By Kempton Smith, BGP Contributor and App State Alumnus
Rivalries are fueled by frequency, close games, memorable plays, and similarities. This is a re-emerging rivalry.
If you missed last year’s article for background, it is linked (here). Everyone probably knows about the Marshall plane crash in 1970. If not, watch We Are Marshall on Netflix.
Most know that Marshall emerged as a significant rival for App State in the 1980s and that Marshall football transitioned to FBS in the late 1990s ahead of App State. Marshall transitioned to FBS very well in the eyes of the sports world. The rivalry faded because the two teams did not play for over twenty years.
Both App and Marshall wanted opportunities to play. The programs worked to schedule a series, then COVID and conference re-alignment happened to accelerate the process. Series renewal moved from 2021 to 2020.
The memorable plays and close games happened quickly
2020 in Huntingdon: Marshall wins 17-7. A defeat at Marshall during COVID took App’s National Ranking. The big swing in the game happened on a pass play from Zac Thomas to Mike Evans. A Marshall player knocked the ball from Evan’s hands as he approached the end zone, flipping a sure score into a Herd turnover. It was not a good look on TV.
2021 in Boone: A win at home. The Black and Gold took a 31-30 lead with 4:30 left to play. App stopped Marshall on the Herd’s following possession. After the punt, App State moved down the field. Marshall’s coach told his players to let App score so the Herd could get the ball back with time to score-tying TD. App was ready. Nate Noel took a knee at the Marshall 5 yard line on a sure scoring run, allowing App State to run the clock out. It was a crazy good feeling for the App State faithful in KBS and those watching on that Thursday night on ESPN.
These two teams have more in common than either will want to admit
- Football is the primary sport
- Long-standing winning tradition
- Engaged fanbases who travel well and get upset when their team plays below expectations
- Tailgating before every game
- Every game day is an ‘experience’
Both teams have “new” head coaches. Marshall’s Coach Charles Huff is in the second season of his first head coaching position after 14 years in various assistant roles. He played football at Hampton University from 2001-2005, where he played Fullback, Tight End, Guard, and Center.
App’s Shawn Clark is in the third season of his first head coaching role. After playing O Line at App State, Coach Clark held assistant positions at five different programs, including Louisville, Purdue, and Kent State, before joining the staff at App.
Marshall joined the Sun Belt Conference East division
The Mountaineers will play the Thundering Herd each year.
Marshall and App enter this week’s game at 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the Sunbelt. Both teams have had up-and-down seasons, with surprising wins and losses. Marshall upset 8th-ranked Notre Dame, and App dominated 6th-ranked Texas A&M. The Aggies have not done well since and are now unranked. The Fighting Irish have re-emerged as number 20 in the CFP ranking.
Possibly the most significant difference is in this year’s roster. Coach Huff hit the transfer portal hard in the off-season. This Herd roster includes more than 25 transfers; twelve are new this year, and nine are from P5 programs.
Marshall’s program is the most similar to the Mountaineers. The Thundering Herd will sustain the tradition, will be App’s biggest threat to division dominance, and be the long-running rival for App State.
