1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football
MAC champion
MAC East Division champion
Motor City Bowl, L 31–34 vs. Ole Miss
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record10–3 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorGunter Brewer (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinatorTim Nunez (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorKevin Kelly (2nd season)
CaptainJohn Wade, Brian Reed, Chad Pennington, Thomas Maxwell, B. J. Cohen, Larry McCloud
Home stadiumMarshall University Stadium
Seasons
← 1996
1998 →
1997 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Marshall x$   7 1     10 3  
Miami (OH)   6 2     8 3  
Ohio   6 2     8 3  
Bowling Green   3 5     3 8  
Kent State   3 5     3 8  
Akron   2 7     2 9  
West Division
Toledo x   7 1     9 3  
Western Michigan   6 2     8 3  
Ball State   4 4     5 6  
Eastern Michigan   4 5     4 7  
Central Michigan   1 7     2 9  
Northern Illinois   0 8     0 11  
Championship: Marshall 34, Toledo 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

The 1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Bob Pruett, the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the MAC's East Division title. Marshall beat Toledo in MAC Championship Game to win the conference championship and then lost to Ole Miss in the Motor City Bowl.

After winning the Southern Conference (SoCon) tile and the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship in 1996, Marshall returned to NCAA Division I-A play for the first time since 1981 and the MAC for the time since 1968. The Thundering Herd played home games at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.

Wide receiver Randy Moss and quarterback Chad Pennington were the centerpiece of an explosive offense. Moss caught 26 touchdown passes, at the time an NCAA Division I-A record, and was a unanimous first-team All-American.[1] For the season, Moss had 96 receptions for 1,820 yards, won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's best wide receiver, and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, finishing fourth in the balloting, behind Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning, and Charles Woodson, who won the award. Moss left Marshall with 168 receptions for 3,467 yards and a school record 53 touchdowns in two seasons.

The Herd became only the second team to win a conference championship in its first NCAA Division I-A (now FBS) season, following the 1992 Nevada Wolf Pack football team that won the Big West Conference. The feat was not repeated until 2014, when Georgia Southern won the Sun Belt Conference title.

  1. ^ Carter, Bob. "Moves, Emotions Have Moss Causin' a Commotion". ESPN. Retrieved February 22, 2007.