Barely into the second quarter last week against Southern Methodist, Marshall defensive end Vinny Curry had put quarterback Kyle Padron on the ground twice.
Barely into the second quarter last week against Southern Methodist, Marshall defensive end Vinny Curry had put quarterback Kyle Padron on the ground twice.
Curry didn't have another sack, but SMU felt his damage the rest of the game. His teammates had three more, and were credited with eight quarterback hurries - enough to keep Padron from having an extraordinary game and perhaps beating the Herd.
Curry had two of those hurries, and two other tackles on the night. He now has 31/2 sacks, tied for second on a spread-out team chart - 12 Herd players have at least a half-sack. Mario Harvey leads with five, and Albert McClellan has three (and many other close calls).
The 6-foot-5, 241-pound native of Neptune, N.J., showed he is about ready to take the torch from the soon-to-depart McClellan as a terrorizing defensive end. Curry and John Youboty (21/2 sacks) could make up a respectable end tandem for 2010.
McClellan often has raved about Curry's speed and quickness, and hasn't really stopped.
"Vinny is fast. I mean, he is FAST," McClellan said. "And I can't wait to see him grow. I would love to see Vinny make defensive player of the year, because he would deserve it. If he took all the snaps that we could give him, he'd get it."
nn
Talk about your resistable force against movable objects: Both teams are looking to fix their special teams.
Or euthanize them. Would the teams agree to just start drives from the 35-yard line, and giving the kicking units the day off?
Stunningly, UTEP was probably worse on special teams in its 30-29 loss to Rice than Marshall has been over the last two weeks. Look at it this way: The Herd didn't fumble away three kickoffs with three separate returners, as the Miners did.
But the Herd essentially lost the Southern Miss game two weeks ago on special teams, what with a fumbled-away punt, a yielded kickoff return for a touchdown and several penalties that put the defense back on the field. Against SMU, Ashton Hall miraculously retrieved his own muffed punt, a turnover that would have put Marshall in a world of hurt.
And then there were the penalties - an illegal formation, three holding fouls, a false start to wipe out a field goal and a block in the back.
Six special-teams penalties usually means defeat, and it probably will today.
"That was a big part of practice [Monday] night," Snyder said. "There are a lot of things that goes into it. I can't fault them for giving great effort, but don't hurt the football team. If in doubt, don't. That is the standard rule. There are times they want to do what's best for the team by pressing the issue, but then they end up hurting the team in the process. That is what we have to come to realize."
Barely into the second quarter last week against Southern Methodist, Marshall defensive end Vinny Curry had put quarterback Kyle Padron on the ground twice.
Curry didn't have another sack, but SMU felt his damage the rest of the game. His teammates had three more, and were credited with eight quarterback hurries - enough to keep Padron from having an extraordinary game and perhaps beating the Herd.
Curry had two of those hurries, and two other tackles on the night. He now has 31/2 sacks, tied for second on a spread-out team chart - 12 Herd players have at least a half-sack. Mario Harvey leads with five, and Albert McClellan has three (and many other close calls).
The 6-foot-5, 241-pound native of Neptune, N.J., showed he is about ready to take the torch from the soon-to-depart McClellan as a terrorizing defensive end. Curry and John Youboty (21/2 sacks) could make up a respectable end tandem for 2010.
McClellan often has raved about Curry's speed and quickness, and hasn't really stopped.
"Vinny is fast. I mean, he is FAST," McClellan said. "And I can't wait to see him grow. I would love to see Vinny make defensive player of the year, because he would deserve it. If he took all the snaps that we could give him, he'd get it."
nn
Talk about your resistable force against movable objects: Both teams are looking to fix their special teams.
Or euthanize them. Would the teams agree to just start drives from the 35-yard line, and giving the kicking units the day off?
Stunningly, UTEP was probably worse on special teams in its 30-29 loss to Rice than Marshall has been over the last two weeks. Look at it this way: The Herd didn't fumble away three kickoffs with three separate returners, as the Miners did.
But the Herd essentially lost the Southern Miss game two weeks ago on special teams, what with a fumbled-away punt, a yielded kickoff return for a touchdown and several penalties that put the defense back on the field. Against SMU, Ashton Hall miraculously retrieved his own muffed punt, a turnover that would have put Marshall in a world of hurt.
And then there were the penalties - an illegal formation, three holding fouls, a false start to wipe out a field goal and a block in the back.
Six special-teams penalties usually means defeat, and it probably will today.
"That was a big part of practice [Monday] night," Snyder said. "There are a lot of things that goes into it. I can't fault them for giving great effort, but don't hurt the football team. If in doubt, don't. That is the standard rule. There are times they want to do what's best for the team by pressing the issue, but then they end up hurting the team in the process. That is what we have to come to realize."
nn
Today's game should take place in near-perfect conditions, with sunny skies and high temperatures in the 60s expected. That will come under rich blue skies and very low humidity, as the start of the 2005 Marshall-UTEP game did. The humidity at kickoff of that game was 10 percent.
While the sun and surrounding mountains frame what is easily the most scenic stadium in Conference USA, playing in the Sun Bowl is not without perils for visitors, who are almost always a long way from home to begin with.
The dry winds can be tricky, for starters. Marshall kicker Craig Ratanamorn, who has seen a windy day or two in his native Kansas, wanted to get out there and get acclimated - and see if the ball might carry a yard or two farther.
"I can't wait to find out what that's like," he said.
The elevation may have understated effects. The stadium is perched on a hill above the Rio Grande and neighboring Juarez, Mexico, and is listed at 3,910 feet above sea level - not like oxygen-thin spots such as Colorado and Wyoming, but still high enough to qualify for "high altitude" cooking directions for some of your favorite foods.
"My dad gave a little insight about it," said running back Terrell Edwards-Maye. "He said it's up in the mountains, it's hard to breathe. I believe he said he played there once [with Tennessee Tech]. He's been talking to me about that all week."
nn
Speaking of air, it played a role in what has to be the worst game by a C-USA team this season.
And no, it's not Marshall's 52-10 loss at Virginia Tech. It was UTEP's 64-7 loss at Texas, in which the Miners were outgained 639-53.
Yes, a mismatch was expected against Colt McCoy and the Longhorns, who are expected by many to play for the BCS national championship. Sheer difference in skill, strength and speed played no small role.
But when the Miners made the 600-mile haul from El Paso to Austin, the September climate changed dramatically. In west Texas, summer is hot but very dry. Closer to the Gulf of Mexico, you can almost drown from the humidity.
It might have been easier if the Miners had drowned. "He had a lot of people cramping up, people with heat exhaustion," said UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe. "Our head trainer, he fell out to the heat. Nothing went our way."
Reach Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.
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