1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football team


The 1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented the Marshall University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the program's first year in the Mid-American Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Bob Pruett.

Regular season

In the 1997 season, Marshall University's first in Division I-A, Randy Moss and future NFL quarterback Chad Pennington were the centerpiece of an explosive offense that led the Thundering Herd to the Mid-American Conference title. Moss caught 25 touchdown passes that season, at the time a Division I-A record, and was a unanimous first-team All-American. For the season, Moss had 96 receptions for 1820 yards, and 26 touchdowns.
Moss won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's leading wide receiver, and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Moss left Marshall with 168 receptions for 3,467 yards and a school record 53 touchdowns in 2 seasons.
The Herd became only the second team to win a conference championship in its first FBS season, after Nevada in 1992. The feat would not be repeated again until 2014, when Georgia Southern won the Sun Belt Conference title.

Schedule

The Thundering Herd finished the regular season with a record of 10 wins and 2 losses.

Roster

Game summaries

West Virginia

After trailing 28–3, the Thundering Herd scored 28 straight to take a 31–28 lead into the 4th quarter. West Virginia responded with two fourth quarter touchdowns to win this much anticipated season opener, 42–31. Randy Moss had seven receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

Army

Randy Moss had five receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

Kent State

Randy Moss hauled in 8 receptions for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Western Illinois

Randy Moss had 5 receptions for 52 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ball State

Randy Moss caught 13 passes for 205 yards and a school-record 5 touchdowns.

Akron

Randy Moss had 6 receptions for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Miami

Randy Moss had 10 receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown.

Eastern Michigan

Randy Moss had 8 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown.

Central Michigan

Randy Moss had 7 receptions for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Bowling Green

Randy Moss had 7 receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown.

Ohio

Randy Moss had seven receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Toledo (MAC Championship Game)

Randy Moss had seven receptions for 170 yards and three touchdowns.

vs. Ole Miss (Motor City Bowl)

Playing in its first bowl game since the 1948 Tangerine Bowl, Marshall lost a back-and-forth matchup with Ole Miss. Randy Moss had 6 receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown, including an 80-yard bomb from Chad Pennington, in his final collegiate game.

Awards and honors