2003: Herd's MAC reign ends

The Herald-Dispatch

Marshall's six-season run as a Mid-American Conference division winner ended in Oxford, Ohio.

Arch-rival Miami (Ohio) with NFL prospect Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback stopped the Thundering Herd's reign as East Division champion with a convincing 45-6 regular-season triumph at Yager Stadium.

Miami advanced to play in its first MAC Championship Game.

Marshall, which ultimately finished with an 8-4 record, didn't receive a bowl berth either -- failing to make it to postseason play for the first time in 12 seasons.

The MAC's two bowl teams were the champion, Miami (Ohio), and the runner-up, Bowling Green.

Coach Bobby Pruett indicated better days are ahead when Marshall moves to Conference USA (2005), which has five bowl tie-ins.

"Certainly we're disappointed," Pruett said. "But that's one reason we changed conferences. If we had been in Conference USA, we'd have gotten a bowl."

Injuries, improved conference teams and non-league losses to Tennessee and Troy State brought the Herd's six-streak of bowl games to an end.

Along the way, however, Marshall made major headlines.

"MARSHALL TAKES MANHATTAN" the headline said the day after Marshall dropped No. 6 Kansas State on its home field in Manhattan, Kan., 27-20.

The victory was Marshall's first against a team ranked in The Associated Press top 25 poll.

It was a classic in every sense, and Marshall didn't disappoint from start to finish. On the Thundering Herd's second play from scrimmage, Butchie Wallace burst through Kansas State's vaunted run defense for a season-high 45 yards. On the game's final series, Marshall turned K-State away on four plays from the 2-yard line.

In between, some of the most dramatic action in Thundering Herd history was on display.

"It was a back and forth ball game and a lot of things happened. ... We did enough to get a big win," Pruett said.

The victory at Kansas State will always rank high on the list of Bobby Pruett memories. It was easily one of the biggest wins in the 110-year history of Marshall football. "In school history, it's probably behind the Xavier win after the plane crash," Pruett said of Marshall's first game after the 1970 tragedy that claimed 75 lives. "And then I would say this and this and the comeback win in the bowl game (a 64-61 double overtime victory over East Carolina in the 2001 GMAC Bowl) are pretty special wins."