Marshall will serve as home coming opponent when they travel down to Tulane this week. The Green Wave are coming off two victories over McNeese State and Army. Marshall suffered a heart breaking loss to conference foe East Carolina at home last week. So how do you beat the Green Wave?
As has been mentioned Tulane is a C-USA west member that plays like they are in the east. Tulane’s strong running attack is lead by Andre Anderson. Anderson has rushed for over 350 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. In both of Tulane’s losses Anderson has been held under four yards per carry. If Marshall’s defense can continue that trend victory should be within their grasp.
Tulane has a multidimensional offense lead by quarterback Joe Kemp. Kemp is one of C-USA’s most efficient passers with a quarterback rating over 150 although, he is interception prone. Kemp has thrown four interceptions to four touchdowns this season. Even if Albert McClellan is out the Herd needs to get pressure on Kemp and force him into bad decisions.
Kemp’s favorite target is receiver Jeremy Williams. As a senior Williams has caught for 525 yards and three touchdowns. He was also used at kick/punt returner last week and made an immediate impact on Tulane’s special teams. This will be Marshall’s third week in a row facing a dominate wide receiver (Freddie Barnes BGU & Dwayne Harris ECU) so the Herd should be experienced enough to shut him down. Hopefully we can have a repeat performance of last week as Marshall kept Harris in check, he only caught 6 passes for 57 yards including his lucky on the back reception.
On offense Marshall must feed the ball to Darius Marshall, who had another spectacular game against ECU but it might be another players legs that are equally important to victory. Tulane has had an extremely difficult time defending quarterbacks on the run. Every quarterback but BYU’s Max Hall has rushed for over 70 yards against Tulane’s defense. Brian Anderson is not the fastest QB but he had a few nice runs against ECU (5 rushes for 20 yards). If Anderson can make a few plays with his feet it will open up the passing game.
Marshall must find a way to throw the ball better. Last week Anderson was under constant duress against ECU’s aggressive defense. While the offensive line has been dominate run blocking their pass blocking has been suspect. Some one needs to step up in the receiving core besides Cody Slate. Last weeks second leading receiver was Antavious Wilson with only 3 receptions for 18 yards. Whether it be a healthy Courtney Edmonson, Wilson, or freshman Aaron Dobson at least one wide receiver needs to step up. Anderson also needs to do a better job getting rid of the football. Earlier this week he admitted to holding out for the big play against ECU instead of using his check down options.
Keys to Victory
1.Stop Andre Anderson
2. Pressure Joe Kemp
3. Cover Jeremy Williams
4. Run the ball, including Brain Anderson
5. Pass effectively
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