Morgan State Takes on Marshall in Week 2

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GAME TIME
Morgan State (0-1) will travel to face Conference USA foe Marshall (0-0) for the Thundering Herd's home-opener at Joan C. Edwards Stadium this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and will be televised by the BeIN Sports Network. The Bears are coming off a 51-24 home loss to Holy Cross last week. Marshall finished the 2015 season with a 10-3 overall mark and was 6-2 in C-USA play, including a 6-0 home record.

RADIO: WEAA, 88.9 FM is the flagship station for the Morgan State Bears. Lamont Germany will call the play-by-play with former Bear coach Kelvin Bridgers in the booth. The game will be broadcast live on 88.9 FM and streamed on WEAA.org.

THE SERIES
• Saturday marks the first meeting in the series between the two schools.

QUICK HITS
• Graduate student transfer QB Chris Andrews made 10 starts in three seasons at Wagner College, and completed 21-of-34 passes for 240 yards, including a TD and INT in his debut as the Bears' starting QB against Holy Cross.

• MSU senior RB Orlando Johnson led the Bears in rushing last season with 583 yards (4.1 avg) and six TDs in 10 games. He led the Bears with 71 yards on 10 carries and scored a pair of TDs against Holy Cross.

• In both their returns to the gridrion last week against Holy Cross,Herb Walker Jr. ran for 22 yards on 9 carries and Lamont Brown III had 12 carries for 46 yards.

• With 29 yards rushing, redshirt junior RB Herb Walker Jr. can tie Bradshaw Littlejohn (2002-04) for 9th place on the Morgan State career rushing list with 1,849 yards; and with 38 yards rushing, he can tie Jason Jackson (2004-05) for 8th place with 1,858 yards.

• NT Jai Franklin finished the 2015 season with 38 stops, 8.5 TFL and three sacks. He posted five stops against Holy Cross.

• LB Damare' Whitaker led the Bears in 2015 with 66 stops, 6 TFL and 2.5 sacks. He recorded a team-high nine tackles last week versus Holy Cross.

• The Bears were their own worst enemy Saturday against Holy Cross committing 14 penalties for 115 yards in a 51-24 loss to the Crusaders.

• The Bears defense recorded a pair of interceptions against Holy Cross (Darius Johnson, Eric Alvis Jr.).

• Last Saturday, Fred T. Farrier played against his alma mater (Holy Cross) for his first game back as a head football coach.

A GLANCE AT THE THUNDERING HERD
• Marshall finished the 2015 season with a 10-3 overall mark and was 6-2 in C-USA play, including a 6-0 home record.They capped the season with a 49-28 loss at Western Kentucky.

• The Thundering Herd has won at least 10 games in three straight years, including one Conference USA crown.

• The Thundering Herd return quarterback Chase Litton who passed for 2,605 yards, 23 touchdowns and 8 INTs as a rookie a season ago. Also back are TEs Ryan Yurachek and Emanuel Byrd and an O-line that returns four starters and is led by two-time all-star OT Clint Van Horn. who caught eight passes for 85 yards and a pair of TDs. Tailback Hyleck Foster returns from a season in which he finished with 450 yards on 99 carries and scored three TDs. Litton will also look to target big WRs Deon-Tay McManus (35 rec., 334 yds,TD), Justin Hunt (20 rec., 295 yds, 4 TDs) and former basketball player Michael Clark.

• Defensively, the Herd return a pair of tough defensive ends in Gary Thompson and Ryan Bee. The linebackers are expected to be led by a pair of former transfers with Davon Durant (Arizona State) and Shawn Petty (Maryland). The secondary led by Rodney Allen (30 tackles, 3 INTs, FR) will also include some talented transfers with C.J. Reavis (Virginia Tech) at safety and Terry Richardson (Michigan) manning one of the cornerback positions.

• The Herd has yielded fewer than 23 points per game in each of the last three seasons. Last year's team, for instance, led Conference USA in scoring D, allowing just 17.8 points per game.

• Doc Holliday (West Virginia, '79) enters his 7th season at the helm of the Thundering Herd.

PRESEASON PICKED LAST
Morgan State, who finished T-4th place a season ago, was picked to finish seventh (7th) to co-defending MEAC champions and Preseason #1 North Carolina A&T, #2 Bethune-Cookman and #3 N.C. Central.

PRESEASON ALL-MEAC PLAYERS
Five (5) Morgan State football players were named to the 2016 MEAC preseason team, which was voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Redshirt senior cornerback Delonta Hall was named first-team All-MEAC, while senior running back Orlando Johnson was a second-team selection. Redshirt senior tight end Willie Gillus, junior offensive lineman Joshua Miles and junior defensive lineman Jai Franklin were third-team picks.

BEARS OPEN 118th SEASON OF FOOTBALL SINCE 1898
MSU enters its 118th season of football, and the first under interim head coach Fred T. Farrier.

RETURN MEN
The 2016 Morgan State Bears return 66 letterwinners, including 15 starters - 9 on offense, 8 on defense and 1 on special teams.

CAMPAIGNING FOR SUCCESS
The Bears enter the 2016 season looking to post their first winning season since going 7-6 in 2014.

NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Bears will open the 2016 campaign against two of its first three non-conference matchups. MSU opens the season at home against Holy Cross (Sept. 3), followed by a road game at Marshall (Sept. 10). The Bears round out non-conference in a season-finale matchup at Army (Nov.19).

BEARS NAME TEAM CAPTAINS
The MSU Bears wrapped up the preseason by naming the team captains for the 2016 season. The leadership group is comprised of four seniors and a junior ... offense - Thomas Martin (Naples, Fla.), Dominique Woods (Skyline, Texas) - defense - Greg Gibson (Houston, Texas), Ayodeji Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) and special teams - Willie Gillus III (Suffolk, Va.).

BEARS OPEN 40th SEASON IN MEAC
The Bears will open its 40th season in the MEAC when they host the Howard Bison on Sept. 24.

• The Bears opened the 2015 MEAC schedule with a 21-13 victory against Howard at the 18th Annual Chicago Football Classic at Soldier Field.

• The Bears kicked off its first season in the MEAC in 1971. Morgan State withdrew from the conference at the end of the 1979-80 fiscal year, before returning to the MEAC in 1984.

MSU IN THE CIAA
Morgan State was a power as a former member of the CIAA. The Bears posted 173 wins between 1929 and 1959 when Edward P. Hurt was the head coach and the Bears won 14 CIAA championships. Earl Banks added to the championship collection by winning four titles during the 1960s.

HOME AT THE CAVE
Morgan State opened its 2016 season with a home-opener against Holy Cross on Sept. 3. The Bears 2016 schedule features five home games in Hughes Stadium, including a meeting with MEAC co-champion Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 5 in Baltimore.

UNDER THE LIGHTS
Morgan State will not only have its first home night game since 2010, but it will also mark the Bears' first home matchup against the Howard Bison in seven years. The Bears will open Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play when they host their Beltway rival on Sept. 24 at Hughes Stadium. The actual kickoff time is set for 7 p.m.

"DJ" RISING IN THE SECONDARY
Sophomore safety Darius Johnson is off to a great start in 2016. In Saturday's loss against Holy Cross, the Baltimore native made his first career start and finished with a career-high seven tackles and had a 14-yard interception return (3rd career pick). "DJ" will continue to be one to watch as the season continues.

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