We are about to get the answer to an age-old football question.

Can good coaching overcome good talent?

In six words or less, that summarizes the matchup between reeling Marshall and Conference USA West Division leader SMU at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Edwards Stadium.

Here is the scenario.

SMU coach June Jones is the best coach in C-USA. No offense to East Carolina's Skip Holtz or UCF's George O'Leary -- and don't even bother bringing up the name of Houston's Kevin Sumlin to me -- but that's just the way it is.

Jones is the best.

His resume proves that.

Besides leading Hawaii to a BCS-busting appearance in the Sugar Bowl, he has resurrected an SMU program that had been zombie-like since receiving the NCAA's version of the "Death Penalty" in 1987.

Why, the Mustangs already are bowl eligible. Think that's not a coaching miracle? SMU hasn't been to a bowl in 25 years ... 1984 was the last time.

But just one year removed from the Mustangs being saddled with a 1-11 record, Jones is taking them bowling ... probably back to his adoring Hawaii.

Wow, what a difference a year makes when Jones is your coach. And to accomplish that in just his second year at the helm? That's impressive.

But is SMU really that talented as a team?

No.

The reality is Marshall has a lot more talent than the Mustangs.

But can the Herd's talent advantage overcome Jones' superior coaching?

Ah, there's that question again.

SMU has been winning with smoke, mirrors and great coaching. Marshall has compiled a 5-5 record because of talent.

When the talent levels were near the same -- such as against East Carolina, UCF and Southern Miss - Marshall's deficit in the coaching equation led to losses.

That's not the case in MU vs. SMU, however.

The talent levels are as far apart as the head coaching levels.

That might not be true for SMU next season, but it's a reality right now. And Jones admits it.

"I'd stay just as far as progress," said Jones, "we're still probably playing over our heads. But that's OK. We're excited about the future. We've got a lot of good kids and a lot of good kids coming next year, too, that are committed already."

There's no question SMU is the rising powerhouse in Conference USA. Jones is seeing to that. But this year is gravy.

Jones had no illusions of grandeur about '09.

"Well, we had set a goal for ourselves to get to six wins this year," he said. "Which was going to be a tough one, we thought. We're probably a year ahead of schedule, as to where I thought we'd be.

"I thought it would take one more recruiting class to turn the corner.

"We're lucky that we're where we are, right now. Hopefully, we can just continue to play hard and win a couple more games."

Which leads us to Saturday's game against a Marshall team that has been backed into a corner.

"Usually when teams get in that category, they play their best game," said Jones. "We anticipate that Marshall will play its best game. Usually, teams rally around adversity and they've gone through some adversity with injuries this past week."

Bingo.

Factor in Marshall's obvious talent advantage along with the historical struggles of a West Division team playing in an East opponent's stadium in late fall and it's easy to understand why the oddsmakers are favoring the Herd.

So do I.

Marshall will win, 24-21.

Chuck Landon is a sports columnist for The Herald-Dispatch. Call him at 304-526-2827. E-mail him at clandon@herald-dispatch.com.

National Video