Certainly, a game that got away against an in-state opponent remains frustrating, but Marshall University football players apparently have moved on.
The Thundering Herd had ample opportunity to notch its first-ever victory over West Virginia, but Saturday's Milan Puskar Stadium scoreboard read WVU 24, Marshall 7. Still, the season's second half remains, and the Herd is locked in a tie for second place with UAB and Southern Miss in the Conference USA East Division behind East Carolina.
Marshall (4-3, 2-1) hosts UAB (2-4, 2-1) Saturday in league play at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Kickoff is noon and CSS will televise the game.
"It definitely feel good to get back into conference play," Marshall quarterback Brian Anderson said. "We really have only one focus and that's conference play and that's what what we're going to focus on throughout the week."
Still, Anderson and others conceded a bit of disappointment from last week's outcome. The Herd opened with a 7-0 lead and advanced to the red zone, headed to an two-possession advantage, but turnovers resulted in a fourth consecutive Friends of Coal Bowl loss to the Mountaineers.
"Yeah, I'd say we're a little bit disappointed," Anderson said.
Teammates agreed, conceding frustration but focusing on UAB and the regular season's remainder.
"We're focused on the second part of the season," Thundering Herd linebacker Mario Harvey said. "We're getting cranked up and getting back to business.
"It would have been great to beat WVU and have bragging rights. But now we're looking toward the second half of the season."
Styles make matchups and while UAB arguably hasn't consistently fielded the more talented team, the Blazers have fared well against Marshall. Considering Saturday's implications, UAB has Marshall's full attention.
"We went down there last year and felt we had the game won, but we came up a little short," Anderson said. "That's something we're definitely going to focus on and try to get a win this week."
"We're very upbeat. We're as upbeat as we can be after letting one get away from us. We see it as another team on the schedule and we can't be anything but confident.
"We feel good about our team right now."
Anderson similarly feels good after suffering a mild concussion late in the West Virginia matchup. The junior signal-caller has been cleared to play Saturday against the Blazers, coming off a 48-13 loss to Ole Miss.
"It's very important to spread the ball to different receivers," Anderson said, referencing last week's tunnel vision on tight end Cody Slate, who hauled in 10 passes. "Unfortunately we weren't able to do that last week, but we're going to get it other people.:
The Thundering Herd had ample opportunity to notch its first-ever victory over West Virginia, but Saturday's Milan Puskar Stadium scoreboard read WVU 24, Marshall 7. Still, the season's second half remains, and the Herd is locked in a tie for second place with UAB and Southern Miss in the Conference USA East Division behind East Carolina.
Marshall (4-3, 2-1) hosts UAB (2-4, 2-1) Saturday in league play at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Kickoff is noon and CSS will televise the game.
"It definitely feel good to get back into conference play," Marshall quarterback Brian Anderson said. "We really have only one focus and that's conference play and that's what what we're going to focus on throughout the week."
Still, Anderson and others conceded a bit of disappointment from last week's outcome. The Herd opened with a 7-0 lead and advanced to the red zone, headed to an two-possession advantage, but turnovers resulted in a fourth consecutive Friends of Coal Bowl loss to the Mountaineers.
"Yeah, I'd say we're a little bit disappointed," Anderson said.
Teammates agreed, conceding frustration but focusing on UAB and the regular season's remainder.
"We're focused on the second part of the season," Thundering Herd linebacker Mario Harvey said. "We're getting cranked up and getting back to business.
"It would have been great to beat WVU and have bragging rights. But now we're looking toward the second half of the season."
Styles make matchups and while UAB arguably hasn't consistently fielded the more talented team, the Blazers have fared well against Marshall. Considering Saturday's implications, UAB has Marshall's full attention.
"We went down there last year and felt we had the game won, but we came up a little short," Anderson said. "That's something we're definitely going to focus on and try to get a win this week."
"We're very upbeat. We're as upbeat as we can be after letting one get away from us. We see it as another team on the schedule and we can't be anything but confident.
"We feel good about our team right now."
Anderson similarly feels good after suffering a mild concussion late in the West Virginia matchup. The junior signal-caller has been cleared to play Saturday against the Blazers, coming off a 48-13 loss to Ole Miss.
"It's very important to spread the ball to different receivers," Anderson said, referencing last week's tunnel vision on tight end Cody Slate, who hauled in 10 passes. "Unfortunately we weren't able to do that last week, but we're going to get it other people.:
