Marshall is undefeated through eight games, just four wins away from scoring its first perfect run since going 13-0 in 1999.
That was the same year the Thundering Herd won the MAC title, beat BYU 21-3 in the Motor City Bowl and were ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll.
Included in the run was a 13-10 win at Clemson in the opener.
Though these were all high-marks for Marshall, a conference crown and a decent bowl game was the best it could get for its undefeated record back in 1999.
Compare this with Wisconsin, who that same year lost early back-to-back games to unranked Cincinnati and No. 4 Michigan, finishing the regular season 9-2. That didn’t stop the Badgers from winning the Big Ten and going to the Rose Bowl, where they knocked off No. 22 Stanford 17-9.
At 10-2, Wisconsin finished ranked No. 4, six spots better than 13-0 Marshall.
Though lots have changed in college football in the 15 years since the 1999 season, one thing hasn’t: If your team doesn’t play in a power conference, you won’t play for a national title.
No matter how good you are.
Even though the BCS and new College Football Playoff scheme were both supposed to right the wrongs inherent to a sport with 120-plus teams competing for a single title, both have fallen short.
That is, if we’re ever going to take a team from the American Athletic, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West or Sun Belt seriously.
That is, if we’re ever going to stop acting like Arkansas and Arkansas State—both full-fledged FBS members—are playing for the same prize.
What’s wrong with 8-0 Marshall being completely left out of the College Football Playoff rankings?
I mean, come on, the Thundering Herd got the coveted No. 23 nod from the AP, and if they don’t lose, they may even get a chance to square off with Rutgers in the highly-fantastic Heart of Dallas Bowl.
The case of Marshall, whether they go undefeated or not, highlights a blaring inequity in big-time college football.
It’s simple: Thundering Herd head coach Doc Holliday could never get up in front of his team and in good faith say, “Boys, if we win every single one of our 12 regular-season games and then beat the winner of the Conference USA West division, then we’ll play for a national championship.”
No, instead he, along with the other 59 coaches of non-power teams, will have to dumb that message down to, “Boys, if we win every game, including the conference championship, we may get to play in the Cotton Bowl Stadium, but not in the actual Cotton Bowl.”
Do wins over Miami (Ohio), FCS Rhode Island, Ohio (not State), Akron, Old Dominion, Middle Tennessee, FIU, FAU, Southern Miss, Rice, UAB and Western Kentucky mean that Marshall should play Florida State in the Sugar Bowl, with the winner going on the national title game?
No.
Because comparing Marshall to Florida State is like comparing apples to oranges, or apples to raisins.
Not because the Thundering Herd don’t field a championship-level football team, but because you’re comparing a mid-size company to a huge conglomerate.
According to USA Today’s athletic finances database, Florida State banks a cool $91.4 million in revenue each year, while Marshall claims a paltry $27.6 million in revenue.
That means the Seminoles have access to three times more cash than the Thundering Herd.
And where Florida State averaged 75,421 in home ticket sales last season at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, the Thundering Herd averaged 25,153 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington.
This makes Marshall’s No. 61 average rank in recruiting from 2011-14 understandable and it underscores how Florida State got to an average of No. 5 over the same time period.
What it all comes down to is that the FBS operates like one big happy family, where every member program is treated equally, when in fact, there are two distinct levels existing under the guise of equal opportunity.
The message that 12-0 Marshall, or 12-0 Houston, or 12-0 Northern Illinois sends isn’t “the College Football Playoff has it all wrong!” but instead, it’s something more like, “the FBS has it all wrong!”
No perfect college team, in any sport, should be barred from playing for a national title because they have fewer resources or because they are smaller.
This is why programs move from one division to the next. And this why the FBS needs to be split into two separate divisions, operating independently from one another, providing each member school the opportunity to play for a true national title.
Marshall deserves to play for such a prize, and Doc Holliday deserves to advertise such an opportunity to the athletes he signs to represent the Thundering Herd football program.
View Comments (62)
While it's not completely fair overall, I think you should have made more of a point that the top non-power conference team gets to play in a "BCS" bowl. So no, Marshall wont end up in the Heart of Dallas bowl if they go 12-0, they will end up in one of the biggest bowl games, guaranteed. Not completely fair, but its better than what your making it out to be. Not to mention how much money they and every other team in the MAC, Sun Belt, MWC, AAC, and CUSA is making from the CFP even if they never will play in it
Yes the Group of 5 highest rated champion plays for the one big bowl game spot every year. All 5 conferences knew this when they agreed to the CFP and signed on. All ten conference signed on. So they knew it was to play in the big bowl game. That one game is better than anything that the non-AQ conferences had a "real chance" to play for under the BCS. Yes the group of 5 may never play for a national championship but the exposure from the New Years day bowl game is huge and the money it brings is huge. There is always a shot for the Group of 5 schools to make the CFP top 25. Take ULM for example. There OOC schedule included 4 games against Power 5 schools (Wake Forest, Kentucky, LSU, and Texas A&M). They won one game (Wake). If they would have won all 4 then they would be in the CFP top 25 ranking. Still wouldn't be in the top 10 due to Texas A&M, Kentucky and LSU all being either unranked or lower ranked but ULM had it's chance. Got to win. The Power 5 are still scheduling the Go5 schools and will continue to. Just have to win the games.
You can thank the aCc for all this power b.s. If money is power, I guess they are in one of those so-called conferences. But they certainly don't have many good teams in the acC football power-wise.......
I really don't have a ton of sympathy for a team that didn't - for whatever reason - schedule an OOC team with a pulse this season. A lot of teams across the nation could go 12-0 if they played MAC & C-USA teams every week.
This right here. +1
Dan-This schedule as with all college schedules was made a couple years ago. Louisville of the ACC was supposed to come play at Marshall but they asked to push the game back 2 years due to their league change. Not a ton of P5 teams asking to come play at Marshall. They had to get another game last minute thus the 1AA team.
Also we have to play CUSA schools-that's our league.....can't help that issue.
I'm not trying to be a jerk. At a certain level, you can only play the teams on your schedule... that being said, you shouldn't cry foul and say it's so unfair when you never played a single power 5 conference team - even a Wake Forest or an Arkansas this season. I'm sorry - I'm not picking on anyone in a non p5 school. I grew up rooting for Tulsa. But they make a concerted effort to play Oklahoma or Oklahoma State or Ohio State or Texas every season. So if the miracle does happen - they can point it out and say - hey guys we went 12-0 and beat this legit Big XII team. Marshall can't do that. And we won't know how they would have performed had they played a legit p5 team this year. I'm not being a jerk - I'm only stating facts. They haven't played a single good team this year.
That is exactly correct Dan! I don't understand why some writers think that just because a team is 8-0 or 12-0 that they should, for some reason, be considered on the same level as the best college teams in the country? Schedule is everything! High School or College, it is all the same, it is all about how good your opponents are! It is so simple and so logical. The same thing happened with Boise State a few years ago.. They sneak up on one major school early in the season and then played patsies the rest of the season and they thought they should be ranked in the top 10- it's bunk!
Ar shall had a home game with Louisville schedule and they pushed it back to 2016, can't help that. Plus, it's hard to get teams to play a good mid major.
Well, technically Marshall is 9-0 after beating Southern Miss 63-17 spoiling their homecoming. Now this may just seem like a normal blowout of an inferior team, but there's something you gotta realize...everybody talks about how MU's schedule is the weakest in the nation and how they're gonna blow everybody out and go 12-0. You have any idea what kinda motivation that is for EVERY team on MU's schedule this year? They've been getting everybody's best shot all year. They ALL wanna be the one to knock MU off. USM tried 2 onside kicks IN THE FIRST QUARTER! MU was down 14-0 and didn't even get the ball until 5:00 to go in the 1st and answered 63-3. I would understand this argument if these games were even close, but they are not. Rakeem Cato has been re-writing national record books (Russell Wilson's consecutive games with a TD pass streak) as well as MU records held by the likes of Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich. They have one of the top rb's in the nation (Devon Johnson) averaging 150 yards a game and he didn't even play tonight. MU still ran for over 300 yards. Last season they went 10-4 and beat Maryland in the Military Bowl. Marshall didn't select their opponents this year. They've simply been the most balanced offense in the nation averaging over 45 points a game. Winning by an average of 30 points a game. The defense is allowing 16 points a game. They haven't scored less than 35 all year. C'mon...Colorado State? Boise State? Colorado State hasn't been relevant for years and Boise, everybody's favorite Mid-Major, just gave up 400 yards rushing to New Mexico (3-7) in the first half! And i'll close with this little tid-bit... MU also beat the Akron Zips who beat the Pitt Panthers who beat Va Tech who beat Ohio State who just beat Michigan State. Strength of what? I think it's time to grade these teams the right way. Not strength of schedule, but strength of TEAM.
Colorado St beat Boston College in Boston and Colorado on a neutral field. They lost to one of the best Group of 5 teams, Boise St--who appeared in and won multiple big time bowls in the BCS era, in week 2. Colorado St had Boise St, Utah St, Nevada, and Air Force on their schedule all of whom will be bowling and 2 of which also defeated Power 5 opponents. Colorado St is a legitimate football team.
Doesn't matter who you play, if you go undefeated, you should have a chance, especially in the new Playoff form. How will we know how good this team is if they don't get a shot. Boise St was there at one point, and when given the chance they made it exciting and showing it doesn't matter who you play, who you play doesn't dictate how good you are. If Marshall had Michigan on there schedule, still wouldn't matter because Michigan is down this year. If Marshall goes undefeated and is left out of the playoffs, why have the playoffs? So big schools that had a hiccup gets a second chance, how bout the little guys get a first chance. At least Marshall is killing there opponents week in, week out. Even then, shouldn't matter, if you go undefeated, you should have a chance over a 1 loss team, ya there are tougher conferences, but all in the same league, if they cant represent their conference when they are undefeated, then move them down a league. If they make it to the top 4 playoffs and get killed, so what. Make teams play a power conference team every year then if the lack of quality opponents. I want to see the little guy get the shots when the opportunity presents itself, or just make another league without the power conferences. Somethings gotta give
If they played an SEC and an ACC team that were solid and beat them both - then yes, I'd be more inclined to follow your logic that they are getting "shut out" of a title shot. But they don't even play in the MWC or American - it's watered down C-USA. The kids that get recruited by the MAC/Sun Belt/C-USA schools know going in it's going to be an icy day in hell for them to play for a National Championship. If they won a few games against the big boys and went undefeated, they would be deserving of a conversation about including them in the CFB playoff - but they didn't. Wins against Rhode Island, FIU, FAU, Ohio & Akron don't scream legit title contender to me.
This is how I feel about it. A team that goes undefeated in their conference, is no different than any other team in any other conference, going undefeated. This is from the point of view of the team. The eyes of the team, the OOC games is the only difference between the them and the OOC teams. This undefeated team might continue their streak in the playoffs, if giving a chance. I rather put an undefeated team in the playoffs than another team, since the other team already have a loss. Anytime a team loses, there is a chance that they don't make the playoffs or the National Championship Game. No one should have to tell an undefeated team that their perfect season is going to end without a National Championship Trophy, something that shows that a team is the best team of the season.
Look at Notre Dame in the 2012-13 season! They get to choose who they want to play, with no conference restrictions to anyone. They went 12-0 and got into the title, just to get their butt back to them by Alabama (12-1). Now, if Notre Dame didn't go to the BCS National Championship Game, because they wasn't part of a conference that year (or maybe cause they didn't play a SEC team), people would have gone crazy about it.
Now, we need a 6-team playoffs in the 2009-2010 season when Alabama, Texas, TCU, Boise State, Cincinnati, and Florida was undefeated at the end of the regular season. Alabama got a shot at the title after beating undefeated Florida, and Texas beat Nebraska; but what happened to the other 3 undefeated schools? They had to settle for major bowl games. Luckily, TCU .vs. Boise State was a battle of the undefeated teams, but Boise State had to finish their perfect season with no shot at the National Title. Sadly, the following season, TCU felt the same fate as Boise State 2009-10 team, TCU finished their perfect 2010-2011 season with no shot at the National Title.
Now, the BCS wanted to wait until after the 100th Rose Bowl to change up the system and create a 4-team playoff system (after seeing that there was a case that needed a 6-team playoff system). Well, the FBS is now in the situation where they going to leave up to the 13 voters on who gets in and ranked, yet there is no rule on if a team is undefeated, they should at least be ranked. Now, I have created my own polls and have the team ranked in the 20s, with a chance they will move up after winning more games, and their defeated opponents wins more games as well.
I honestly think that teams should be ranked, based on how many games they have won, and how many games their defeated opponents have won as well; with a twist of multipliers that's based on the teams winning percentage and defeated opponents' conference or "SUBDIVISION: FCS, Power 5, Group of 5".
If an undefeated team is in the FBS, treat them like any other undefeated team in the FBS.
The 4 team playoff is a nice start, but that's all it is - a start. The playoffs need to be expanded FCS style, with the winner of all 10 leagues getting an automatic bid similar to the NCAA CBB tournament and you can have an additional 14 teams making up the rest of the field - http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/football/fcs
I'd like to see a modified system:
16 teams. 8 teams get automatic bids. 8 teams are at-large bids.
The selection committee would pick the 8 at large teams.
Of the 8 teams that get automatic bids, 5 would be from the Power 5 three would be from the non-power five.
The three from the non power five would be determined by three play in games matching the five non power five champions and one wild card team from those same conferences. The matchups would be determined by the selection committee.
The three that got in would join the other 5.
Not really sure why Marshall would need to play a "solid Power 5" team when many of the Power 5 teams are playing teams weaker than Group of 5 teams. Where are teams such as Miami, Maryland, Flordia Gators, Arkansas and Tennessee ranked? All conferences have teams which are weaker than others. Just saying. If you are a Power 5 team and you beat a weak Power 5 team does this mean you are stronger than a strong Group of 5 team beating a weaker Group of 5 team. Maybe....Maybe not.
Do not forget that Tulane went undefeated in 1998, the first season of the FBS, and was not even considered for the championship game. They routed BYU in the Liberty Bowl and wound up ranked #7 in the Coaches Poll and the AP while getting ignored by all the media.
The Entitled Five concept is archaic. The only way the Entitled Five should continue is with rotation in for high achievers from the so called Other Five and rotation out for non contributors like Wake Forest, Purdue, Rutgers,Iowa State, Vanderbilt....
Sorry, it's a buyer's market, and the buyers are the fans. Ask your average college football fan if they want to bump Auburn or Oregon out of this year's playoff to watch--- Marshall. Bet I know what the answer is. Is it fair- no, it's business. We are almost, if not past, the point where we need to create another division for the AAC, CUSA, Mountain West, SunBelt, and MAC to compete in.
Very true.... That's why I wouldn't be surprised if you see Boise State getting the nod into a new year bowl over Marshall. Its all about the $$$. Hate them or love them, Boise St garners a lot of attention every time they take the main stage.
I agree, if a team or set of teams honestly has no chance of winning a national championship within their division, then the division should be split.
Money makes the world go round. Non-conference teams buy their way into CFB, by way of recruiting and crowd attendance. It says alot about a school that brings the "whole package" concept, but Marshall is the Mouse That Roared this season. Lucky breaks and wins against high schools make their undefeated record stand out. The harsh truth is, they only have one leg of the stool...meaning, a National title bid requires a powerhouse that brings top-notch players, top-notch coaches, and programs that will survive long-term. Proving yourself on the field versus players representative of the country's best allows an empire to take its place where it belongs.