1995 Marshall Thundering Herd football team
| 1995 Marshall Thundering Herd football | |
|---|---|
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, L 22–20 vs. Montana | |
| Conference | Southern Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Sports Network | No. 6 |
| Record | 12–3 (7–1 SoCon) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Chris Scelfo (3rd season) |
| Captain | Jerome Embry, Jayson Grayson, Billy Lyon, Tim Martin, Chris Parker, William Pannell |
| Home stadium | Marshall University Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Appalachian State $^ | 8 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 12 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Marshall ^ | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 12 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Georgia Southern ^ | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Furman | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Tennessee State | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VMI | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chattanooga | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Carolina | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Citadel | 0 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1995 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Jim Donnan, the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 12–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, placing second in the SoCon. Marshall advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship playoffs for the fifth straight season, where they defeated Jackson State in the first round, Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals, and McNeese State in the semifinals, before losing to Montana in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game. Marshall played home games at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.
Regular season
Marshall was quarterbacked by true freshman and future NFL starter Chad Pennington after starting sophomore quarterbacl Mark Zban re-injured his knee delivering a touchdown pass to future NFL starter Jermaine Wiggins. Starting running back Chris Parker set the Marshall single season rushing record with 1,833 rushing yards.
Postseason
Marshall advanced to the 1995 NCAA I-AA playoffs with an at large bid, but held home field advantage for the first two games, defeating Jackson State and Northern Iowa in Huntington before going on the road against McNeese State in the semifinal game. Marshall defeated McNeese State and advanced to the I-AA National Championship game, which was held at Marshall's stadium against the Montana Grizzlies. This was the fourth consecutive I-AA National Championship game hosted by Marshall. Marshall lost the championship game, 22–20.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 31 | at NC State* | No. 2 | L 16–33 | 44,259 | [1] | |
| September 9 | Tennessee Tech* | No. 3 | W 45–14 | |||
| September 16 | No. 13 Georgia Southern | No. 4 |
| W 37–7 | 19,983 | |
| September 30 | at Chattanooga | No. 3 | W 35–32 | 8,576 | ||
| October 7 | VMI | No. 3 |
| W 56–21 | 19,702 | [2] |
| October 14 | at Western Carolina | No. 3 | W 42–3 | |||
| October 21 | No. 2 Appalachian State | No. 3 |
| L 3–10 | 26,982 | [3] |
| October 28 | at The Citadel | No. 7 | W 21–19 | 11,833 | ||
| November 4 | East Tennessee State | No. 7 |
| W 52–0 | ||
| November 11 | at Furman | No. 7 | W 31–6 | 10,688 | [4] | |
| November 18 | Hofstra* | No. 6 |
| W 30–28 | ||
| November 25 | Jackson State* | No. 6 |
| W 38–8 | 13,035 | [5] |
| December 2 | No. 18 Northern Iowa* | No. 6 |
| W 41–24 | ||
| December 9 | at No. 1 McNeese State* | No. 6 |
| W 25–13 | 18,018 | [6] |
| December 16 | No. 8 Montana* | No. 6 |
| L 20–22 | 32,106 | [7] |
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References
- ^ "Wolfpack builds steam, wins". The Charlotte Observer. September 1, 1995. Retrieved February 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Marshall thumps VMI". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 8, 1995. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Appalachian wins battle". The State. October 22, 1995. Retrieved November 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Marshall pummels Furman". The State. November 12, 1995. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Marshall thunders to victory". The Charlotte Observer. November 26, 1995. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Marshall advances to I-AA final". The Charlotte Observer. December 10, 1995. Retrieved March 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Grizzlies silence Thundering Herd, 22-10". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. December 17, 1995. p. 5B.