by
Jeff Caves
After World War 2, the USA gave money to rebuild postwar Europe. It was a tremendous success. The Thundering Herd of Marshall had a plan alright but it wasn’t to rebuild. It was to destroy.
And, it didn’t work. Almost, but not quite.
Boise State knew that Marshall would start a fistfight last Friday night. It was gonna be the Sharks vs Jets on both sides of the ball. If Boise State didn’t punch Marshall right back, the Herd would continue to punch, claw and bitch talk and keep the game close.
That’s what happened for the entire first half. Boise State was punched in the mouth but still used skill to survive the beating. If you weren’t paying attention, you would miss all the late pushes, trash talk and celebrating the Marshall defense was doing after stuffing the Broncos offense for 2 quarters. They had had it up to HERE, with the blue turf, ESPN money, and giant killer Broncos. They had Bachmeier running for his life out of the pocket and when Marshall turned their back, he would take off downfield.
Thank god for that.
He led the team in rushing with 33 scary yards at the half. The rest of the Rb’s managed only 23 yards on 10 traditional runs, even Shakir tried one time for only 3 yards.
It was life according to The Marshall Plan.
Boise State’s defense got shaken as well. They gave up 119 rushing yards, 9 first downs and it was a game. The Marshall Plan called for a physical start, keep it a 1 score game and take your chances in the 2nd half. Make it even closer and you could have a chance to win the game with 8 minutes to go.
The Plan was coming together.
Marshall was down 14-7 with the ball near midfield. They had just stuffed George Holani on 5 straight running plays and forced a 30-yard punt. They were in business. Then, they got greedy and tried to catch Boise State napping with a 30-yard pass that was slightly off and Nawahine made a clutch interception. Boise State ran out the clock from there in part thanks to an aggressive facemask penalty and sack on Bachmeier. The Herd was still looking to mug someone and was finally caught in the act.
If Boise State continues to play this way, it could cost them some games. No way your defense is going to continue hold offenses to 0 yards/points the 2nd half of games. The Broncos are ranked and well thought of again, so bringing them down a peg or two is great fun for some schools. Any team not in the conference title or New Year’s Day bowl chase has more to gain than lose by beating Boise State. Portland State, BYU, and UNLV come to mind. It’s time for The Boise State Plan to start early and finish fast to kick in.
