Football Broncos face Marshall on national TV
Oct. 4, 2000
KALAMAZOO -- Western Michigan University's football team travels to Huntington, W. Va., on Thursday (Oct. 5) for a rematch of the 1999 MAC Championship game versus Marshall University.
Kickoff is 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN, and available regionally on the Bronco Radio Network.
Marshall scored a come-from-behind 34-30 win over Western Michigan in the 1999 championship game, which was also played on the Thundering Herd's home field.
Both Bronco coach Gary Darnell and Marshall coach Bob Pruett say there is no special rivalry between the two teams. In fact, because of the new tie-breaker rules in the conference, this contest between two teams from different divisions will have little significance in the standings.
The game will be significant to the two teams in lots of other ways. Marshall holds the current NCAA active home win streak with 33 consecutive home victories. With Western Michigan's huge win over Toledo, Marshall and WMU are heavy favorites to meet again for the MAC title, and that game will be played -- again -- in Huntington, W. Va.
Thursday's game may be less of a rematch of the championship than it is a preview.
WMU is 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference, with wins over Toledo (21-14), Ohio (23-10), and non-conference opponents Iowa (27-21) and Indiana State (56-0). The Broncos have won four in a row following a season opening 19-7 loss at defending Big Ten Champion Wisconsin.
Under head coach Gary Darnell, now in his fourth campaign, the Broncos are 12-1 in October. The only blemish on Darnell's October coaching record was a 26-24 loss at Central Michigan.
Marshall is 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the MAC. Their lone conference opponent so far was Buffalo, and their two loses came at Michigan State (34-24) and at North Carolina (20-15). Since rejoining the conference in 1997, the Thundering Herd is 24-2 against MAC opponents and has won all three football championships.
Bronco Football Radio Network
WFAT 96.5 FM Kalamazoo/Portage (flagship) WZUU 92.3 FM Allegan/Kalamazoo WWKN 104.9 FM Battle Creek/Jackson/Marshall WTVB AM 1590 Coldwater WVHQ 92.1 FM Dowagiac/Niles/South Bend WFUR AM 1570 Grand Rapids WBCH 100.1 FM Hastings WBCH AM 1220 Hastings
For more information, visit the Broncos on the Web <www.wmubroncos.com>.
Media contact: Daniel Jankowski, 616 387-4122; daniel.jankowski@wmich.edu