Marshall — Sun Belt
HC
Tony Gibson · Joan C. Edwards Stadium · Huntington, WV · 38,016 cap
PPA off / def
0.16 / 0.16
2025
Class rank
#123
class of 2026
Returning PPA
99%
returning production
| 2024 |
OSU W 49–14 | Columbus |
| 2010 |
OSU W 45–7 | Columbus |
| 2004 |
OSU W 24–21 | Columbus |
2026 schedule
2025 results (5–7)
Statistical comps — 2025 Marshall's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (28 in / 22 out)
| Incoming |
|---|
| Christian Hamilton | WR | ← West Virginia | ★★★ |
| Keydel Painter | EDGE | ← Virginia Union | ★★★ |
| Brayden Hall | CB | ← Central Connecticut | ★★★ |
| Terry Nwabuisi-Ezeala | DL | ← Vanderbilt | ★★★ |
| Jaquez Joiner | IOL | ← UCF | ★★★ |
| Jamarion Wilcox | RB | ← Kentucky | ★★★ |
| Robby Martin | IOL | ← West Virginia | ★★★ |
| Josiah McLaurin | RB | ← Maryland | ★★★ |
| + 20 more |
Origins
On November 14, 1970 a plane carrying 75 players, coaches and boosters crashed on approach to Huntington and killed everyone aboard. The town rebuilt the program from freshmen, and Pruett's teams with Randy Moss and Chad Pennington went 114-25 in the 1990s.
Founded 1837 · Marshall Academy, named for Chief Justice John Marshall · first football 1895 · defined by Bob Pruett
All-time record
All-time
286–333–3
1913–2025
Win %
46.2%
82 seasons played
Winning seasons
26
32% of seasons
By level: ii/iii 0–18 (1913–1953) · D-II 3–3 (1939–1947) · FCS 7–14 (1948–1995) · FBS 276–298–3 (1959–2025)
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 1999 | 13 | 0 | Mid-American |
| 2014 | 13 | 1 | Conference USA |
| 1998 | 12 | 1 | Mid-American |
| 2002 | 11 | 2 | Mid-American |
| 2001 | 11 | 2 | Mid-American |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1913 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 351 | 66% |
51% | 8 of 136 | 7.2 | 17% |
| 2nd down | 258 | 55% |
43% | 74 of 136 | 5.5 | 14% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 36 | 64% |
61% | — | 4.7 | 6% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 56 | 32% |
36% | — | 5.0 | 7% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 51 | 22% |
24% | — | 5.6 | 12% |
| 4th down | 13 | 69% |
23% | — | 2.6 | 8% |
163 drives · 34% ended in points · 6.7 plays and 38.7 yards per drive · 0.86 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 4 | Middle Tennessee |
C. Del Rio-Wilson pass to D. Lacey for 68 yds for a TD |
68 | 6.47 |
| 5 | Louisiana |
Michael Allen 68 Yd Run (Lorcan Quinn Kick) |
68 | 5.52 |
| 10 | Coastal Carolina |
End of 1st quarter. |
86 | 5.11 |
| 3 | Eastern Kentucky |
Carlos Del Rio-Wilson pass complete to Adrian Norton for 30 yds for a TD (Lorcan Quinn KIC… |
30 | 4.92 |
| 2 | Missouri State |
Zion Turner pass to Jakolbe Baldwin |
64 | 4.66 |
| 1 | Georgia |
Zion Turner pass complete to Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw for 44 yds to the UGA 1 for a 1ST dow… |
44 | 4.60 |
| 12 | Georgia State |
(04:14) No Huddle-Shotgun #7 C.Del Rio-Wilson pass complete short right to #81 T.Payne cau… |
48 | 4.01 |
| 5 | Louisiana |
Demarcus Lacey 32 Yd pass from Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (Lorcan Quinn Kick) |
32 | 3.97 |