Marshall a tall task for Eagles

This weekend, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles will attempt to get their first road win when they travel to Huntington, W. Va. to play the Marshall Thundering Herd.

Not only will Southern Miss try to end its four-game losing streak on the road, but will be attempting to avenge their 34-27 loss to the Herd last year. In addition, the need to win the final three games to have a shot at the conference championship game seems to be in the back of every player’s mind.

“It’s a three game season for us,” said head coach Larry Fedora. “We know what has to be done in this stretch and our guys are familiar with it. Now it’s time for Marshall.”

One of the keys to beating Marshall is going to be stopping the two-man show of running back Darius Marshall and tight end Cody Slate.

“We have a better match-up against a power team (like Marshall),” defensive coordinator Todd Bradford said. “(Slate) is their best player. They line him up at tight end so he can get the mismatches on a safety or a linebacker, but he’s a wide receiver in how they use him.”

Nose tackle Anthony Gray remembers the duo from last year and is ready to get another shot at both of them.

“They have a good running back,” said Gray. “That’s their main guy. Him and number 85 (Slate).”

Much like Bradford, the junior lineman looks forward to facing teams with a power offense.

“I’m going in with a full head of steam,” said Gray. “I like the big physical games. It’s all about controlling the line of scrimmage. Marshall can be really good up front.”

It’s not just the offense that the team has to look at, as Marshall currently leads the conference in scoring defense, allowing 21 points per game and just 15 in conference games.

“Their defense has really improved from last year,” said offensive coordinator Darrell Wyatt. “They are doing a tremendous job of keeping people out of the end zone.”

Running back Damion Fletcher, who had 82 yards and a touchdown in the two teams’ meeting last year, said there is one player in particular he has been watching on the Thundering Herd defense.

“They have one guy (linebacker Mario Harvey), his nickname is Thumper,” said Fletcher. “He’s a good player who will come up and hit some guys.”

“He is a guy that is a violent contact hitter on defense,” said Wyatt. “He’s part of that improvement on defense for them.”

The Eagles will face off against Marshall at 3:30 on Saturday of what will be a three game stretch that will sort out the craziness that is the East Division in Conference USA.