After five long weeks of preseason, Marshall University football coaches and players can finally say it is game week.
The first game of every season is important because coaches look to get on track from the start of a season.
Marshall head coach Doc Holliday would likely say the season opener with Miami (Ohio) is the most important game because it is the next one, but the importance of that contest goes beyond just one week.
With Marshall coming off a 3-9 season that ended with a bitter taste in everyone's mouth involved with the program, getting off to a winning start is imperative - especially with ACC upstart N.C. State looming in the following week.
Marshall gets the chance to build momentum at home against Miami (Ohio) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
It is about putting to bed the talk of last season and getting the 2017 season off the ground the right way.
"No one was happy with last year, and that's all we've heard about all offseason," Marshall tight end Ryan Yurachek said. "There's only one way that we can end that talk, and that's by going out and working hard every day and performing well on Saturdays.
"For us, that all starts on Sept. 2 and that's where our focus is."
Marshall has one of the nation's best winning percentages at home, but that did not come into play last season when the Thundering Herd suffered three of its worst defeats ever at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in losses to Akron, Louisville and Western Kentucky.
For Marshall to prove that 2016 is in the past it has to defeat an opponent that struggled to an 0-6 start in the 2016 season, then went on a six-game winning streak to become bowl eligible before falling to Mississippi State by one point in the St. Petersburg Bowl.
The RedHawks return nearly all of their 2016 unit - 18 of 22 starters with another player getting substantial starting experience - so defeating an experienced team will not be easy.
"They are an excellent team, their quarterback (junior Gus Ragland) makes them go and they fly around and they are well-coached," Holliday said. "They are going to be a challenge for us."
Improvement in all facets is needed for the Herd to turn things around and Holliday has felt as though his team has put in the work during the offseason and into the preseason to make that happen.
However, there will also be several key pieces - especially at the skill positions - making their first appearances in a Marshall uniform, so getting their feet underneath them quickly and settling into a rhythm will be crucial.
Holliday also said in-game adjustments will be critical because, with the first game, a team can see what was done in the past, but Miami's coaching staff had several months to tweak things. That means the Herd will not only have to settle in quickly, but grow up and adjust during action.
"You have to make adjustments along the line," Holliday said.
After what has seemed like an eternity of preseason preparation, Marshall is now just five days away from starting a new chapter. Leading up to the game, Marshall has said all the right things about being bought in and much-improved from last season.
This is the week when the talk ends and the action begins.
The first game of every season is important because coaches look to get on track from the start of a season.
Marshall head coach Doc Holliday would likely say the season opener with Miami (Ohio) is the most important game because it is the next one, but the importance of that contest goes beyond just one week.
With Marshall coming off a 3-9 season that ended with a bitter taste in everyone's mouth involved with the program, getting off to a winning start is imperative - especially with ACC upstart N.C. State looming in the following week.
Marshall gets the chance to build momentum at home against Miami (Ohio) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
It is about putting to bed the talk of last season and getting the 2017 season off the ground the right way.
"No one was happy with last year, and that's all we've heard about all offseason," Marshall tight end Ryan Yurachek said. "There's only one way that we can end that talk, and that's by going out and working hard every day and performing well on Saturdays.
"For us, that all starts on Sept. 2 and that's where our focus is."
Marshall has one of the nation's best winning percentages at home, but that did not come into play last season when the Thundering Herd suffered three of its worst defeats ever at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in losses to Akron, Louisville and Western Kentucky.
For Marshall to prove that 2016 is in the past it has to defeat an opponent that struggled to an 0-6 start in the 2016 season, then went on a six-game winning streak to become bowl eligible before falling to Mississippi State by one point in the St. Petersburg Bowl.
The RedHawks return nearly all of their 2016 unit - 18 of 22 starters with another player getting substantial starting experience - so defeating an experienced team will not be easy.
"They are an excellent team, their quarterback (junior Gus Ragland) makes them go and they fly around and they are well-coached," Holliday said. "They are going to be a challenge for us."
Improvement in all facets is needed for the Herd to turn things around and Holliday has felt as though his team has put in the work during the offseason and into the preseason to make that happen.
However, there will also be several key pieces - especially at the skill positions - making their first appearances in a Marshall uniform, so getting their feet underneath them quickly and settling into a rhythm will be crucial.
Holliday also said in-game adjustments will be critical because, with the first game, a team can see what was done in the past, but Miami's coaching staff had several months to tweak things. That means the Herd will not only have to settle in quickly, but grow up and adjust during action.
"You have to make adjustments along the line," Holliday said.
After what has seemed like an eternity of preseason preparation, Marshall is now just five days away from starting a new chapter. Leading up to the game, Marshall has said all the right things about being bought in and much-improved from last season.
This is the week when the talk ends and the action begins.
