1995 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

American college football season

1995 Marshall Thundering Herd football

NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, L 22–20 vs. Montana

Conference| Southern Conference
Ranking
Sports Network| No. 6
Record| 12–3 (7–1 SoCon)
Head coach|

* Jim Donnan (6th season)

Offensive coordinator| Chris Scelfo (3rd season)
Captain| Jerome Embry, Jayson Grayson, Billy Lyon, Tim Martin, Chris Parker, William Pannell
Home stadium| Marshall University Stadium

Seasons

<- 1994

1996 ->

1995 Southern Conference football standings

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 2 Appalachian State $^  | 8  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 12  | - | 1  | - | 0
No. 6 Marshall ^  | 7  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 12  | - | 3  | - | 0
No. 15 Georgia Southern ^  | 5  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 4  | - | 0
Furman | 5  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
East Tennessee State | 4  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
VMI | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Chattanooga | 2  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Western Carolina | 2  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 7  | - | 0
The Citadel | 0  | - | 8  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 9  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion
* ^ - NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant

Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1995 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Jim Donnan, the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 12–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, placing second in the SoCon. Marshall advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship playoffs for the fifth straight season, where they defeated Jackson State in the first round, Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals, and McNeese State in the semifinals, before losing to Montana in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game. Marshall played home games at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.

## Regular season

[edit]

Marshall was quarterbacked by true freshman and future NFL starter Chad Pennington after starting sophomore quarterbacl Mark Zban re-injured his knee delivering a touchdown pass to future NFL starter Jermaine Wiggins. Starting running back Chris Parker set the Marshall single season rushing record with 1,833 rushing yards.

## Postseason

[edit]

Marshall advanced to the 1995 NCAA I-AA playoffs with an at large bid, but held home field advantage for the first two games, defeating Jackson State and Northern Iowa in Huntington before going on the road against McNeese State in the semifinal game. Marshall defeated McNeese State and advanced to the I-AA National Championship game, which was held at Marshall's stadium against the Montana Grizzlies. This was the fourth consecutive I-AA National Championship game hosted by Marshall. Marshall lost the championship game, 22–20.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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August 31| at NC State*| No. 2|

* Carter–Finley Stadium
* Raleigh, NC

| L 16–33| 44,259| [1]
September 9| Tennessee Tech*| No. 3|

* Marshall University Stadium
* Huntington, WV

| W 45–14| |
September 16| No. 13 Georgia Southern| No. 4|

* Marshall University Stadium
* Huntington, WV

| W 37–7| 19,983|
September 30| at Chattanooga| No. 3|

* Chamberlain Field
* Chattanooga, TN

| W 35–32| 8,576|
October 7| VMI| No. 3|

* Marshall University Stadium
* Huntington, WV

| W 56–21| 19,702| [2]
October 14| at Western Carolina| No. 3|

* E. J. Whitmire Stadium
* Cullowhee, NC

| W 42–3| |
October 21| No. 2 Appalachian State| No. 3|

* Marshall University Stadium
* Huntington, WV

| L 3–10| 26,982| [3]
October 28| at The Citadel| No. 7|

* Johnson Hagood Stadium
* Charleston, SC

| W 21–19| 11,833|
November 4| East Tennessee State| No. 7|

* Marshall University Stadium
* Huntington, WV

| W 52–0| |
November 11| at Furman| No. 7|

* Paladin Stadium
* Greenville, SC

| W 31–6| 10,688| [4]
November 18| Hofstra*| No. 6|

* Marshall University Stadium
* Huntington, WV

| W 30–28| |
November 25| Jackson State*| No. 6|

* Marshall University Stadium
* Huntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)

| W 38–8| 13,035| [5]
December 2| No. 18 Northern Iowa*| No. 6|

* Marshall University Stadium
* Huntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)

| W 41–24| |
December 9| at No. 1 McNeese State*| No. 6|

* Cowboy Stadium
* Lake Charles, LA (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)

| W 25–13| 18,018| [6]
December 16| No. 8 Montana*| No. 6|

* Marshall University Stadium
* Huntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)

| L 20–22| 32,106| [7]

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Wolfpack builds steam, wins". The Charlotte Observer. September 1, 1995. Retrieved February 9, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ "Marshall thumps VMI". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 8, 1995. Retrieved February 6, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Appalachian wins battle". The State. October 22, 1995. Retrieved November 28, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Marshall pummels Furman". The State. November 12, 1995. Retrieved September 21, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Marshall thunders to victory". The Charlotte Observer. November 26, 1995. Retrieved August 5, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Marshall advances to I-AA final". The Charlotte Observer. December 10, 1995. Retrieved March 5, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Grizzlies silence Thundering Herd, 22-10". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. December 17, 1995. p. 5B.

* v
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Marshall Thundering Herd football

Venues|

* Central Field (1895–1927)
* Fairfield Stadium (1928–1990)
* Joan C. Edwards Stadium (1991–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Appalachian State
* East Carolina
* Ohio: Battle for the Bell
* West Virginia: Friends of Coal Bowl

Culture & lore|

* Marco the Bison
* "Sons of Marshall"
* Marching Thunder
* Plane crash
* Marshall University: Ashes to Glory
* We Are Marshall

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1895
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National championship seasons in bold

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1995 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants

* Appalachian State
* Delaware
* Eastern Illinois
* Eastern Kentucky
* Georgia Southern
* Hofstra
* Idaho
* Jackson State
* James Madison
* Marshall
* McNeese State
* Montana
* Murray State
* Northern Iowa
* Stephen F. Austin
* Troy State

Champion – Montana Grizzlies

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number