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SPORTS
Thundering Herd is full-steam ahead
Marshall tight end Lee Smith exchanges words with Ohio State's Jermale Hines during the football game on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
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HUNTINGTON -- Tight end Lee Smith is asking a favor of Marshall football fans.
Have faith.
The senior captain understands that faith took a hit Thursday night when No. 2 Ohio State blitzed the Thundering Herd, 45-7, in the season opener in front of 105,040 fans in Ohio Stadium in Columbus and those watching on the Big Ten Network.
Smith knows the first chance to restore some of that faith comes Friday night when West Virginia pays a visit to Joan C. Edwards Stadium to face the Herd in the Friends of Coal Bowl. Game time is 7 p.m. The game will be on ESPN.
"We're very excited to prove what we can do," Smith said Saturday during a meeting with the media after practice. "We didn't look like the same team the last five years. It probably did to some. Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, we were deflated in the fourth quarter. We were still flying around against Ohio State. We showed we will not quit. Just too many mistakes."
The mistakes in Doc Holliday's debut as Marshall head coach began on the opening kickoff when the Herd fumbled, Ohio State recovered and turned the mistake into points.
"That's a test to see how you come back," Smith said. "It means we have to make more plays. Ohio State was a measuring stick and we didn't measure up as well as we wanted to. We've got 11 more opportunities and we know we're fully capable. If we don't get our butts to work, we know we're capable of losing 11.
"Ohio State was stacked. We've switched from Ohio State to WVU now. We have too many weapons to use. In the past, I had trouble trying to think of some."
No. 25 West Virginia opened the season Saturday with a 31-0 win over Coastal Carolina in Morgantown. The Mountaineers are 9-0- all-time against the Herd.
Herd linebacker Devin Arrington knows the Mountaineers and future Marshall opponents now have a read on what the Herd shows under a new coaching staff.
"Coach Rip (defensive coordinator Chris Rippon) told us all the teams will watch it and try to duplicate it," Arrington said. "The beauty of this is we get a week to fix it. Teams see the biggest improvements in the second game."
On offense, Marshall managed 199 total yards against the Buckeyes. It marked the first time since the 2008 game against WVU that an opponent has held Marshall to less than 200 yards of offense. The Herd had just 44 yards on the ground. Brian Anderson connected on 17 of 28 attempts for 135 yards. He got heat from Ohio State's front four all night.
"We didn't go execute the way we wanted to," Anderson said. "There were plays to be made that we didn't make. We have to get that corrected for the next game."
Holliday said execution must improve if the Herd hopes to break through against WVU.
"I was proud of the effort we gave," he said. "We've got to polish up some things and play better. It's time to move on and put that game (Ohio State) to rest."
