CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Marshall

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Conference USA), coached by Mark Snyder, then Rick Minter (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Marshall in 2009, game by game: won vs. Southern Illinois 31–28; lost at No. 14 Virginia Tech 10–52; won vs. Bowling Green 17–10; won at Memphis 27–16; lost vs. East Carolina 17–21; won at Tulane 31–10; lost at West Virginia 7–24; won vs. UAB 27–7; lost at UCF 20–21; lost vs. Southern Miss 20–27; won vs. SMU 34–31; lost at UTEP 21–52; won vs. Ohio 21–17+21−42Won 31–28 vs. Southern Illinois+3Southern Illino…Lost 10–52 at No. 14 Virginia Tech-42No. 14 Virginia TechWon 17–10 vs. Bowling Green+7Bowling GreenWon 27–16 at Memphis+11MemphisLost 17–21 vs. East Carolina-4East CarolinaWon 31–10 at Tulane+21TulaneLost 7–24 at West Virginia-17West VirginiaWon 27–7 vs. UAB+20UABLost 20–21 at UCF-1UCFLost 20–27 vs. Southern Miss-7Southern MissWon 34–31 vs. SMU+3SMULost 21–52 at UTEP-31UTEPWon 21–17 vs. Ohio+4Ohio
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsSouthern IllinoisW 31–⁠2854%
Sep 12at14Virginia TechL 10–⁠5220%
Sep 19vsBowling GreenW 17–⁠1045%
Sep 26atMemphisW 27–⁠1647%
Oct 3vsEast CarolinaL 17–⁠2152%
Oct 10atTulaneW 31–⁠1058%
Oct 17atWest VirginiaL 7–⁠2422%
Oct 24vsUABW 27–⁠765%
Nov 1atUCFL 20–⁠2144%
Nov 14vsSouthern MissL 20–⁠2754%
Nov 21vsSMUW 34–⁠3162%
Nov 28atUTEPL 21–⁠5254%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsOhioLittle Caesar’s Pizza BowlW 21–⁠1738%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio 21–⁠17 in the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
283–⁠316
Coach
Mark Snyder, then Rick Minter (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1454 +30 this season
SP+ rating
-6.1 No. 86 of 120; offense No. 96, defense No. 73, special teams No. 26
SRS
−4.9 No. 83 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 91
Offensive coordinator
John Shannon
Defensive coordinator
Rick Minter
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense67th of 120
  • Defense65th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted87th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted70th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0340%0.9367th of 120
Defense0.0539%1.0265th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.02 off
0.05 def		40% off
40% def		—87th off
70th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 312% allowed
Defense-0.2own 302% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsBrian Anderson QB2,646 yds
Passing touchdownsBrian Anderson QB14 TD
Rushing yardsDarius Marshall RB1,131 yds
Rushing touchdownsDarius Marshall RB11 TD
Receiving yardsAntavious Wilson WR724 yds
Receiving touchdownsAaron Dobson WR4 TD
InterceptionsDeQuan Bembry CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

A.J. Graham DUAL★★★No. 865
Craig Crawford ATH★★★No. 1137
Phil Walker OLB★★★No. 1210
Quanthony Fletcher ILB★★★No. 1222
Zakee Bashir OLB★★★No. 1471

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.857
Running backs12.00.744
Receivers22.50.789
Offensive line42.00.758
Defensive line32.30.782
Linebackers52.60.801
Defensive backs32.00.744
Athletes and specialists13.00.844
Whole class202.30.782

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 103

The 2009 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 27 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
East Carolina7–⁠19–⁠5
Houston6–⁠210–⁠4
SMU6–⁠28–⁠5
UCF6–⁠28–⁠5
Southern Miss5–⁠37–⁠6
Marshall4–⁠47–⁠6
UAB4–⁠45–⁠7
Tulsa3–⁠55–⁠7
UTEP3–⁠54–⁠8
Rice2–⁠62–⁠10
Tulane1–⁠73–⁠9
Memphis1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.