecoming against FCS opponent Gardner-Webb.

And this game comes with a familiar name.

Former Marshall quarterback and son of Herd legend Cole Pennington will be back in Huntington.

This is a Stripe the Stadium game.

And I fully expect the Joan to be rocking Saturday.

But don’t take this game lightly.

This Gardner-Webb team took Liberty to the wire a week ago and beat NC Central handily.

The last time Gardner-Webb came to the Joan, they gave Marshall everything they had before losing 28-7.

A game most of us thought would have been much worse.

So this is NOT a game to overlook.

Marshall has the chance to start the season 3-1.

And honestly?

That’s where all of us thought this team would be when the season started.

Everything this team wants is still in front of them.

There’s a LOT of football left to play.

There’s a LOT of improvement that needs to happen.

But there’s also a lot to be excited about.

The Herd went into Missouri and took care of business.

They buried the Bears.

They put last year’s loss behind them.

Now…

Let’s come home.

Let’s get the Joan rocking.

Let’s get the stripes out.

Let’s have a Homecoming.

And let’s get to 3-1.

Go Herd.