Marshall Loses To Upstart Charlotte 27-24; Hits Rock Bottom

Going into Saturday night’s game, Marshall had to be feeling good. They were coming off of their first conference win and they stopped a losing streak against FAU. Overall, they were showing major signs of improvement. A 10 win season was still within the realm of possibilities for the struggling team.

Fast forward to Saturday night and all of the feel good emotions, all of the hope of a successful season was taken away as the Herd fell 24-27 to the Charlotte 49ers.

The 49ers started out with a four minute drive that resulted in a touchdown. Marshall lost the ball but recovered on the kickoff, taking over on the two yard line. That would be the first of many mistakes for Marshall on the night.

The Herd took the lead in the first quarter and held it for most of the game.

Chase Litton threw for 262 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Keion Davis put 6 on the board for the Herd’s only rushing touchdown.

The Herd fell victim to some of the bad habits that have plagued the team all year. The laundry list of mistakes includes bad clock management, a weakened secondary, and inexcusable penalties.

While the defense did make some impressive stops and forced an interception, they failed to hold the 49ers on fourth down, they allowed 24 first downs, and gave up over 380 yards.

The offense was not without faults either. After failing to move the ball and run time off the clock at the end of the first half, Chase Litton threw a pick in the end zone to end the half. Davis fumbled on the one yard line and let the ball go out of bounds in the end zone, leading to a touchback. On the final drive of the night, the Herd missed a 40 yard field goal attempt that could have tied the game.

Any of the above factors could have been overcame. However, putting all that together with 12 penalties that resulted in 115 yards was too much for the team to overcome.

The amount of problems this team faces can only be blamed on the youth of the team for so long. At some point, the blame has to fall back on the coaches. There is a clear lack of discipline and passive leadership on the sidelines.

The Herd can still make a run for the conference title, and four more wins to become bowl eligible is still a possibility. However, things do not seem to be improving fast enough.

Next week, Marshall travels to Hattiesburg to face off against Southern Mississippi. We’ll have to wait and see if the coaches can properly prepare the team for the meat of their conference schedule.