Well ladies, it’s that time of year again; time for scarves, boots, pumpkins, and football! Football is an American tradition, but here at Marshall University, football means a little bit more. Everyone knows what happened November 14, 1970, when we lost 75 of our own. That tragedy left football at Marshall University as more than just a game, but as a tribute. Marshall’s football program shows the strength, integrity, perseverance, and hope of this community.
This season the football team is projected to go undefeated. So far the Herd is 4-0 and headed in the right direction. They are currently ranked 3rd in Conference USA with no intentions of stopping there. The Herd faced a heartbreaking loss last season in the conference championship game against Rice with a score of 24-41. This year they intend to make it back to the championship and come away with the title. Luckily, the odds are in the Herd’s favor as they are predicted to finish number 1 in the conference and number 10 nationally with a 12-0 season.
The Herd is being led to victories this year by senior star quarterback, Rakeem Cato. Cato won the Conference USA Player of the Year award last season, and is a Heisman candidate for the season as well. He had thrown for over 10,000 yards and 91 TDs going into this season, and has the potential to finish in the top five of FBS history. Cato is quickly approaching record breaking numbers of round-one draft picks from Marshall, Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich. With so much success from Cato, knowing his story and where he came sends an inspiring message. ESPN recently did a feature on Cato’s difficult upbringing in Miami, Florida.
With such inspiring stories coming from some of our own, you can’t help but cheer the Herd on along their journey to victory. The Herd’s next game is on the road against Old Dominion next Saturday, October 4th. The next home game is October 11th against Middle Tennessee, which is predicted to be one of the Herd’s tougher opponents this season. So make sure you get there early, fill up the Joan, and scream loud ladies, because its Marshall football!