HUNTINGTON - Marshall has some issues heading into its game Friday against Cincinnati, but quarterback isn't one of them.

OK, so Mark Cann didn't have the greatest game last weekend against West Virginia. But he is alive and healthy, ready to bring the Thundering Herd back into battle.

The Bearcats, meanwhile, have deep personnel issues under center. They will be sending their No. 4, maybe No. 5 choice against the Thundering Herd when the teams meet at 8 p.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. ESPN will televise the game.

Ben Mauk, a graduate transfer from Wake Forest who threw for 3,121 yards and 31 touchdowns last year, failed repeatedly in his bid to gain an extra year of eligibility. Dustin Grutza, a senior who went 14-of-20 for 142 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-14 victory over the Herd last season, broke his leg in the second game at Oklahoma.

That brought in junior Tony Pike, who threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns in the Bearcats' 45-20 win over Miami (Ohio). He was having a big game against Akron last weekend, throwing for 320 yards and two scores before going down with a fracture in his non-throwing forearm.

So that brought in redshirt freshman Zach Collaros, and that was partly by random. He was considered even with another redshirt freshman, Chazz Anderson.

"It was his week," said Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly. "Chazz was our backup for the Miami game. We haven't been able to discern between the two of them because they're so close in terms of what they can do."

To say Collaros didn't have too much put on him might be an understatement. He rushed three times for 15 yards when he took over, misfiring on one pass to Mardy Gilyard. Those carries helped set up the Bearcats' go-ahead field goal, which stood up for a 17-15 victory.

Collaros finished with a completion in four attempts for 2 yards, and four rushes for 18. He does have a considerable high school pedigree, leading Steubenville, Ohio, to a 41-1 record in three years. He was named Ohio's Division 3 player of the year in his senior season of 2006, after going 136-of-201 for 2,550 yards, with 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

Anderson was Ohio's Division 2 player of the year in '06, after leading Pickerington to the state finals. He threw for more than 6,000 yards in his prep career and rushed for 1,000-plus, and accounted for 80 touchdowns.

With Pike certainly out this game and at least one beyond that, both Collaros and Anderson may see action in Huntington. Collaros seems the odds-on favorite to start, but Kelly said Monday that isn't a certainty.

"I think we're going to work both of them," Kelly said. "My guess is that we'll make that decision during the week of practice. Chazz is a very cerebral kid, he understands the offense very well, generally will not get us into bad plays.

HUNTINGTON - Marshall has some issues heading into its game Friday against Cincinnati, but quarterback isn't one of them.

OK, so Mark Cann didn't have the greatest game last weekend against West Virginia. But he is alive and healthy, ready to bring the Thundering Herd back into battle.

The Bearcats, meanwhile, have deep personnel issues under center. They will be sending their No. 4, maybe No. 5 choice against the Thundering Herd when the teams meet at 8 p.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. ESPN will televise the game.

Ben Mauk, a graduate transfer from Wake Forest who threw for 3,121 yards and 31 touchdowns last year, failed repeatedly in his bid to gain an extra year of eligibility. Dustin Grutza, a senior who went 14-of-20 for 142 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-14 victory over the Herd last season, broke his leg in the second game at Oklahoma.

That brought in junior Tony Pike, who threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns in the Bearcats' 45-20 win over Miami (Ohio). He was having a big game against Akron last weekend, throwing for 320 yards and two scores before going down with a fracture in his non-throwing forearm.

So that brought in redshirt freshman Zach Collaros, and that was partly by random. He was considered even with another redshirt freshman, Chazz Anderson.

"It was his week," said Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly. "Chazz was our backup for the Miami game. We haven't been able to discern between the two of them because they're so close in terms of what they can do."

To say Collaros didn't have too much put on him might be an understatement. He rushed three times for 15 yards when he took over, misfiring on one pass to Mardy Gilyard. Those carries helped set up the Bearcats' go-ahead field goal, which stood up for a 17-15 victory.

Collaros finished with a completion in four attempts for 2 yards, and four rushes for 18. He does have a considerable high school pedigree, leading Steubenville, Ohio, to a 41-1 record in three years. He was named Ohio's Division 3 player of the year in his senior season of 2006, after going 136-of-201 for 2,550 yards, with 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

Anderson was Ohio's Division 2 player of the year in '06, after leading Pickerington to the state finals. He threw for more than 6,000 yards in his prep career and rushed for 1,000-plus, and accounted for 80 touchdowns.

With Pike certainly out this game and at least one beyond that, both Collaros and Anderson may see action in Huntington. Collaros seems the odds-on favorite to start, but Kelly said Monday that isn't a certainty.

"I think we're going to work both of them," Kelly said. "My guess is that we'll make that decision during the week of practice. Chazz is a very cerebral kid, he understands the offense very well, generally will not get us into bad plays.

"Zach Collaros is extremely athletic, very mobile, can make the plays downfield, but sometimes you'd like to slow him down a little bit. He gets a little too anxious at times. You've got two freshman quarterbacks, and we've got to be able to put together a package for them so they can run our offense."

The Bearcats also have Demetrius Jones, who transferred from Notre Dame after a disastrous start against Georgia Tech. He transferred before the start of UC's fall quarter, so he is eligible, but Kelly said he is simply not ready to compete for the job yet.

While quarterback has become a question mark for the Bearcats, there isn't much question about their ability at the other end of the passing game. Of the top four Cincinnati receivers in last year's game at Nippert Stadium, the Bearcats lost one - and only because tight end Connor Barwin shifted to defensive end.

Kelly hasn't been through such a situation in his 18 years of head coaching, but he joked that "they don't give you points for complaining about it." And with the game Friday, he even gets less time to prepare his passers.

"We certainly would have liked the bye week, but that's not happening," Kelly said on whether the short week will hamper preparations. "I think yes and no, no in the sense that you know you have to keep your package manageable, you don't have a lot of time, you've got to stay with the basics and you know what, sometimes we overcoach anyway.  So there may be a blessing in that we've got a short week.

"On the other hand, yes, always want more time with your quarterbacks. But we'll put our best foot forward."

At Marshall, defensive coordinator Rick Minter figures Kelly will adapt quite well.

"Certainly, experience pays off at the quarterback job," said Minter, the former UC head coach. "But I think it's a system set up to be well-schooled, and for the quarterback to succeed in. And they've got good candidates.

Marshall is trying to engineer a "white-out" for the game, and is encouraging all fans to wear white. To help the cause, the first 7,500 fans at the gate will receive free white Marshall T-shirts, with the first 1,000 students getting white "rally towels." It is also youth football league night.

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