MU Football History

1998: Herd takes giant step

The Herald-Dispatch

How's that sound, Thundering Herd fans?

So much had been made of Marshall's gradual, yet dramatic, rise in college football, from one of the nation's worst programs in the 1960s and '70s to the winningest in the '90s.

And rightfully so.

Well, it was time to make some more of it.

Marshall took another giant step in its glorious climb from futility by blitzing defenseless Louisville, 48-29, in a monumental 1998 Motor City Bowl shootout at the Pontiac Silverdome.

Where this latest step would lead the Herd was anybody's guess. But if Marshall was trying to showcase its program for Conference USA, of which Louisville was a member, it certainly did just that.

Moments after the game ended and the awards ceremony began, Marshall receivers Nate Poole and James Williams celebrated by doing handsprings and flips on the field as cameras flashed and the Herd fans roared.

Few if any of Marshall's followers left their seats as the players and coach Bobby Pruett accepted the championship trophy.

It was, simply, a classic, led by the Herd's gifted quarterback Chad Pennington, who was named the game's most valuable player. A Heisman Trophy candidate and academic All-American, Pennington picked apart the Cardinals' porous defense, passing for 411 yards and four touchdowns.

A regular season loss at Bowling Green was the only speed bump in a season when Marshall finished 12-1 and won its second Mid-American Conference championship in as many years of NCAA Division I-A competition.

Marshall coach Bobby Pruett received numerous individual honors after the 1998 season. Pruett was named as the state's college coach of the year by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. He picked up the MAC coach of the year award. And, he was named Citizen of the Year by The Herald-Dispatch.