2001 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

2001 Marshall Thundering Herd football
2001 Marshall Thundering Herd football
MAC East Division champion; GMAC Bowl champion
MAC Championship Game, L 36–41 vs. Toledo
GMAC Bowl, W 64–61 2OT vs. East Carolina
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	East
Ranking
Coaches	No. 21
Record	11–2 (8–0 MAC)
Head coach	Bob Pruett (6th season);
Offensive coordinator	Ed Zaunbrecher (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Kevin Kelly (5th season)
Home stadium	Marshall University Stadium
	Seasons ← 2000 2002 →

The 2001 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The team was coached by sixth-year head coach Bob Pruett. Marshall finished the season with a 64–61 win over East Carolina in the GMAC Bowl. It was the highest scoring bowl game in college football history.

Quick Facts Marshall Thundering Herd football, MAC East Division championGMAC Bowl champion ...

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	7:15 pm	at No. 1 Florida*		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN2	L 14–49	85,445
September 8	7:00 pm	UMass*		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 49–20	27,533
September 15		at TCU*		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX		canceled^[a]
September 29	7:00 pm	Bowling Green		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 37–31	32,034
October 6	2:00 pm	at Northern Illinois		Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 37–15	17,367
October 13	1:00 pm	at Buffalo		University at Buffalo Stadium Amherst, NY		W 34–14	12,438
October 20	4:00 pm	Central Michigan		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 42–21	30,063	^[1]
October 27	7:00 pm	Akron		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 50–33	22,129
November 3	3:00 pm	at Kent State		Dix Stadium Kent, OH		W 42–21	12,607
November 10	12:00 pm	at Miami (OH)		Yager Stadium Oxford, OH		W 27–21	24,286
November 17	3:00 pm	Ohio	No. 24	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (Battle for the Bell)		W 42–18	24,932
November 24	7:00 pm	Youngstown State*	No. 20	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 38–24	16,041
November 30	7:30 pm	at Toledo	No. 20	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH (MAC Championship Game)	ESPN2	L 36–41	20,025
December 19	8:00 pm	vs. East Carolina*		Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL (GMAC Bowl)	ESPN2	W 64–61 ^2OT	40,139	^[2]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule

2001 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L	W		L
East Division
Marshall x	6	–	0	8	–	0	11	–	2
Miami (OH)	4	–	2	6	–	2	7	–	5
Bowling Green	4	–	2	5	–	3	8	–	3
Kent State	3	–	3	5	–	3	6	–	5
Akron	3	–	3	4	–	4	4	–	7
Buffalo	1	–	5	1	–	7	3	–	8
Ohio	0	–	6	1	–	7	1	–	10
West Division
No. 23 Toledo xy$	4	–	1	5	–	2	10	–	2
Northern Illinois x	4	–	1	4	–	3	6	–	5
Ball State x	4	–	1	4	–	3	5	–	6
Western Michigan	2	–	3	4	–	4	5	–	6
Central Michigan	1	–	4	2	–	6	3	–	8
Eastern Michigan	0	–	5	1	–	6	2	–	9
Championship: Toledo 41, Marshall 36
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Due to an unbalanced conference schedule, the team with best division record within each division was awarded that division's championship game berth. Rankings from AP Poll