1999 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

1999 Marshall Thundering Herd football
1999 Marshall Thundering Herd football
MAC champion; MAC East Division champion; Motor City Bowl champion
MAC Championship Game, W 34–30 vs. Western Michigan
Motor City Bowl, W 21–3 vs. BYU
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	East
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 10
Record	13–0 (8–0 MAC)
Head coach	Bob Pruett (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Marty Galbraith (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Tim Billings (1st season)
Home stadium	Marshall University Stadium
	Seasons ← 1998 2000 →

1999 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 10 Marshall x$	8	–	0	13	–	0
Miami (OH)	6	–	2	7	–	4
Akron	5	–	3	7	–	4
Ohio	5	–	3	5	–	6
Bowling Green	3	–	5	5	–	6
Kent State	2	–	6	2	–	9
Buffalo	0	–	8	0	–	11
West Division
Western Michigan x	6	–	2	7	–	5
Toledo	5	–	3	6	–	5
Northern Illinois	5	–	3	5	–	6
Eastern Michigan	4	–	4	4	–	7
Central Michigan	3	–	5	4	–	7
Ball State	0	–	8	0	–	11
Championship: Marshall 34, Western Michigan 30
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1999 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The team was coached by fourth-year head coach Bob Pruett. Marshall became the second non-automatic qualifying team in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) era to finish the year ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll.

Marshall outscored its opponents 463–137 en route to an undefeated, 13–0, season. The season-opener at Clemson (13–10) and the MAC Championship Game vs. Western Michigan (34–30) were the only games decided by less than 12 points.

Schedule[edit]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	6:00 pm	at Clemson*		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	WSAZ	W 13–10	79,186
September 11	7:00 pm	Liberty*		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	WSAZ	W 63–3	26,374
September 18	7:00 pm	Bowling Green		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	FSNP	W 35–16	29,741
September 25	8:00 pm	Temple*	No. 21	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	FSNP	W 34–0	30,194
October 2	2:00 pm	at Miami (OH)	No. 17	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	ESPN+	W 32–14	30,087
October 14	8:00 pm	Toledo	No. 15	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	ESPN	W 38–13	30,203
October 23	12:00 pm	at Buffalo	No. 15	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	FSNP	W 59–3	13,120
October 30	4:00 pm	Northern Illinois	No. 13	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	FSN	W 41–9	30,081
November 6	2:00 pm	at Kent State	No. 13	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	WSAZ	W 28–16	12,280
November 13	12:00 pm	at Western Michigan	No. 12	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		W 31–17	30,472
November 26	12:30 pm	Ohio	No. 12	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (Battle for the Bell)	FSN	W 34–3	26,053
December 3	8:00 pm	Western Michigan	No. 11	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (MAC Championship Game)	ESPN2	W 34–30	28,069
December 27	1:30 pm	vs. BYU*	No. 11	Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, MI (Motor City Bowl)	ESPN	W 21–3	52,449
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries[edit]

Clemson[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	6	0	0	7	13
Tigers	0	3	0	7	10

Liberty[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Flames	0	0	3	0	3
Thundering Herd	14	21	14	14	63

Bowling Green[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	3	10	3	0	16
Thundering Herd	14	14	7	0	35

Temple[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	0	0	0	0
#21 Thundering Herd	14	7	10	3	34

Miami (OH)[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#17 Thundering Herd	9	10	3	10	32
RedHawks	0	0	0	14	14

Toledo[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	3	10	0	0	13
#15 Thundering Herd	7	17	0	14	38

Buffalo[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#15 Thundering Herd	14	24	14	7	59
Bulls	3	0	0	0	3

Northern Illinois[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	6	0	3	9
#13 Thundering Herd	14	0	14	13	41

Kent State[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#13 Thundering Herd	14	0	7	7	28
Golden Flashes	0	10	3	3	16

Western Michigan[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#12 Thundering Herd	7	7	17	0	31
Broncos	3	7	0	7	17

Ohio[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	0	3	0	0	3
#12 Thundering Herd	0	13	7	14	34

Western Michigan–MAC Championship[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	10	10	3	7	30
#11 Thundering Herd	0	0	20	14	34

BYU–Motor City Bowl[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	3	0	0	0	3
#11 Thundering Herd	0	7	7	7	21

Roster[edit]

1999 Marshall Thundering Herd football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`22`	Doug Chapman	Sr
WR	`6`	John Cooper	Jr
WR	`82`	Chris DeShazor	So
C	`58`	Jeff Edwards	Fr
WR	`2`	Brian Greenleaf	Fr
OL	`66`	K. J. Greer	Fr
OT	`63`	Mike Guilliams	Sr
TE	`44`	Brad Hammon	Sr
OL	`65`	Paul Hardy	Fr
OL	`73`	Scott Harper	Jr
QB	`7`	Byron Leftwich	Fr
QB	`10`	Chad Pennington	Sr
WR	`3`	Nate Poole	Jr
OL	`75`	Steve Sciullo	Fr
C	`62`	Jason Starkey	Sr
WR	`9`	Lanier Washington	Jr
WR	`83`	James Williams	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DE	`86`	Bobby Addison	So
DL	`50`	Antony Beckett	Jr
DB	`42`	Rogers Beckett	Sr
DL	`96`	Ronnie Bowman	Jr
DB	`19`	Chris Crocker	Fr
LB	`4`	John Grace	Sr
DT	`93`	Giradie Mercer	Sr
LB	`55`	Andre O'Neal	Sr
DE	`53`	Ralph Street	Jr
DB	`21`	Terrance Tarpley	Fr
DB	`27`	Willie Tisdale	Jr
DE	`85`	Paul Toviessi	Jr
LB	`5`	Max Yates	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`8`	T. C. Beaver	So
K	`43`	J. R. Jenkins	Jr
LS	`54`	Chris Massey	So
K	`20`	Jason Witczak	So

Head coach

Bob Pruett

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 1999-10-12

Team players drafted in the NFL[edit]

The following players were selected in the 2000 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Chad Pennington	Quarterback	1	17	New York Jets
Rogers Beckett	Defensive Back	2	43	San Diego Chargers
Doug Chapman	Running Back	3	88	Minnesota Vikings
James Williams	Wide Receiver	6	175	Seattle Seahawks

^[1]

Awards and honors[edit]

Chad Pennington, Davey O'Brien Trophy finalist^[2]
Chad Pennington, Heisman Trophy Finalist^[2]
Chad Pennington, MAC Championship Game MVP and MAC Offensive Player of the Year
Chad Pennington, 1st Team All-MAC
Nate Poole, 1st Team All-MAC
Giradie Mercer, 1st Team All-MAC
Doug Chapman, 1st Team All-MAC
John Grace, 1st Team All-MAC
Rogers Beckett, 1st Team All-MAC
James Williams, 1st Team All-MAC

Rankings[edit]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	RV	21	17	15	15	15	13	13	12	11	12	11	11	10
Coaches	RV		RV	25	22	17	15	16	15	13	12	11	11	12	11	11	10
BCS	Not released									14	14	—	14	13	12	12	Not released

References[edit]

^ "2000 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on May 18, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
^ ^a ^b "1999 Heisman Trophy, College Football Awards". College Football Poll. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.

[1] "2000 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on May 18, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.

[collegefootballpoll.com-2] "1999 Heisman Trophy, College Football Awards". College Football Poll. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.

[1]

[2]

v t e Marshall Thundering Herd football
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Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Appalachian State East Carolina Ohio: Battle for the Bell West Virginia: Friends of Coal Bowl
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