| Herd hopes
to repeat on past success
by CHARLES SHUMAKER
New season, same goals. This attitude has worked for the Herd football team all through the 90s, so why change now? The Thundering Herd opens its season September 4 at Clemson, another South Caro-lina school that Marshall hopes to add to its list of wins. When the Herd goes to Death Valley, it will be the beginning of a long road down what Wide Receivers and Special Teams coach, Gunter Brewer calls their toughest schedule since they joined Division I-A. "I really think this will be the toughest schedule we have played, we definitely have our toughest opener," Brewer said. Marshall returns all but six seniors this season, so the weight of this season will rest on the shoulders of a veteran squad. After a road opener, the Herd plays at home against Liberty, Bowling Green and Big East team, Temple. The Herd then plays rival Miami of Ohio on the road before having one week off. October 16, the Herd plays MAC championship game companion Toledo at home. Buffalo, Northern Illinois, Kent, Western Michigan and Ohio conclude this years schedule with the MAC championship game on Dec. 3. Brewer said this schedule has a lot of teams outside the Mid-Amer-ican Conference (MAC) who will be tough tests in addition to a solid number of conference teams. "Every year we have pretty much the same goals; to win all our home games, win the east, win the MAC, get to a bowl and win and then finish in the top 20." Brewer said, "We try to set goals higher every year, and this year we are ranked in some preseason top 20s so now that we have it to start, we have to earn it to keep it." Marshall fans will be excited to see the return of Heisman hopeful, quarterback Chad Pennington for his senior season. Pennington has thrown for more than 10,000 yards and 85 touchdowns in his career at Marshall. Some media rank Pennington as high as the number two quarterback in the nation. Alongside Pennington, senior running back Doug Chapman will be running for 1,000 yards once again, and other senior leaders, Mike Williams, John Grace, Giradie Mercer, Andre O’Neal, Ron Puggi, Carlos Smith, Jason Starkey, James Williams and Nate Poole will all be called upon to step up. College Football News, an Internet site dedicated to college football ranked free safety Rogers Beckett and Pennington as preseason All-Americans. "We are going to depend on a lot of seniors this year, but we still have many underclassmen who will be important to the team," Brewer said. Practice starts Aug. 7 when freshman report. Media day has been set for August 11. 1999 Herd Football Sep 4 at Clemson
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