By GRANT TRAYLOR

Associate Athletic Director of Strategic Communications

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Football returns home for the first time in nearly a month and also wraps up non-conference play at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday when the Thundering Herd hosts Western Michigan at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

 HOW TO FOLLOW

Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Live
Live Stats: StatBroadcast 
Game notes: Marshall | Western Michigan
Twitter: @HerdFB
Instagram: @Herd_FB

PRE-GAME NOTES
This weekend’s game at Joan C. Edwards Stadium celebrates Hall of Fame Weekend, in which nine Marshall legends are inducted into the Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame.

In addition to celebrating those nine standouts, Marshall Football will also be celebrating its 2014 team, which won the Conference USA Championship.

One of the members of that 2014 team was offensive lineman Trevor Mendelson, who is now the offensive line coach at Western Michigan.

Saturday’s matchup between Marshall and Western Michigan is also the 25-year anniversary of the Herd’s epic comeback in the 1999 Mid-American Conference Championship Game, played at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

Trailing 23-0 in the third quarter, Marshall rallied back behind Heisman candidate Chad Pennington, who threw the game-winning touchdown pass to tight end Eric Pinkerton with four seconds left to give the Herd a 34-30 win. Marshall went on to win the Motor City Bowl, finishing 13-0 on the season and No. 10 nationally in the rankings.

ABOUT MARSHALL

Marshall comes into Saturday’s game at 1-2 overall following last week’s 49-14 loss to No. 3 Ohio State in front of more than 103,000 fans at Ohio Stadium – the fifth-largest crowd to ever see a Marshall football game.

The Thundering Herd was led by quarterback Stone Earle, who finished the game 16 of 21 through the air for 132 yards and a touchdown before leaving in the second half due to injury.

Wide receiver Elijah Metcalf also had a stellar game, finishing with eight receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Marshall was led by linebacker Jaden Yates, who had a team-high seven tackles in the return to his hometown.

Currently, Marshall defensive end Mike Green is tied for the national lead in sacks per game, averaging 1.5.

For a more in-depth look at Marshall football, visit HERE.
 ABOUT WESTERN MICHIGAN
 Western Michigan comes into the game at 1-2 overall as well after getting the first win of their 2024 season in a 59-31 win over Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 14.

Like Marshall, the Broncos also have a loss to No. 3 Ohio State on their resume, having fallen to the Buckeyes, 56-0, on Sept. 7.

Offensively, Western Michigan is led by quarterback Hayden Wolff, who Marshall has seen previously while he was the starter at Old Dominion. Wolff has thrown for 517 yards and three touchdowns this year.

Defensively, the Broncos are led by linebacker Donald Willis, who currently leads the team with 27 tackles, and defensive tackle Mason Nelson, who has 3.5 tackles for loss on the year.

For more information surrounding the Western Michigan football program, visit HERE.
 SERIES HISTORY 

This will be the 35th all-time meeting between Marshall and Western Michigan. The Broncos lead the all-time series between the schools, 22-12, but Marshall has won five of the six meetings that have taken place since the Herd returned to FBS in 1997. The teams will be meeting for the first time since 2004.