HUNTINGTON - Today is a football game day, and it's Nov. 14. For Marshall fans, there isn't much need to elaborate.

For only the fourth time, the Thundering Herd will play on the anniversary of the 1970 plane crash. Whether by fate or design, the Herd has not played another road game on Nov. 14 since that dreary night after a game at East Carolina.

The Herd has played three home games on Nov. 14, losing 38-28 to Western Carolina in 1981, beating the Catamounts 47-17 in 1987 and beating Tennessee Tech 52-14 in 1992. The team had an off day on that Saturday in 1998, and by quirk of leap years Nov. 14 has skipped Saturday twice.

The annual memorial ceremony will take place at noon today at the Memorial Student Center, at which time the fountain will be silenced until spring.

The keynote speaker will be Joe Gillette, a 1973 Marshall graduate now living in Atlanta. He would have been a member of the 1970 Herd if not for a severe shoulder injury suffered in the summer of 1969. He tried to rehabilitate the shoulder, but realized in spring drills he could not take contact.

Certainly, there will be a moment of silence at the stadium before kickoff. As always, current Marshall players are well-versed on the tragedy, and will be mindful of the moment.

"It lets us know that there is a lot more to life than just football, and that a lot of people lost their life because of football," said tight end Cody Slate. "Something that's going to be in the back of our head, for a little extra motivation, that we're playing for more than just us."

Southern Miss has dealt with its own more recent tragedy, the death of walk-on punter Peter Wilkes, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Union City, Tenn., home in October.

The Golden Eagles dedicated their next game, a 36-16 win over Memphis, to Wilkes. His picture is on the first page of the team's game notes this week.

The Southern Miss campus has dealt with tragedy several other times since August, with the fourth student death since August occurring last weekend. An automobile accident and a drowning have claimed two other students, and a freshman has been missing for a week.

HUNTINGTON - Today is a football game day, and it's Nov. 14. For Marshall fans, there isn't much need to elaborate.

For only the fourth time, the Thundering Herd will play on the anniversary of the 1970 plane crash. Whether by fate or design, the Herd has not played another road game on Nov. 14 since that dreary night after a game at East Carolina.

The Herd has played three home games on Nov. 14, losing 38-28 to Western Carolina in 1981, beating the Catamounts 47-17 in 1987 and beating Tennessee Tech 52-14 in 1992. The team had an off day on that Saturday in 1998, and by quirk of leap years Nov. 14 has skipped Saturday twice.

The annual memorial ceremony will take place at noon today at the Memorial Student Center, at which time the fountain will be silenced until spring.

The keynote speaker will be Joe Gillette, a 1973 Marshall graduate now living in Atlanta. He would have been a member of the 1970 Herd if not for a severe shoulder injury suffered in the summer of 1969. He tried to rehabilitate the shoulder, but realized in spring drills he could not take contact.

Certainly, there will be a moment of silence at the stadium before kickoff. As always, current Marshall players are well-versed on the tragedy, and will be mindful of the moment.

"It lets us know that there is a lot more to life than just football, and that a lot of people lost their life because of football," said tight end Cody Slate. "Something that's going to be in the back of our head, for a little extra motivation, that we're playing for more than just us."

Southern Miss has dealt with its own more recent tragedy, the death of walk-on punter Peter Wilkes, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Union City, Tenn., home in October.

The Golden Eagles dedicated their next game, a 36-16 win over Memphis, to Wilkes. His picture is on the first page of the team's game notes this week.

The Southern Miss campus has dealt with tragedy several other times since August, with the fourth student death since August occurring last weekend. An automobile accident and a drowning have claimed two other students, and a freshman has been missing for a week.

This is the 12th time in coach Mark Snyder's five seasons that the Herd is playing with more than the standard week of preparation. The record? MU fans might want to look away, for it is 1-10.

The lone victory came on a Tuesday night, Oct. 28, 2008, when the Herd unexpectedly ran roughshod over Houston, jumping to a 37-9 lead after three quarters over the Case Keenum-led Cougars. The final score was 37-23.

For that success, there have been 10 failures, all in Conference USA games. The list is populated with many of the infamous losses that have Herd fans howling for Snyder's head. Here is the list, with number of days from the previous game:

Southern Miss is 2-2 in such situations in the two-year reign of coach Larry Fedora, including a bowl victory last season. But the Golden Eagles have other issues this season - they have lost in all four road games.

That includes their largest margin of defeat this season, 30-17 at UAB. They lost at Kansas in the fourth quarter (35-28), at Louisville in the final minute (25-23) and at Houston with 21 seconds left (50-43).

Today is Service/Military Day at Edwards Stadium. All military, police and fire personnel can purchase up to four end-zone tickets for $15 apiece with their appropriate ID.

Reach Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.