Marshall: The Nation's Best Least Talked About Team

Who can tell me where Marshall University is? Yes, it’s that same school in We Are Marshall, starring Matthew McConaughey, if that helps.

Did you know that Marshall has a football team? What conference are they in? The answers are Huntington, West Virginia, no (you’ve probably never thought about it), and the C-USA.

How many people know that the Thundering Herd are undefeated right now? No, really, they are. I’m guessing a lot of people don’t know that.

Not that I can blame the general populous for not knowing, Marshall is not a team that anyone really ever pays attention to, at least not on a national level.

But at present, there are only four undefeated teams remaining in the nation. Two of them are from Mississippi, and at least one of them won’t be unbeaten at the end of the year. The third is caught up in the scrutiny of its star quarterback’s questionable decisions.

And the fourth? The Marshall Thundering Herd.

Right now, Marshall has the best football team that no one is talking about. They’re 7-0, and have a great chance to finish the season undefeated.

As of Sunday afternoon, Mississippi State, Florida State, and Ole Miss are numbers one, two, and three in the latest AP poll, respectively. Where’s Marshall? Sitting pretty at 23^rd.

I guess that should be considered an improvement, as they had only just crept up to 25^th in last week’s poll, despite being one of only six remaining unbeatens at the time.

So why the lack of love for the mean green fighting machines from West Virginia?

Look at their schedule. Marshall hasn’t played a single team that currently has less than three losses. Only one of those teams has a winning record, and another is right at .500.

They’ve played two FCS schools, no ranked opponents, and only three of the teams they’ve beaten have a realistic shot at finishing the season bowl eligible.

That’s life in the C-USA for you.

So it should be no surprise that Marshall isn’t getting much favor from the voters. Believe it or not, their schedule is even easier than Florida State’s schedule last year.

In fact, if they weren’t undefeated, I highly doubt they would even be ranked.

However, they are ranked. And whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, they have been impressive thus far.

Through their first seven games, Marshall has averaged 575 yards of total offense per game, second only to Baylor’s 579. They score 47.4 points a game, and have outscored their opponents by an average of 31 points.

They piled up over 700 yards of total offense in two games in a row, and in three others, rolled up over 500. Their lowest output was 432 yards in their first game.

Their senior quarterback, Rakeem Cato, has been fantastic this season, accounting for 19 touchdowns with only six interceptions, and adding five rushing touchdowns. He’s thrown for 1912 yards and run for 223.

And let’s not forget about that defense. While this unit might give up chunks of yardage to the increasingly innovative offenses of the C-USA, they put the clamps down on opponents when it matters, giving up 17 points a game.

Those are incredible numbers, no matter who you’re playing. Isn’t that what we said about Florida State last year?

The Seminoles’ strength of schedule ranked in the bottom half of the nation, but they were considered to be the nation’s top team. Why?

They are a traditional power. They are in one of the five power conferences. They actually play at least one or two ranked opponents a year.

Marshall isn’t and doesn’t.

The sad reality is that Marshall, or anyone outside of the Power 5, will never get any serious consideration for a chance at the national championship, not as long as one-loss SEC teams aren’t losing to anyone but each other.

Just ask Boise State. The Broncos had one of the best eight-year stretches in college football, but could never get into the national title game.

Why? They were in the Mountain West Conference.

Truth be told, the Thundering Herd probably have the best chance of any of the nation’s unbeaten teams of remaining that way.

Their opponents have a combined record of 20-33, and it doesn’t look like that trend will be changing in Marshall’s last five games. Only one of those teams, UAB, looks to have a real shot at making a bowl bid at season’s end.

At the end of the season, however, they won’t be given a chance to prove their worth.

If Marshall finishes the season, and manages to climb into the top 15 of the rankings, there will certainly be grumbling heard from Huntington. The Marshall fanbase will be clamoring for one of those four playoff spots.

It’ll never happen, though. There’s a better chance of the SEC’s second-best team making the playoff.

But that won’t stop the nation’s best unwatched team. Marshall will continue to fly high above mediocre-at-best competition, and who knows? Maybe the Thundering Herd will win a meaningful bowl game.

And what else can you ask of them?