Farewell column

By Trace Johnson


            Marshall’s football team wrapped up an adversity-filled regular season with a 9-3 overall record and a 6-2 record in Conference USA play. 

Despite dealing with many injuries throughout the season, the Herd still managed to win nine games and now awaits its bowl game destination. 

Star running back Devon Johnson was limited to only 84 carries this regular season due to injury and has not played since Oct. 17. 

Johnson is not the only running back who has battled injuries this season.  Remi Watson and Tony Pittman have both missed games this season due to injury and because of the lack of depth at running back at times during the season, Hyleck Foster was converted to a running back from his original position of wide receiver for the Herd. 

Freshman Keion Davis has also stepped in at running back and been effective.  Several other key players have missed time due to injuries as well. 

            Marshall’s season began with a historic and thrilling 41-31 victory over Purdue University of the Big Ten conference before 38,791 fans, the first sellout at Joan C. Edwards Stadium since 2010.  The win marked the first time the Herd welcomed a Big Ten team to Huntington and the win was the first time Marshall defeated a Big Ten team. 

The Herd’s first loss of the season was on the road at the Ohio University Bobcats on Sept. 12 by a score of 21-10.  Marshall lost in large part due to ineptitude on offense. 

Quarterback Michael Birdsong struggled mightily, completing 16 of 33 passes for 106 yards and two interceptions.  The following week, a change was made at the quarterback position from Birdsong, who was injured as well as struggling, to true freshman Chase Litton. 

            Litton has been effective since taking over the reigns at quarterback.  He ended the regular season with 2,387 passing yards, 22 touchdowns to only seven interceptions, a 59.3 percent completion percentage and an 8-2 record.    

            The Herd’s second loss of the season came at the hands of the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders on the road.  Marshall lost 27-24 in three overtimes in large part due to five missed field goals as a team. 

            Marshall rebounded against the Florida International University Golden Panthers Saturday in a shut-out win, 52-0.  The win came on the 45th anniversary of the Marshall football team’s plane crash on Nov. 14, 1970 and the team debuted black jerseys for the first time. 

The win also marked the first time the Herd shut out a C-USA opponent and was the team’s first FBS shutout since 2003. 

The Herd’s regular season ended on a sour note with a 49-28 defeat at Western Kentucky University in a battle for the C-USA East Division Championship. 

             This season has been successful despite the fact that the Herd was forced to replace many key starters from last year’s team such as Rakeem Cato, Tommy Shuler, Chris Jasperse, Neville Hewitt, Jermaine Holmes, Darryl Roberts and others. 

            Not only that, but Birdsong was supposed to be an effective replacement for Cato at quarterback, but it didn’t work out. 

So throwing in a true freshman quarterback who wasn’t prepared to start this season changes everything offensively.  Given all of those reasons, I’d say the team has done a solid job this season.  

College Football Playoff committee lacks consistency

By Trace Johnson

           It wasn’t long ago that college football fans were clamoring for a playoff system and voicing their displeasures with the Bowl Championship Series system that was in place. 

Be careful what you wish for, because it might just come true.  Ever since the College Football Playoff system came into play last season, criticism of the committee and how it operates has been an issue. 

The biggest criticism of the BCS system was that it disregarded worthy teams in the national championship picture.  However, if the early stages of the College Football Playoff tell us anything, it is doing the exact same thing. 

Despite giving four teams the opportunity to play for a national championship, leaving worthy teams out of the picture is still an issue. 

The selection committee has been particularly harsh on Big 12 conference teams since its inception.  Heading into the final week of the season in 2014, TCU and Baylor both were in prime position for a top 4 ranking and a playoff berth. 

TCU was ranked third in the College Football Playoff poll and after a 55-3 win over Iowa State in its final game, the Horned Frogs looked to be headed to the playoff. 

Baylor was ranked sixth in the poll and after defeating Kansas State 38-27 in its final game, the Bears appeared to have a great shot at clinching a berth in the playoff. 

The issue at hand was both TCU and Baylor had an 11-1 record, but Baylor defeated TCU 61-58 earlier in the season.  However, due to the rules of the Big 12, the teams were co-champions of the conference despite the head-to-head win for Baylor. 

The committee did not appear to take into play the head-to-head win by Baylor through the first several weeks of the rankings because TCU remained in front of the Baylor.  However, that would change drastically in the final College Football Playoff rankings. 

Despite its blowout win, TCU fell from third in the poll to sixth and Baylor jumped from sixth to fifth.  Both teams missed out on the playoff. 

What ultimately doomed the Big 12’s playoff chances was not having one true conference champion, but many were shocked to see TCU fall out of the top 4 despite a 52-point victory in the regular season finale.  It was equally surprising that the committee ranked Baylor ahead of TCU in the final poll despite not taking the head-to-head factor into play previously. 

The committee decided to put Ohio State in the playoff last season, despite losing to a six loss Virginia Tech team earlier in the season.  The Buckeyes went on to win the national championship with upset wins over Alabama and Oregon, but the committee takes into consideration bad losses in its selection process. 

Obviously the choice of Ohio State being the fourth team looks good now, but the committee’s process was flawed in the sense that it penalized Baylor for losing to a five loss West Virginia team last season, but Ohio State got that fourth spot despite its bad loss. 

Aside from that, it seems as if the committee focuses more on analytics than actual winning.  Strength of schedule, game control, strength of record, quality losses and other factors reign supreme in the eyes of the committee members. 

A glaring example of this occurred last season.  Minnesota was ranked 25th in the College Football Playoff rankings heading into its showdown with Ohio State. 

Minnesota lost a close game to the Buckeyes, yet still remained ranked 25th in the rankings the following week.  Getting rewarded for losing is unfathomable and not logical in any way. 

Not that analytics aren’t important in college football, but they should not overshadow winning.  The committee has turned the game of college football into science. 

In the early stages of the rankings this season, more of the same issues are being discussed and inevitably, deserving teams will be left out of the playoff again. 

We are not even through two playoffs yet and fans are already clamoring for an eight team playoff.  And honestly, that is probably a good idea. 

No matter what happens from here on out, the College Football Playoff system needs work and needs more consistency in the committee’s decision making.  All of a sudden, the BCS system isn’t looking so bad.   

Daniel continues building process with Herd women's basketball

By Trace Johnson

Matt Daniel has rejuvenated the Marshall University women’s basketball program since becoming the head coach of the Herd. 

            Before Daniel’s arrival in May 2012, the program only experienced six winning seasons since 2001.  But the Herd has seen a steady increase in wins since his arrival and last season, the team took an even bigger step with the program’s first postseason win in the NCAA era with a first round victory over Northern Kentucky University in the Women’s Basketball Invitational. 

            Daniel said last season’s success is a step in the right direction, but he has bigger goals for his team.  “I think it shows real progress and strong momentum,” he said.  “But that was also yesterday.  And in my profession, it’s not what you’re measured on.  You’re measured on today rather than yesterday.” 

            “I think it makes Marshall look really good,” senior Leah Scott said.  “Not even just in athletics, but in academics and other stuff like that.  It’s still a growing process and everybody has spots to grow in, so I think Marshall is doing a really good job in expanding.” 

            Daniel is no stranger to building a program.  He inherited a losing program when he became the head coach at the University of Central Arkansas, but quickly turned it into a winner during his stint as head coach from 2008-2012. 

            In his debut season, the team finished just 6-23 overall.  However, the team followed with a 21-8 overall record in his second season as head coach.   In year three, the team posted a 21-12 overall record and made an appearance in the Women’s Basketball Invitational. 

            In his final season at Central Arkansas, the team finished 24-7 overall and won the Southland Conference regular season championship while clinching a berth in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. 

            Daniel helped guide the Central Arkansas women’s basketball program from Division II to Division I during that stretch and he was named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2012. 

            Daniel’s ties to Marshall go back to when Billy Donovan was the head coach of the Herd men’s basketball team from 1994-1996.  “I was recruited to play at Marshall,” he said.  “I was Billy Donovan’s first scholarship offer as a head coach.  I turned it down and he ended up taking Jason (Williams), but that was kind of my tie here.” 

            During his first season as head coach of the Herd, the team posted a 9-21 overall record.  His second season at Marshall saw a slight increase in wins as the team finished 11-20 overall. 

            However, year three saw even more improvement as the Herd finished 17-15 overall and earned a berth in the Women’s Basketball Invitational where the team defeated Northern Kentucky 81-79 in the first round. 

            Daniel said his previous coaching experiences have helped prepare him for the task of turning around the Marshall women’s basketball program.  “I’ve seen basketball at a lot of different levels being a coach’s kid,” he said.  “I was a head coach before I got here and I was ready to be challenged and take a step up.” 

            Scott said the building process was tough at first, but the team has taken steps in the right direction.  “It was kind of rough at first, but we’ve grown,” she said.  “You just take different steps to different goals and it’s still growing as I’m here.” 

Despite losses from last season’s team, the Herd adds 10 new faces to this year’s team and hopes to continue the building process. “We’re really young,” Daniel said.  “Ten new faces that didn’t play Division I basketball last year so that’s always the hope.  We have to handle whatever comes our way.” 

“We just have to put our minds to it,” Scott said.  “We just have to strive for that goal that we have and we have to put in work every day at practice if we want our goal to succeed.  We have to have everybody, even down to the 10 new freshmen.”  Marshall’s regular season tips off Nov. 13 at Morehead State University.  

D'Antoni offensive system enters year two

By Trace Johnson

Marshall University men’s basketball head coach Dan D’Antoni is looking for better offensive production in year two at the helm of Marshall with an offensive system that historically produces success.    

In year one with a system D’Antoni describes as “organized chaos,” Marshall finished 11-21 overall and 7-11 in Conference USA play while finishing seventh in C-USA by averaging 66.8 points per game.  But with an influx of new players and returning players with more experience, the Herd expects that number to increase. 

 “It’s chaotic because they have freedom of movement and freedom of range, but it’s organized because they have principles that guide them through it,” D’Antoni said.  “It designs things to try to get you a layup, free throw or 3-point shot.”   

The Herd finished second in C-USA in 3-point field goals made last season with 249 on the season and averaged 7.8 made 3-point field goals per game.  Guard Austin Loop was second in C-USA with 84 made 3-point field goals on the season. 

D’Antoni said this year’s team has more speed and is better equipped to run his system.  “Any time you have chaos, it usually has speed involved in it,” he said.  “This year’s team has more people with speed that can run.”

 “We had a lot of people that practiced with us last year that’s playing this year and I feel like they’ve adjusted well, and the new players are catching on well,” junior forward Ryan Taylor said. 

            Taylor led the Herd in points per game and rebounds per game last season with 14.1 and 8.6 respectively.  His 14.1 points per game was good for thirteenth in C-USA and his 8.6 rebounds per game was good for second in C-USA.    

            Taylor said the offensive system in place brings out the best in him as a player.  “A lot of schools, with me being my height, wouldn’t let me do what I do or play how I play here,” Taylor said.  “But with Coach D’Antoni and his offensive system, I feel like it shows every aspect of my game and what I can do.”   

“Ryan Taylor’s changed his entire game from being what was basically catch-and-finish from somebody else’s job to not only finishing his stuff one-on-one, but creating, passing, dribbling outside, shooting three’s and playing the whole floor,” D’Antoni said. 

“His turnovers went from seven or eight a game to two or three, and that was just improvement of learning the system and how he fits in.” 

The system has produced success in the NBA while D’Antoni was an assistant coach under his brother, Mike D’Antoni.  The duo helped transform the Phoenix Suns into an NBA Championship contender from 2004-2008, winning a total of 232 game during that time.

The Suns’ offense averaged 94.2 points per game in the season prior to the D’Antoni offensive system transformation.  The next season, the team averaged 110.4 points per game, which led the NBA.  The Suns never finished lower than third in the NBA in points per game during that time. 

Taylor said the system can lead to the goals Marshall hopes to accomplish.  “Everybody in basketball is basically trying to play this way,” he said.  “The Spurs won the championship and then Golden State last year running the same system as Coach D’Antoni has us running here.” 

“Our goal is to always win the last game, which is the NCAA title,” D’Antoni said.  “We can get to be the best in the country and if we win the last game, we’re the best in the country.” 

The Herd’s regular season tips off at 7:00 p.m. Nov. 19 at the University of Tennessee of the SEC.