Marshall (6-5, 4-3) at Texas-El Paso (3-8, 2-5)
3 p.m. EST, Sun Bowl Stadium (51,500, AstroPlay), El Paso, Texas
TV: WSAZ, Channel 3 in Charleston-Huntington Crew: Keith Morehouse play-by-play, Doug Chapman analyst
Line: UTEP by 1
Series: Tied 1-1
Last game: Marshall 49, UTEP 21, Nov. 18, 2006 at Huntington
Tickets: Plenty available, $6-$11
Weather: Mostly sunny, winds southwest 10-13 mph, high 67
On the spot
Mark Snyder, Marshall head coach: Perhaps the decision already has been made whether to buy out the final three years of his contract, or bring him back for another year. If it has, and if this is his last regular-season game, this is a bittersweet test of his coaching professionalism. If the decision truly remains up in the air, the distance between a possible 8-5 finish and 6-6 or 6-7 is about as long as the distance between El Paso and Huntington.
DeQuan Bembry, Marshall cornerback: The Herd remains second in the league in pass defense (by efficiency rating), but Bembry had a long, hard day chasing SMU's Emmanuel Sanders and company last week. He'll certainly get multiple chances for redemption - or to have another long, hard day.
Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP quarterback: He has publicly acknowledged that this year, his third as UTEP's starter, has been the most difficult. The numbers kind of show that, as he is ranked just eighth among C-USA passers in efficiency. But he is still passing for 253.7 yards per game, second in the league, and is capable of throwing for 400-plus anywhere, anytime, against anyone.Marshall (6-5, 4-3) at Texas-El Paso (3-8, 2-5)
3 p.m. EST, Sun Bowl Stadium (51,500, AstroPlay), El Paso, Texas
TV: WSAZ, Channel 3 in Charleston-Huntington Crew: Keith Morehouse play-by-play, Doug Chapman analyst
Line: UTEP by 1
Series: Tied 1-1
Last game: Marshall 49, UTEP 21, Nov. 18, 2006 at Huntington
Tickets: Plenty available, $6-$11
Weather: Mostly sunny, winds southwest 10-13 mph, high 67
On the spot
Mark Snyder, Marshall head coach: Perhaps the decision already has been made whether to buy out the final three years of his contract, or bring him back for another year. If it has, and if this is his last regular-season game, this is a bittersweet test of his coaching professionalism. If the decision truly remains up in the air, the distance between a possible 8-5 finish and 6-6 or 6-7 is about as long as the distance between El Paso and Huntington.
DeQuan Bembry, Marshall cornerback: The Herd remains second in the league in pass defense (by efficiency rating), but Bembry had a long, hard day chasing SMU's Emmanuel Sanders and company last week. He'll certainly get multiple chances for redemption - or to have another long, hard day.
Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP quarterback: He has publicly acknowledged that this year, his third as UTEP's starter, has been the most difficult. The numbers kind of show that, as he is ranked just eighth among C-USA passers in efficiency. But he is still passing for 253.7 yards per game, second in the league, and is capable of throwing for 400-plus anywhere, anytime, against anyone.
Stats 'n' such
In the stat rankings: The Herd's Darius Marshall still ranks 10th in the nation and third in C-USA in all-purpose yardage (173.56 yards per game). He is also third in the league in rushing (117.11). Craig Ratanamorn's 15 field goals in 11 games put him second. As a team, Marshall is second in the conference in both pass efficiency defense (120.92) and passing yardage against (222.91). Conversely, it is 11th in kickoff returns (19.95) and pass efficiency rating (118.01).
Milestones: Marshall stands seventh on the Herd's all-time rushing list, 120 yards behind John Zontini (1931-34) and 202 behind Ahmad Bradshaw (2004-06).
Over-unders
145 Top receiving yards by any player, on either side. Will that be Marshall's Aaron Dobson or Antavious Wilson, or UTEP's Jeff Moturi or Kris Adams?
5 Marshall sacks. As UTEP coach Mike Price cracks, "Those guys really don't like quarterbacks."
Completely useless trivia
The last Herd coach to get fired won his final game - that was Sonny Randle, who led MU to a 56-7 romp over Virginia Military, after which students tore down a goalpost at Fairfield Stadium. But Randle was 4-7 that season and 12-42-1 in five years and could not keep his job.
Next
Whether Snyder is finished or not, the Herd very likely has one more game - most likely the EagleBank Bowl in Washington on Dec. 29, though it could end up in the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 20. For UTEP, the season is finished.
- By Doug Smock
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