HUNTINGTON - It was a game that set college quarterbacking back about 50 years.
Playing probably the best secondary in Conference USA in Central Florida, Marshall's Mark Cann suffered his worst outing in his 10-game career Saturday night, going 4-of-17 for 32 yards. He threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Cody Slate but fired two to the wrong shirts - or in his case, the same wrong shirt. Sha'reff Rashad picked off both passes and returned them a combined 77 yards.
Cann was yanked with 4:25 left, but Brian Anderson wasn't much better, going 3-of-12 for 52 yards, hitting a long of 31. It was the first time Marshall has failed to pass for 100 yards since it totaled 92 against Kansas State on Sept. 16, 2006.
Is this the school that brought you Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich?
UCF's Rob Calabrese wasn't much better, going 4-of-17 for 29 yards. He was betrayed by his receivers at times, though, and did not throw an interception.
The same probably couldn't be said for Cann, who has suffered three dismal halves in the past two games. He started the East Carolina game 2-of-7 for 11 yards with two interceptions.
Marshall coach Mark Snyder issued another vote of confidence for Cann, even after pulling him. But Cann knows he must pick up the pace.
And with Marshall needed to beat high-scoring Rice and Tulsa to even think about the postseason, he has to pick up the pace in a hurry.
"That's not acceptable," Cann said. "We've got to play better on offense, myself especially."
nn
And then there was the insertion in the Herd's third series of Wesley Beardain, the fourth-string quarterback. Like several of the Thundering Herd's gadget plays/series on offense, it didn't work out as planned.
Beardain lost a yard on a keeper, then handed off to Chubb Small for a 4-yard gain. Cann returned for third down, getting back to the line of scrimmage on a third-and-7 sack attempt.
"I was just trying to get a spark," Snyder said. "There was really nothing to it, just trying to see if we could get a spark."
nn
Saturday's kickoff temperature was 42 degrees, so the Herd lost its first C-USA game under 50 degrees. Marshall had been 5-0 in such games.
Conversely, it was the third-coldest game UCF has played since joining Division I-A in 1996. As one could guess, the Knights played two colder games at Mid-American Conference venues in 2002 and 2003 (Miami, Eastern Michigan).
In some ways, UCF had a game tailored to the nasty weather. The Knights ran 65 times, grinding out 213 rushing yards.
"I think we ran the ball because that's what we had to do today," O'Leary said. "We had a couple of passes dropped there for touchdowns, but I think the game plan was to control the ball as much as we could, and keep Marshall's offense off the field."
Briefly
UCF leads the all-time series 4-3. The Knights have won every game the two have been members of C-USA, after Marshall defeated them all three times in Mid-American Conference play.
Slate has caught a touchdown in five consecutive games.
Joe Burnett's 33-yard punt return was the longest against Marshall this season. In fact, it was nearly double the previous high of 17, by Alabama-Birmingham's Kevin Sanders.
Jamar Newsome, the man who recovered Marshall punter Kase Whitehead's fumble in the end zone for the game's first score, is a backup receiver for UCF. He has three receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown.
Darius Marshall's 142 rushing yards was substantially more than the 88 the Herd managed as a team at UCF last year. He has 883 yards for the season
The Herd racked up an impressive 12 tackles for loss, with Corey Hart getting 21/2.
UCF continued its toughness on third down, allowing the Herd to convert just 3-of-15. For the season, the Knights have allowed 55 first downs in 163 attempts, 33.7 percent.
Before the game, there was a video-board tribute to four members of the Marshall family who passed away this year: team doctor Dr. Jose Ricard, former defensive end Johnathan Goddard, former linebacker/running back Donte' Newsome and Cabell County sheriff's deputy Eddie Adkins. They were memorialized in a moment of silence for them, as well as the victims of the 1970 plane crash.
Sean Doctor, the great tight end from the 1987-88 Herd teams, was awarded with an M-Club blanket.
Reach Doug Smock at 348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.
HUNTINGTON - It was a game that set college quarterbacking back about 50 years.
Playing probably the best secondary in Conference USA in Central Florida, Marshall's Mark Cann suffered his worst outing in his 10-game career Saturday night, going 4-of-17 for 32 yards. He threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Cody Slate but fired two to the wrong shirts - or in his case, the same wrong shirt. Sha'reff Rashad picked off both passes and returned them a combined 77 yards.
Cann was yanked with 4:25 left, but Brian Anderson wasn't much better, going 3-of-12 for 52 yards, hitting a long of 31. It was the first time Marshall has failed to pass for 100 yards since it totaled 92 against Kansas State on Sept. 16, 2006.
Is this the school that brought you Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich?
UCF's Rob Calabrese wasn't much better, going 4-of-17 for 29 yards. He was betrayed by his receivers at times, though, and did not throw an interception.
The same probably couldn't be said for Cann, who has suffered three dismal halves in the past two games. He started the East Carolina game 2-of-7 for 11 yards with two interceptions.
Marshall coach Mark Snyder issued another vote of confidence for Cann, even after pulling him. But Cann knows he must pick up the pace.
And with Marshall needed to beat high-scoring Rice and Tulsa to even think about the postseason, he has to pick up the pace in a hurry.
"That's not acceptable," Cann said. "We've got to play better on offense, myself especially."
nn
And then there was the insertion in the Herd's third series of Wesley Beardain, the fourth-string quarterback. Like several of the Thundering Herd's gadget plays/series on offense, it didn't work out as planned.
Beardain lost a yard on a keeper, then handed off to Chubb Small for a 4-yard gain. Cann returned for third down, getting back to the line of scrimmage on a third-and-7 sack attempt.
"I was just trying to get a spark," Snyder said. "There was really nothing to it, just trying to see if we could get a spark."
nn
Saturday's kickoff temperature was 42 degrees, so the Herd lost its first C-USA game under 50 degrees. Marshall had been 5-0 in such games.
Conversely, it was the third-coldest game UCF has played since joining Division I-A in 1996. As one could guess, the Knights played two colder games at Mid-American Conference venues in 2002 and 2003 (Miami, Eastern Michigan).
In some ways, UCF had a game tailored to the nasty weather. The Knights ran 65 times, grinding out 213 rushing yards.
"I think we ran the ball because that's what we had to do today," O'Leary said. "We had a couple of passes dropped there for touchdowns, but I think the game plan was to control the ball as much as we could, and keep Marshall's offense off the field."
Briefly
UCF leads the all-time series 4-3. The Knights have won every game the two have been members of C-USA, after Marshall defeated them all three times in Mid-American Conference play.
Slate has caught a touchdown in five consecutive games.
Joe Burnett's 33-yard punt return was the longest against Marshall this season. In fact, it was nearly double the previous high of 17, by Alabama-Birmingham's Kevin Sanders.
Jamar Newsome, the man who recovered Marshall punter Kase Whitehead's fumble in the end zone for the game's first score, is a backup receiver for UCF. He has three receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown.
Darius Marshall's 142 rushing yards was substantially more than the 88 the Herd managed as a team at UCF last year. He has 883 yards for the season
The Herd racked up an impressive 12 tackles for loss, with Corey Hart getting 21/2.
UCF continued its toughness on third down, allowing the Herd to convert just 3-of-15. For the season, the Knights have allowed 55 first downs in 163 attempts, 33.7 percent.
Before the game, there was a video-board tribute to four members of the Marshall family who passed away this year: team doctor Dr. Jose Ricard, former defensive end Johnathan Goddard, former linebacker/running back Donte' Newsome and Cabell County sheriff's deputy Eddie Adkins. They were memorialized in a moment of silence for them, as well as the victims of the 1970 plane crash.
Sean Doctor, the great tight end from the 1987-88 Herd teams, was awarded with an M-Club blanket.
Reach Doug Smock at 348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.
