TXST FOOTBALL
Bobcats battle Marshall in first time meeting
The Countdown to Kickoff series takes a look at the upcoming 2025 season for the Texas State Bobcats who are in their final season playing in the Sun Belt Conference.
This week will preview the Bobcats first ever meeting between them and the Marshall Thundering Herd.
Marshall is the defending Sun Belt Conference champions, finishing the season with a 9-3 overall record and winning the Sun Belt East Division title.
In the Sun Belt Conference Championship game, the Thundering Herd defeated the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 31-3 on the road to capture their first Sun Belt conference title.
However, the conference championship would be mired by offfield drama.
Quafilying for the Independence Bowl where the Thundering Herd would face the Army Black Knights, the champions of the American Athletic Conference, it was announced that Head Coach Charles Huff would take over the Southern Miss program. Following his departure, over 50 players from Marshall would transfer out from the program, including over 20 players transferring to Southern Miss.
Marshall opted out of playing in their bowl game due to low numbers.
The Thundering Herd returns very few starters from last year’s team, having brought in over 60 players from both high school recruiting and the transfer portal.
This year’s showdown between the Bobcats and the Thundering Herd will be the first time the teams have met on the gridiron.
The Thundering Herd first season dates back to 1895 where the program has bounced back and forth between FBS and FCS.
One of the most notable incidents involving the program came during the 1970 season when the team plane crashed coming back home from a game against East Carolina, tragically killing all 75 passengers including 37 players and five coaches.
During the late 80s and mid 90s, Marshall became a FCS powerhouse, winning two national championships in 1992 and 1996. The 1996 team is considered to be one of the greatest teams in FCS history, featuring future NFL quarterback Chad Pennington and hall of fame wide receiver Randy Moss.
Marshall made the transition from FCS to FBS, joining the MAC conference, where the Thundering Herd became just the second team in FBS history to win a conference title in their first season of FBS.
Marshall went on to win five conference titles in the MAC conference before joining C-USA in 2005, including an undefeated season in 1999.
Marshall was a member of C-USA from 2005 through 2021, winning a conference title in 2014, before joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2022 where they have been a member since.
Kickoff for Texas State-Marshall is set for Saturday Oct. 18 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
