When the Marshall Thundering Herd loaded up to visit the West Virginia Mountaineers they forgot to pack the thunder. This game was another one in a string of “soft” games for ranked teams. #5 West Virginia had little trouble putting the game out of reach quickly. They scored 28 points in the first half to take a 28-7 lead, and the game was over. In the second half, Marshall could only muster 3 points. West Virginia kept adding scores and ran right over them 42-10.

Despite putting up 322 yards of total offense, the Thundering Herd could only score a lone touchdown. Marshall QB Bernard Morris only completed 54% of his passes for 168 yards. He threw one TD and one interception. Ahmad Bradshaw had 18 carries for 70 yards. Marshall was pretty much ineffective at moving the ball when it counted.

Pat White, Mountaineers QB, was 10 of 14 for 168 yards and 2 TD’s. His average completed pass went for 12 yards. The ten completed passes were distributed well among receivers. The real standout for this game was running back Steve Slaton. He was an absolute workhorse. Slaton got 33 carries and made the most of them. His longest run was 16 yards, and he scored 2 TDs as he racked up 203 rushing yards.

Next up for the West Virginia Mountaineers is a cupcake of a game against Eastern Washington. Oregon State destroyed Eastern Washington 56-17 yesterday. It looks like West Virginia will be started the season 2-0.