When Marshall mauled Appalachian State 50-17 over the weekend, it meant much more than a win. The rout over the Division I-AA powerhouse moved the Thundering Herd up the national rankings four slots to number 18 in the USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll and three rungs up the ladder to number 16 in the Associated Press poll.
While pleased with the news, Herd coach Bobby Pruett quickly put the early-season numbers into perspective. "Those rankings," he pointed out, "It's not how you start. It's how you finish."
Marshall is far from finished for the season. In fact, it gets the acid test when the Green and White faces its highest-ranked opponent of this season in less than two weeks. Virginia Tech is ranked number 12 in the AP poll and number 10 in the coaches poll. LSU learned the hard way about just how good those Hokies are when the higher ranked Tigers fell 26-8, on Sunday in Blacksburg.
"They're tough," said Heisman Trophy candidate Byron Leftwich. "They will test us. But this is what we want, to play against great teams."
Both teams catch a little bit of a break. They each have next weekend off to prepare for their Thursday night, September 12 showdown in Blacksburg.
During their defeat of LSU, the Hokies lost their starting quarterback, Grant Noel, who is from West Virginia, though the Tigers learned that V-Tech has depth at that position when his replacement, Bryan Randall, stepped in and handed LSU the huge loss anyway.