# 2014 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

The 2014 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Doc Holliday and played their home games at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of Conference USA. They finished the season 13–1, 7–1 in C-USA play to win the East Division title. As East Division champions, they played West Division champion Louisiana Tech in the C-USA Championship Game, defeating the Bulldogs 26–23 to become C-USA Champions. They were invited to the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl, where they defeated MAC champion Northern Illinois, 52–23.

## Preseason
### Media poll

In the C-USA preseason coaches' poll, the Thundering Herd were picked to finish in first place in the East division.
Media poll (East division) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Marshall | 91 |
| 2 | Middle Tennessee | 73 |
| 3 | Florida Atlantic | 60 |
| 4 | Western Kentucky | 57 |
| 5 | Old Dominion | 33 |
| 6 | UAB | 31 |
| 7 | FIU | 19 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 3:30 pm | at Miami (OH)* | | Yager StadiumOxford, OH | ESPN3 | W 42–27 | 19,005 |
| September 6 | 7:00 pm | Rhode Island* | | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | ASN | W 48–7 | 25,106 |
| September 13 | 12:00 pm | Ohio* | | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV (Battle for the Bell) | CBSSN | W 44–14 | 31,710 |
| September 20 | 2:00 pm | at Akron* | | InfoCision StadiumAkron, OH | ESPN3 | W 48–17 | 13,357 |
| October 4 | 12:00 pm | at Old Dominion | | Foreman FieldNorfolk, VA | FSN | W 56–14 | 20,118 |
| October 11 | 12:00 pm | Middle Tennessee | | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | FSN | W 49–24 | 30,210 |
| October 18 | 6:00 pm | at FIU | No. 25 | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | ASN | W 45–13 | 13,163 |
| October 25 | 3:30 pm | Florida Atlantic | No. 23 | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | FS1 | W 35–16 | 27,236 |
| November 8 | 7:00 pm | at Southern Miss | | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, MS | ASN | W 63–17 | 22,949 |
| November 15 | 2:30 pm | Rice | | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | FSN | W 41–14 | 30,680 |
| November 22 | 12:00 pm | at UAB | | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL | WCHS | W 23–18 | 28,355 |
| November 28 | 12:00 pm | Western Kentucky | No. 24 | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | FS1 | L 66–67 $^{OT}$ | 23,576 |
| December 6 | 12:00 pm | Louisiana Tech | | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV (C-USA Championship) | ESPN2 | W 26–23 | 23,711 |
| December 23 | 6:00 pm | vs. Northern Illinois* | | FAU StadiumBoca Raton, FL (Boca Raton Bowl) | ESPN | W 52–23 | 29,419 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 28 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thundering Herd | 14 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 42 |
| RedHawks | 0 | 3 | 17 | 7 | 27 |

### Rhode Island

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Thundering Herd | 7 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 48 |

### Ohio

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Thundering Herd | 17 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 44 |

### Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thundering Herd | 17 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 48 |
| Zips | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |

### Old Dominion

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thundering Herd | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 56 |
| Monarchs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### Middle Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Thundering Herd | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |

### Florida International

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #25 Thundering Herd | 7 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 45 |
| Panthers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 |

### Florida Atlantic

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| #23 Thundering Herd | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |

### Southern Miss

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #23 Thundering Herd | 7 | 21 | 14 | 21 | 63 |
| Golden Eagles | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

### Rice

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| #21 Thundering Herd | 3 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 41 |

### UAB

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #18 Thundering Herd | 7 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
| Blazers | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 18 |

### Western Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 28 | 21 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 67 |
| #19 Thundering Herd | 21 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 66 |

### Louisiana Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 10 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 23 |
| Thundering Herd | 0 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 26 |

### Northern Illinois–Boca Raton Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thundering Herd | 14 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 52 |
| Huskies | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 23 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 18 | 19 | RV | RV | 23 |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 20 | RV | RV | 22 |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | 24 | — | — | Not released |