The 1994 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1994 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Jim Donnan, the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 12–2 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the SoCon title. Marshall advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship playoffs for the fourth straight season, where they defeated Middle Tennessee in the first round and James Madison in the quarterfinals, before losing to Boise State in the semifinals. Marshall played home games at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.
1994 Marshall Thundering Herd football | |
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SoCon champion | |
NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal, L 24–28 vs. Boise State | |
Conference | Southern Conference |
Ranking | |
Sports Network | No. 2 |
Record | 12–2 (7–1 SoCon) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Chris Scelfo (2nd season) |
Defensive coordinator | Mickey Matthews (5th season) |
Captain | Roger Johnson, Shannon Morrison, Vince Parker, Chris Parker, J. D. Cyrus, Todd Donnan |
Home stadium | Marshall University Stadium |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 2 Marshall $^ | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 12 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 17 Appalachian State ^ | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georgia Southern | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Western Carolina | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Citadel | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East Tennessee State | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Furman | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chattanooga | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VMI | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Regular season
editMarshall went undefeated at home during the regular season and lost one game on the road to Appalachian State. Marshall's 7–1 conference record earned them the Southern Conference championship.
Postseason
editBy winning the Southern Conference championship, Marshall was awarded a bid in the 1994 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. Marshall defeated Middle Tennessee State and James Madison in Huntington before falling to Boise State in Boise in the semifinal game.
During the James Madison playoff game Marshall cornerback Melvin Cunningham set a 1-AA playoff record with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.[1]
Schedule
editDate | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 3 | Morehead State* | No. 1 | W 71–7 | |||
September 10 | No. 16 Tennessee Tech* | No. 1 |
| W 24–10 | ||
September 17 | at No. 21 Georgia Southern | No. 1 | W 34–13 | 14,411 | ||
September 24 | West Virginia State* | No. 1 |
| W 48–0 | ||
October 1 | Chattanooga | No. 1 |
| W 62–21 | ||
October 8 | at VMI | No. 1 | W 49–7 | 9,538 | [2] | |
October 15 | No. 16 Western Carolina | No. 1 |
| W 38–14 | ||
October 22 | at No. 24 Appalachian State | No. 1 | L 14–24 | 19,781 | [3] | |
October 29 | The Citadel | No. 5 |
| W 42–30 | 23,260 | |
November 5 | at East Tennessee State | No. 3 | W 42–12 | |||
November 12 | Furman | No. 2 |
| W 35–14 | 20,405 | [4] |
November 26 | No. 16 Middle Tennessee* | No. 2 |
| W 49–14 | ||
December 3 | No. 13 James Madison* | No. 2 |
| W 28–21 OT | 16,494 | [5] |
December 10 | at No. 3 Boise State* | No. 2 |
| L 24–28 | 20,068 | |
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Roster
edit1994 Marshall Thundering Herd football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Awards and honors
edit- William Pannell, 1st Team All-Southern Conference [6]
- Travis Colquitt. 1st Team All-Southern Conference
- Shannon Morrison, 1st Team All-Southern Conference
- Billy Lyon, 1st Team All-Southern Conference
- Jamie Wilson, 2nd Team All-Southern Conference
- David Merrick, 2nd Team All-Southern Conference
References
edit- ^ "Marshall's All-Americans" (PDF). CSTV. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 2, 2015.
- ^ "Marshall 49, VMI 7". The News and Observer. October 9, 1994. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "No. 1 Marshall suffers setback". The Billings Gazette. October 23, 1994. Retrieved November 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Donnan guides Marshall over Furman". The Times and Democrat. November 13, 1994. Retrieved September 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Marshall ousts JMU by 28–21". Daily Press. December 4, 1994. Retrieved October 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Marshall's All-Americans" (PDF). Grfx.cstv.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2015.