1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football
MAC Champions
Motor City Bowl, L, 31–34 vs. Mississippi
Conference Mid-American Conference East
1997 record 10–3 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach Bob Pruett
Offensive coordinator Tim Nunez
Defensive coordinator Kevin Kelly
Home stadium Joan C. Edwards Stadium
Seasons
« 1996 1998 »
1997 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
East
Marshall x†   7 – 1         10 – 3  
Miami   6 – 2         8 – 3  
Ohio   6 – 2         8 – 3  
Bowling Green   3 – 5         3 – 8  
Kent State   3 – 5         3 – 8  
Akron   2 – 7         2 – 9  
West
Toledo x   7 – 1         9 – 3  
Western Michigan   6 – 2         8 – 3  
Ball State   4 – 4         5 – 6  
Eastern Michigan   4 – 5         4 – 7  
Central Michigan   1 – 7         2 – 9  
Northern Illinois   0 – 8         0 – 11  
Championship: Marshall 34, Toledo 14
† – Conference champion
x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented the Marshall University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A college football season. It was their first year in the Mid-American Conference.

Contents

Regular season

In the 1997 season, Marshall University's first in Division I-A, Randy Moss and future NFL quarterback Chad Pennington were the centerpiece of an explosive offense that led the Thundering Herd to the Mid-American Conference title. Moss caught 25 touchdown passes that season, at the time a Division I-A record, and was a first-team All-American.[1] For the season, Moss had 96 receptions for 1820 yards, and 26 touchdowns. Moss won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's leading wide receiver, and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy (finishing fourth in the balloting, behind Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning, and Charles Woodson, who won the award). Moss left Marshall with 168 receptions for 3,467 yards and a school record 53 touchdowns.

Season schedule

The Thundering Herd finished the regular season with a record of 10 wins and 2 losses.

Date Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
August 30 at West Virginia* Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV L 31-42   65,492
September 6 at Army* Michie Stadium • West Point, NY W 35-25   30,358
September 13 at Kent State Dix Stadium • Kent, OH W 42-17   11,021
September 20 Western Illinois* Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV W 48-7   26,724
September 27 at Ball State Ball State Stadium • Muncie, IN W 42-16   20,415
October 11 Akron Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV W 52-17   26,642
October 18 at Miami (OH) Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH L 21-45   29,027
October 25 Eastern Michigan Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV W 48-25   21,474
November 1 at Central Michigan Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI W 45-17   15,324
November 8 Bowling Green Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV W 28-0   23,509
November 15 Ohio Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV W 27-0   32,012
December 5 Toledo Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV (MAC Championship Game) ABC W 34-14   28,021
December 26 vs. Mississippi* Pontiac Silverdome • Pontiac, MI (Motor City Bowl) ESPN L 31-34   43,340
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

[2]

1997 Team Players in the NFL

Player Position Round Pick Team
Randy Moss Wide Receiver 1 21 Minnesota Vikings
John Wade Center 5 148 Jacksonville Jaguars

[3]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ Carter, Bob. "Moves, emotions have Moss causin' a commotion". ESPN Classic. http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Moss_Randy.html. Retrieved 2007-02-22. 
  2. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=690&season=1997
  3. ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1998.htm
  4. ^ http://www.biletnikoffaward.com/

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