Texas State football (3-3, 0-2 SBC) is slated to travel on the road to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd (3-3, 1-1 SBC) Saturday, Oct. 18, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
After suffering back-to-back one-possession conference losses, the Bobcats are in desperate need of a win to keep hope alive for Sun Belt title contention. The defense will need to be better for the Bobcats in this one, as the unit has given up over 850 total yards of offense and struggled to get off the field across the two-game skid.
“So many third and longs, so many fourth downs, and you gotta be able to get off the field in those situations”, Texas State head coach G.J. Kinne said following the loss to the Troy Trojans. “We gotta go back to work.”
This will be a challenge, though, as Marshall’s offense is beginning to hit its stride after hanging 48 points on Old Dominion. Overall, the Thundering Herd averages 31.6 points a game and ranks 55th in total offense, ranking ahead of teams the Bobcats have struggled to contain, such as Arizona State, UTSA and Arkansas State.
Despite the impressive statistics for the Thundering Herd offense, the Bobcats will still enter the game with the statistical edge offensively as they rank inside the top 40 in total offense with a whopping 36 points per game, thanks to a stellar 250.2 rush yards a game. In the midst of the two-game losing streak, the offense has still been prolific, scoring a combined 71 points.
Marshall’s defense will look to have a repeat performance of their last game against Old Dominion, where they recovered three fumbles and recorded two interceptions, with one of them going for six points. This was by far the Thundering Herd’s best game as a defense this season, as even with this performance, they still rank bottom of the barrel at 115th out of 134 teams in total defense through six games.
A key to victory for both teams will be playing penalty-free football. The Thundering Herd suffered a conference game loss to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns after committing 12 penalties, while the Bobcats are coming off a loss in which 10 costly penalties were recorded.
Texas State simply cannot afford to lose this game after beginning conference play 0-2. On the other side, Marshall will look to stay hot after dismantling a solid Old Dominion squad.
The Bobcats are set for a battle of attrition with the Thundering Herd when they meet Saturday, Oct. 18, at 2:30 p.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The game will be available on ESPN+.
