The loss to West Virginia was not unexpected, but still, Marshall acquitted itself quite well, taking a halftime lead against the Mountaineers two weeks ago and giving the nation's third-ranked team a little scare.
The Thundering Herd's defeat the next week was shocking and embarrassing rolled into one stomach-churning day.
Allowing 502 yards of offense to New Hampshire and watching as the Division I-AA foe cruised to a 24-point advantage through two quarters, Marshall desperately made a comeback attempt in the second half but fell short 48-35.
That's 48 points allowed to a squad that had lost by 17 to James Madison the week before. That's not good.
How, if you're Marshall - which also lost by four touchdowns to Miami (Fla.) earlier this year - do you respond to a loss like that?
"I don't know, we haven't lost to too many Division I-AA schools here," said Marshall coach Mark Snyder, who will lead the Thundering Herd (0-3) into Nippert Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday to face the University of Cincinnati (3-0). "I can't answer that question. We came back here (Sunday night) and had a spirited practice. We know we have to get better. I know we're really close to being a good team. We're coming to Cincinnati, and we're coming to play."
UC coach Brian Kelly expects nothing less.
During his weekly news conference Tuesday, Kelly spent the first few minutes talking about how impressed he's been with Marshall this season.
"At 0-3, it's clearly not indicative of the talent level they have," Kelly said. "This is a well-coached football team. Their scheme is sound, offensively and defensively. ... They will not play the University of Cincinnati the way they played UNH. They're going to play us like they played Miami and West Virginia."
Then, Kelly said something a little surprising.
"When you look at it," Kelly said, "this is as talented a football team as Oregon State."
Say what? This is still the same squad that lost to a Division I-AA program, right?
"Miami and West Virginia are pretty good football teams," Kelly said. "They're offensively moving the football quite well. They haven't played to the same level on defense. Clearly, from their perspective, having their quarterback out against UNH, put them in a big hole. They just couldn't climb back from it. They almost did."
True, senior quarterback Bernard Morris, who didn't play most of the first half against New Hampshire because of turf toe, entered the game late in the second quarter and completed 31 of 42 passes for 417 yards and three touchdowns.
Still, the Thundering Herd didn't have much of a running attack - Morris' 11 yards on five carries was second best on the team - and they couldn't stop New Hampshire from rushing (213 yards), passing (289 yards), kickoff returning (199 yards) or converting third downs (the Wildcats were 11 of 16 in that category).
"They kept us off guard," Snyder said. "They had a nice game plan coming in. They totally changed their offense from the week before. We had a hard time stopping them. Before we knew it, bang, we were down. We brought Bernard back in, and he did a great job leading us. Every time we got back in the game and made it a six-point game, something else would happen."
UC, though, won't take Marshall lightly. The Bearcats expect to see the team that played with West Virginia for a half, not the team that performed last week.
"Marshall is going to come out and play us tough," senior tight end Doug Jones said. "They played West Virginia very well. They had a down week. Teams have that. With us, we have to focus and prepare like we have been and go out and play like we have been, and everything will take care of itself.
INJURY UPDATES - Senior quarterback Ben Mauk remained on pace to start Saturday's game, Kelly said after Wednesday's practice. Mauk took 50-plus snaps - while Dustin Grutza had 48 and Tony Pike 33 - and he stretched his arm more, making throws as far as 15-20 yards.
Today's practice, though, will determine whether Mauk can produce the deep throws he'll need to make to start Saturday.
"I'm going to try to push the ball down the field a little bit more (today)," Mauk said. "There's pain in there, but they can take the pain away with a (cortisone) shot. I'm confident that if I'm not ready to go that we have Dustin Grutza and Tony Pike that can come into the game as well."
Also, linebacker Corey Smith, who played only briefly Saturday vs. Miami University because of a broken bone in his hand, should play against Marshall, Kelly said.
The Thundering Herd's defeat the next week was shocking and embarrassing rolled into one stomach-churning day.
Allowing 502 yards of offense to New Hampshire and watching as the Division I-AA foe cruised to a 24-point advantage through two quarters, Marshall desperately made a comeback attempt in the second half but fell short 48-35.
That's 48 points allowed to a squad that had lost by 17 to James Madison the week before. That's not good.
How, if you're Marshall - which also lost by four touchdowns to Miami (Fla.) earlier this year - do you respond to a loss like that?
"I don't know, we haven't lost to too many Division I-AA schools here," said Marshall coach Mark Snyder, who will lead the Thundering Herd (0-3) into Nippert Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday to face the University of Cincinnati (3-0). "I can't answer that question. We came back here (Sunday night) and had a spirited practice. We know we have to get better. I know we're really close to being a good team. We're coming to Cincinnati, and we're coming to play."
UC coach Brian Kelly expects nothing less.
During his weekly news conference Tuesday, Kelly spent the first few minutes talking about how impressed he's been with Marshall this season.
"At 0-3, it's clearly not indicative of the talent level they have," Kelly said. "This is a well-coached football team. Their scheme is sound, offensively and defensively. ... They will not play the University of Cincinnati the way they played UNH. They're going to play us like they played Miami and West Virginia."
Then, Kelly said something a little surprising.
"When you look at it," Kelly said, "this is as talented a football team as Oregon State."
Say what? This is still the same squad that lost to a Division I-AA program, right?
"Miami and West Virginia are pretty good football teams," Kelly said. "They're offensively moving the football quite well. They haven't played to the same level on defense. Clearly, from their perspective, having their quarterback out against UNH, put them in a big hole. They just couldn't climb back from it. They almost did."
True, senior quarterback Bernard Morris, who didn't play most of the first half against New Hampshire because of turf toe, entered the game late in the second quarter and completed 31 of 42 passes for 417 yards and three touchdowns.
Still, the Thundering Herd didn't have much of a running attack - Morris' 11 yards on five carries was second best on the team - and they couldn't stop New Hampshire from rushing (213 yards), passing (289 yards), kickoff returning (199 yards) or converting third downs (the Wildcats were 11 of 16 in that category).
"They kept us off guard," Snyder said. "They had a nice game plan coming in. They totally changed their offense from the week before. We had a hard time stopping them. Before we knew it, bang, we were down. We brought Bernard back in, and he did a great job leading us. Every time we got back in the game and made it a six-point game, something else would happen."
UC, though, won't take Marshall lightly. The Bearcats expect to see the team that played with West Virginia for a half, not the team that performed last week.
"Marshall is going to come out and play us tough," senior tight end Doug Jones said. "They played West Virginia very well. They had a down week. Teams have that. With us, we have to focus and prepare like we have been and go out and play like we have been, and everything will take care of itself.
INJURY UPDATES - Senior quarterback Ben Mauk remained on pace to start Saturday's game, Kelly said after Wednesday's practice. Mauk took 50-plus snaps - while Dustin Grutza had 48 and Tony Pike 33 - and he stretched his arm more, making throws as far as 15-20 yards.
Today's practice, though, will determine whether Mauk can produce the deep throws he'll need to make to start Saturday.
"I'm going to try to push the ball down the field a little bit more (today)," Mauk said. "There's pain in there, but they can take the pain away with a (cortisone) shot. I'm confident that if I'm not ready to go that we have Dustin Grutza and Tony Pike that can come into the game as well."
Also, linebacker Corey Smith, who played only briefly Saturday vs. Miami University because of a broken bone in his hand, should play against Marshall, Kelly said.
