Marshall coach Charles Huff leads the Thundering Herd onto the field for a Sun Belt Conference football game against Appalachian State on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Huntington.
Marshall coach Charles Huff leads the Thundering Herd onto the field for a Sun Belt Conference football game against Appalachian State on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Huntington.
Willie Nelson crooned about being “On the Road Again.â€
That would be a fitting song title for yet another road trip for the Marshall Thundering Herd as it heads to Lafayette, Louisiana, for Saturday’s Sun Belt Conference championship game.
Perhaps it’s fitting that the game is sponsored by Hercules Tires.
Kickoff at Cajun Field is at 7:30 p.m. and will air nationally on ESPN.
Marshall (9-3, 7-1 SBC) was on the road for three of its final four contests of the regular season to clinch the conference’s East Division.
The league championship game will be the Herd’s third straight game on the road.
Given the turmoil around coach Charles Huff’s job status with MU, any excuse to get away from Huntington might be a welcome proposition for the Thundering Herd players.
Many would not have considered that, given that Marshall started the year with a 0-3 record away from Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The Herd has a chance to finish with a winning record on the road by beating the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Beating Louisiana (10-2, 7-1) to get that next win will require winning at Cajun Field, where Louisiana lost just once this season. That was a 41-33 win by Tulane, which was to play Army for the American Athletic Conference championship on Friday night.
Marshall faced some tough competition in its recent winning streak, and defeating teams like Old Dominion and James Madison on the road is a feather in the Herd’s cap.
The two teams are statistically close, but Louisiana playing at home for a league title will be too big an obstacle for MU to overcome. The road magic wears off on Saturday with the Ragin’ Cajuns winning it, 32-28.
In the Big 12, West Virginia is continuing its search for a new coach, while Arizona State and Iowa State will meet on Saturday for the league championship. That game is scheduled for a noon kickoff at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and will be broadcast on ABC.
The Sun Devils, 15th in the current College Football Playoff rankings, and Cyclones (CFP No. 16) are hoping a win will increase their chances of making the CFP field as one of the top five conference champions.
It would be the first conference title for Arizona State since 1996.
Arizona State and Iowa State enter the contest with 10-2 records, and both were 7-2 this season in the Big 12. They did not play each other this season.
The Cyclones are making their second appearance in the Big 12 championship game, but 2024 is the first season Iowa State has ever won 10 games in the program’s 133-year history.
They’ll get to 11 with a 28-27 win.
Also, it’ll be Oregon in the Big Ten championship 31-30 over Penn State, Texas 35-21 over Georgia in the SEC, SMU 24-14 over Clemson in the ACC and Ohio over Miami in the MAC 31-27.
Rick Elmore covers sports. He can be reached at 304-348-5122 or relmore@hdmediallc.com. Follow @ElmoreSports on Twitter/X.
