Simply put, West Virginia University has dominated through three Friends of Coal Bowls.

WVU rolled Marshall University 42-10 in 2006 in Morgantown. The Thundering Herd led at home at halftime the following season, but West Virginia rallied for a 48-23 victory. Last season resulted in a 27-3 Mountaineer win upstate.

Such lopsided scores have led to a big brother perception for WVU against its NCAA Division I-A football sibling.

Now armed with a deeper, more mature roster, Marshall players insist that mentality has flipped. Merely producing a competitive performance will not suffice when Marshall (4-2, 2-1 Conference USA) and the Mountaineers (4-1, 1-0 Big East) clash Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Kickoff in Morgantown is 3:30 p.m.

"We don't look at as going in as little brother," said Thundering Herd linebacker Mario Harvey, the team's leading tackler with 46 stops. "We're going in there to win. We're not going in there to put up a good fight and say that Marshall almost got them.

"We're going in there to win just like they're trying to beat us.

"We're going to go in there and play like we're playing for a championship. This is our next game. Even though it's not a conference game it's important."

Playing before a hostile crowd and seeking the program's first-ever victory over WVU adds to Marshall's game week incentive.

"It's a huge game for us," Thundering Herd quarterback Brian Anderson said. "It's an exciting atmosphere around here during this week. It's a big game for the fans and that's who we play for.

"It's definitely a big game for us."

Anderson added that excitement level on campus also is elevated. Forget the "one game at a time" cliché, despite this being an odd-timed non-conference matchup, Saturday is about pride.

"We have great fans and they support us very well," said Anderson, coming off an 18-of-22 passing performance in a win at Tulane. "We're getting a lot of "Good lucks" and "Go Marshall" and "Beat WVU'." We're going to go up there and hopefully we can do that for them."

Marshall returned to work Tuesday with a full-pads afternoon practice. The Thundering Herd is 2-1 on the road, with Conference USA victories over Memphis and Tulane and a loss at Virginia Tech.

A win at West Virginia, a faltering fourth quarter removed at Auburn from a 5-0 start, would energize Marshall's run at a postseason berth.

"To us it's just another opportunity to put another win under our belts," Thundering Herd center Chad Schofield said. "We're really looking forward to it, especially because it's West Virginia.

"Every game we want to go in to win. I think this, with this team, it's going to be very exciting on Saturday."

EDMONSON REMAINS OUT: Senior wide receiver Courtney Edmonson unquestionably emerged as the Thundering Herd top wide receiver during preseason camp. He's yet to play a down, however, because of a persistent hamstring injury. The 6-foot-191-pound wideout will not play Saturday.

Anthony Hanshew covers Marshall football for The Herald-Dispatch. He can be reached at 304-526-2766. His e-mail address is hanshew@herald-dispatch.com.

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