Thursday night's 47-21 loss to Virginia Tech proved costly to Marshall.
Not only was it a disappointing defeat in front of a national TV audience, more
importantly, as a result, the Thundering Herd dropped completely out of the Top
25 AP Poll and USA Today-Coaches Poll.
Marshall was ranked in the Top 25 by both polls prior to the start of the season
and had climbed to Number 17 in the AP Poll after a convincing win over Appalachian
State.
However, the Number 12 Hokies blew The Herd out of Lane Stadium Thursday night
and out of the polls as well.
Marshall did receive 63 votes in the AP Poll and 51 in the USA Today Poll.
The 3-0 Hokies climbed to Number 7 in both Polls.
Miami of Florida remains the King of the Hill in both Polls.
None of the players were available for comment on a Sunday, but here's what some
fans and students had to say:
"We got beat, what can we say?" said Brenda Bohannon, of Huntington,
who attended the game.
"We didn't play like a Top 25 team. People could see that."
"I expected to drop a few notches," said Paul Sanders, of Wayne. "But
I think dropping us out of the Top 25 is a sham. If we were a major university,
we'd still be ranked number 20. It's another example of how Marshall is disrespected."
"There's plenty of time to come back," said Larry Austin, of Guyandotte.
"It's a long season. We'll be back in the Top 25. This is just a speed bump."
"I don't care, I have absolutely no team spirit," sophomore, Missy Martin
said. "I just don't care."