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2013 Marshall

10–⁠4 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Doc Holliday.

Schedule and results

Marshall in 2013, game by game: won vs. Miami (OH) 52–14; won vs. Gardner-Webb 55–0; lost at Ohio 31–34; lost at Virginia Tech 21–29; won vs. UTSA 34–10; won at Florida Atlantic 24–23; lost at Middle Tennessee 49–51; won vs. Southern Miss 61–13; won vs. UAB 56–14; won at Tulsa 45–34; won at Florida International 48–10; won vs. East Carolina 59–28; lost vs. Rice 24–41; won vs. Maryland 31–20+55−17Won 52–14 vs. Miami (OH)+38Miami (OH)Won 55–0 vs. Gardner-Webb+55Gardner-WebbLost 31–34 at Ohio-3OhioLost 21–29 at Virginia Tech-8Virginia TechWon 34–10 vs. UTSA+24UTSAWon 24–23 at Florida Atlantic+1Florida AtlanticLost 49–51 at Middle Tennessee-2Middle TennesseeWon 61–13 vs. Southern Miss+48Southern MissWon 56–14 vs. UAB+42UABWon 45–34 at Tulsa+11TulsaWon 48–10 at Florida International+38Florida Interna…Won 59–28 vs. East Carolina+31East CarolinaLost 24–41 vs. Rice-17RiceWon 31–20 vs. Maryland+11Maryland
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsMiami (OH)W 52–⁠1465%
Sep 7vsGardner-WebbW 55–⁠085%
Sep 14atOhioL 31–⁠3439%
Sep 21atVirginia TechL 21–⁠2932%
Oct 5vsUTSAW 34–⁠1067%
Oct 12atFlorida AtlanticW 24–⁠2358%
Oct 24atMiddle TennesseeL 49–⁠5153%
Nov 2vsSouthern MissW 61–⁠1382%
Nov 9vsUABW 56–⁠1480%
Nov 14atTulsaW 45–⁠3456%
Nov 23atFlorida InternationalW 48–⁠1080%
Nov 29vsEast CarolinaW 59–⁠2849%
Dec 7vsRiceConference USA Championship GameL 24–⁠4154%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsMarylandMilitary BowlW 31–⁠2059%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Maryland 31–⁠20 in the Military Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

C-USA East champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
590–⁠321
Coach
Doc Holliday
Elo
1571 +111 this season
SP+ rating
8.3 No. 49 of 125; offense No. 42, defense No. 57, special teams No. 50
SRS
4.7 No. 51 of 125 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 58
Offensive coordinator
Bill Legg
Defensive coordinator
Chuck Heater
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense15th of 125
  • Defense22nd of 125
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted13th of 125
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted41st of 125
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1545%1.0715th of 125
Defense0.0338%1.0122nd of 125
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.07 def		45% off
41% def		—13th off
41st 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-0.1own 302% allowed
Defense-0.2own 282% 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 yardsRakeem Cato QB3,916 yds
Passing touchdownsRakeem Cato QB39 TD
Rushing yardsEssray Taliaferro RB1,140 yds
Rushing touchdownsEssray Taliaferro RB10 TD
Receiving yardsTommy Shuler WR1,165 yds
Receiving touchdownsTommy Shuler WR10 TD
InterceptionsA.J. Leggett S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2013 class

Jeremy Benjamin ILB★★★No. 587
Chris Huhn OT★★★No. 1082
Sandley Jean-Felix OT★★★No. 1102
Shykeem Pitts WR★★★No. 1375
Gerald Wright OG★★No. 1915

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

The 2013 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs22.00.761
Receivers32.30.799
Offensive line42.50.813
Linebackers22.50.812
Defensive backs12.00.796
Whole class122.30.799

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.

Drafted in 2014

The 2014 draft
Rd 6Garrett Scott OTSeattle Seahawks

Roster 103

The 2013 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2013 line; 34 have a stat line. See the roster

2013 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall7–⁠110–⁠4
Rice7–⁠110–⁠4
East Carolina6–⁠210–⁠3
North Texas6–⁠29–⁠4
Middle Tennessee6–⁠28–⁠5
UTSA6–⁠27–⁠5
Tulane5–⁠37–⁠6
Florida Atlantic4–⁠46–⁠6
Louisiana Tech3–⁠54–⁠8
Tulsa2–⁠63–⁠9
UTEP1–⁠72–⁠10
UAB1–⁠72–⁠10
Southern Miss1–⁠71–⁠11
Florida International1–⁠71–⁠11

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