FIU needs one win for bowl eligibility heading into Marshall game

On Nov. 14, 1970, a Southern Airways DC-9 commercial jet crashed on approach to Huntington (W.Va) Tri-State Airport. All 75 people aboard died, including 18 sets of parents and several prominent Huntington citizens. Also on board: 37 Marshall football players, eight coaches and 25 boosters.

Saturday is the 45th anniversary of the disaster. About 40 Marshall players and head coach Doc Holliday will take part in an annual Nov. 14 ceremony at the Memorial Fountain. Then, they’ll don black jerseys for the first time, helmets adorned with a “75” sticker and head out for Senior Day.

Their opponent: FIU.

A week after playing a home game in front of a little more than 400 fans, the Panthers will head into the middle of an emotional electricity box of 40,000 fans. But maybe that’ll be a boon for them as much as Marshall. After all, nobody owns the flowing energy. It’s accessible to both teams.

“That’s the kind of atmosphere you want to play football in,” FIU redshirt junior center Michael Montero said. “There’s going to be a lot of fans. It’s going to be a challenge for everyone. Especially how big this game is for us, too. And they’re coming off a loss. We’ve got some momentum from our win.”

Neither the crowd nor the atmosphere changes need.

FIU needs one win, either this week against Marshall or next week at home against Western Kentucky, to be bowl eligible. After a triple overtime upset loss to Middle Tennessee State last weekend, Marshall needs the game to stay one game behind Western in Conference USA’s East Division. Western and Marshall meet the day after Thanksgiving in the regular season finale.

Montero couldn’t remember the last time he played in front of a packed house at FIU, aside from the 72-0 loss to Louisville in 2013. Well, the Columbus graduate did at FIU Stadium, but for Columbus vs. Belen and, as he noted he played defensive line back then so welcomed anything that might disrupt the offense.

“I think it’s not going to affect us,” Montero said. “One of the things we talked about this week is the crowd noise. So we’ve gone to a silent count this week.”

The Sun Belt, FIU’s previous conference, and Conference USA contain several schools with two-deck stadiums they might pack as Division I-AA (now FCS) powers. Now, as FBS programs in the Group of Five conferences – and with most games televised and the changing attendance habits of college students – they fill only half to three-fourths. Marshall averages 26,272, almost 12,000 short of capacity.

Saturday’s about as unaverage as it gets at Marshall.

“Obviously this is a big game, No. 1, because it's being played on the day of the crash, the 14th,” Marshall coach Doc Holliday said at his Tuesday media session. “Our kids understand that. Our players understand the history of what Marshall football is all about and they take it very seriously so they understand the importance of this game, not only to the football team, but our community, fan base and our school and what it means to everybody. It's also a big game because our goals and dreams are still out there.”

In road losses to Louisiana Tech and Massachusetts, FIU drew seven personal four or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties from Conference USA crews in games where FIU coach Ron Turner felt the Panthers let their emotions get out of control. The obvious question is what he’d tell his team this week.

“Just focus on our selves. We say it every week. Don’t get caught up in the crowd or the noise,” Turner said. “I’ve never been there, but I’ve been to West Virginia and they say it’s the same. The crowds will be on you, yelling inappropriate comments and all kinds of stuff. I tell them, ‘Hey, don’t worry about it. Focus on what you’re doing. Focus on the guys in that locker room. Don’t’ worry about any cheap shots, (stuff) talking or anything. Do your job and stay focused.

“We do that, we’re a good football team.”

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 6:31 PM with the headline "FIU needs one win for bowl eligibility heading into Marshall game."