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• This week in C-USA
• Video: MU coach Mark Snyder's weekly press conference Sept. 30, 2008
• Gallery: MU vs. Cincinnati, second half
• Anthony Hanshew: MU-UC Game Balls
• Grading the Herd
• Chuck Landon: Herd still shoots itself in the foot
• Gallery: MU vs. Cincy, first half action
• Gallery: Marshall vs. Cincinnati, pre-game
• Fans lukewarm on timing of game

HUNTINGTON — Marshall has its season-long goals intact, but September momentum has been stunted by consecutive Big East losses.

Marshall (3-3, 2-0 Conference USA) now has a week off to regroup and refresh, but Friday night’s 33-10 loss to Cincinnati (4-1, 0-0 Big East) before an involved ‘White Out’ Joan C. Edwards Stadium crowd of 29,237 constitutes disappointment for fans and the Thundering Herd program.

Players and coaches entered eager to erase last week’s stale taste at West Virginia, but the Bearcats managed victory with a first-time starter at quarterback.

Special teams established Bearcats control and redshirt freshman quarterback Chazz Anderson was efficient in his debut as starter. His counterpart and fellow redshirt freshman, Mark Cann, struggled for a second consecutive week, overthrowing on two of his three interceptions.

Cincinnati blocked a pair of Kase Whitehead punts, parlaying the second into a safety and an ensuing touchdown, unnerving a crowd hopeful of a signature, ESPN-televised showcase win.

“Cincinnati played awfully well,” Thundering Herd head coach Mark Snyder said. “I was disappointed, obviously, in our performance tonight. I thought the defense played pretty well for the positions we put them in.

“A little disappointed that we got a punt blocked. We talked about making something happen with special teams and they were able to do it, and I thought that changed the momentum.
“It put our defense in some very hard situations with the turnovers.”

Marshall’s extended touchdown drought (dating to the 4:17 fourth-quarter mark at Southern Miss on Sept. 20) finally ended when Cann found Cody Slate in stride, splitting free safety Brandon Underwood and another defender on a 57-yard touchdown. The Thundering Herd could not have executed in funkier fashion through two quarters, but suddenly trailed just 16-10 only 68 seconds into the second half.

“We didn’t run that play in the first half, and came out with it early in the second half,” Cann said. “It was big for us. I wish we could have gotten some more like that.”

Cincinnati’s emphatic answer played out as an eight-play, 89-yard drive lasting just 2:48. Six plays gained at least nine yards and Anderson’s roll-out, 7-yard touchdown pass to Dominick Goodman reasserted a comfortable lead at 23-10.

On the following play from scrimmage, Cann overthrew an open Slate, a misfire free safety Aaron Webster tucked away at midfield and returned to Marshall’s 21. UC settled for a 40-yard Jake Rogers field goal, upping the advantage to 26-10 with 5:33 left in the third quarter.

Anderson’s 1-yard touchdown sneak early in the fourth added meaningless points to a game that already had been decided.

“It was a great college atmosphere here tonight,” Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly said.

“Marshall fans were out and I know our team was excited to play down here tonight. It’s got great tradition and our team was really excited about the opportunity to come here.”

Following a feeling-out, field position duel early, Connor Barwin delivered the opening shot, cleanly blocking a Whitehead punt for a safety. Barwin tipped an earlier punt and again sprinted through the same middle gap; the block rolled through the end zone for a 2-0 UC lead.

Cincinnati’s offense required just four plays to convert Barwin’s block into a 9-0 advantage. Taking over at Marshall’s 48-yard line, John Goebel finished the abbreviated drive, rumbling untouched 22 yards to the end zone.

“It was a great scheme by (special teams) coach (Mike) Elston,” Barwin said. “We saw their center kept his head down and had a little hitch in his snap, so we needed to beat up on the center a little bit.

“And I wouldn’t have gotten free if Mardy Gilyard wouldn’t have taken out the PP (personal protector). It was perfect both times.”

Continuing the theme of over-pursuit from last week’s loss at WVU, Marshall defenders followed the handoff to their left, Goebel then cut back,

angling on his longest run this season for a 9-0 lead 31 seconds into the second quarter.
A simply sloppy Marshall first half continued. A promising march to UC’s 37 suddenly found its way back at Marshall’s 48 when Darius Marshall lost 15 yards, reversing his field twice. Barwin then sacked Cann for a 7-yard loss and Whitehead shanked a 17-yard punt.

The Thundering Herd defense forced a three-and-out, but a six-quarter run sans a touchdown crept along. Matt Altobello was flagged for blocking in the back, erasing a long Darius Passmore gain. Two plays later, strong safety Cedric Tolbert intercepted a Cann pass bounding off Cody Slate’s chest and returned it 33 yards to Marshall’s 25.

“Offensively, for the second week in a row, we get to the red zone; we know our opportunities against two good teams (WVU and Cincinnati) are going to be limited and you’ve got to make the most of them,” Snyder said. “And we’re going backward. We’re going the wrong way.”

Momentum finally appeared to shift when Albert McClellan stripped Goebel on a shovel pass and recovered. Replay ruled the pass incomplete, nullifying the takeaway. Anderson fired 14 yards to Goodman on the next play, extending the Bearcats lead to 16-0; 4:54 remained in the first half and fans were filing outside to their tailgate areas.

Beyond a pair of big Brandon Burns plays (a sack of Anderson for a 14-yard loss and an interception off a Delvin Johnson tip), Marshall’s lone first half positive was Craig Ratanamorn’s 50-yard field goal with 2:05 remaining.

Burns, a junior strong side linebacker, ran his pickoff back to the Herd 43 just 30 seconds prior to halftime. Again, any semblance of favorable Marshall fortune squelched immediately when Mike Mickens intercepted Cann on a go-route pass to Passmore.

Cann completed 17 of 36 passes for 178 yards and the Slate touchdown with three pickoffs. Chubb Small led Thundering Herd ball carriers with 62 yards on seven carries. Darius Marshall was limited to only 19 yards on 14 attempts. Slate hauled in seven passes for 96 yards.

UC outgained Marshall 361 yards to 268, and stockpiled 203 rushing yards. Cincinnati’s defensive front dominated throughout, limiting the Herd to 90 rushing yards and 2.9 a carry.
“Their defense came out and got after it,” Cann said. “We knew we were going to have to score some points and we didn’t do that. We get in the red zone; we’ve got to score points. It’s the same thing as last week — turnovers and penalties.

“They were good up front and we knew that coming in. They got after it pretty good in the passing game and the running game.”

Following a challenging five-week stretch, Marshall now enjoys a needed week off before plunging into full-time C-USA play. The Herd returns to action Oct. 18 at UAB. Kickoff at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., is 4 p.m.

“Just keep our head up,” Small said of his senior message to his teammates. “We’ve got our goals in front of us still. It’s a good thing that this wasn’t a conference game but I had to bring it to their attention that we still can be better than we’ve started off with.

“We started off good and we’re facing some adversity now. I told them to keep their head up.”
 

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Mark Webb/The Herald-Dispatch

Marshall running back Darius Marshall fights off Cincinnati's Alex Daniels during the first half of the NCAA football game on Friday, Oct. 3, 2008, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

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