HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Life on the road can be fun, but only if you win.

So far, things haven’t been too much fun for the Marshall Thundering Herd.

The Herd is 0-2 on the road this season with losses at Ohio State and Bowling Green. Marshall tries to find some fun and a win Saturday night with the start of the Conference USA schedule.

Marshall (1-3) visits the Southern Miss Eagles in an 8 p.m. kickoff. First-year Herd coach Doc Holliday knows it will be a difficult game for his team.

“Southern Miss will be a great challenge. It will be a great atmosphere,” said Holliday. “They have nine starters back on defense that held Louisiana Tech to 47 rushing yards a week ago and last year held Marshall to 26 total yards rushing.”

Despite all the returning starters on defense, injuries have made their way into the Eagles’ offense.

Right tackle Jason Weaver is out for the season with a knee injury sustained last week. Receiver DeAndre Brown — who leads the team with 12 catches for 199 yards and two touchdowns — has been hobbled by a lower leg strain. Running back Tracy Lampley is wearing a knee brace that has restricted his mobility.

“We are still banged up,” said Eagles coach Larry Fedora. “This isn’t going to change, but we have a lot of guys fighting through it and pushing hard to get better.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of time to let them rest. They have to play. We have a lot of young guys playing and it should be a lot of fun for them.”

Both teams had fun last week although their emotions almost went the other way. Marshall held on to beat Ohio 24-23 and USM slipped past Louisiana Tech 13-12.

Although Southern Miss only scored 13 points, the Eagles racked up 425 total yards. The problem came in the red zone where the offense bogged down and settled for field goals.

Marshall has had its own injuries on the offensive line. Landis Provancha’s status remains uncertain for Saturday’s game.

On the defensive side, lineman Jonnie Jones is still nursing a bad knee and won’t return until next week.

Holliday said controlling the game’s tempo could be the key.

“Where they get you is with their tempo. They do a great job of making it hard for you to substitute on defense,” said Holliday.

“Their tight end is very athletic and not only will be an on-the-line tight end, but he will flex out and be a wide out, too. For you to try to get different personnel in defensively, if there is not a substitution offensively, (the officials) don’t have to wait for (the defense).”

In the Herd’s losses to West Virginia and Bowling Green, they were outplayed over the final 10 minutes of the game. In last week’s win they survived a last-second Ohio desperation pass for a touchdown and missed two-point conversion when the receiver either fell down or was pushed down.

“We have to finish,” said Holliday.”But for me, it is all about the players. It is a player driven game. When you have players that can finish, it is a whole lot easier.”