1991 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

The 1991 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by second-year head coach Jim Donnan, the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 11–4 with a mark of 5–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the SoCon. Marshall advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship playoffs, where they beat Western Illinois in the first round, Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals, and Eastern Kentucky in the semifinals before losing to Youngstown State in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game.^[1]

1991 Marshall Thundering Herd football
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, L 17–25 vs. Youngstown State
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	11–4 (5–2 SoCon)
Head coach	Jim Donnan (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Greg Briner (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Mickey Matthews (2nd season)
Captains	Derek Grier Madison Sayre Ricardo Clark Matt Downey
Home stadium	Marshall University Stadium
Seasons ← 1990 1992 →

1991 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 17 Appalachian State $^	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 8 Marshall ^	5	–	2	–	0			11	–	4	–	0
No. T–20 The Citadel	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
No. T–20 Furman	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Chattanooga	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
VMI	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Western Carolina	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
East Tennessee State	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Marshall played home games in the newly-opened Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	at Appalachian State	No. 14	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC (rivalry)		L 3–9	17,671	[2]
September 7	No. 8 New Hampshire*	No. 14	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 24–23	33,116	[3]
September 14	Morehead State*		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 70–11	24,127	[4]
September 28	Brown*	No. 20	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 46–0	22,223	[5]
October 12	at No. 2 Furman	No. 13	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC		W 38–35	16,125	[6]
October 19	at No. 11 (I-A) NC State*	No. 8	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC		L 14–15	41,019	[7]
October 26	at Chattanooga	No. 6	Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN		L 31–38	8,026	[8]
November 2	Western Carolina	No. 19	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 27–24 3OT	20,466	[9]
November 9	No. 18 The Citadel	No. 15	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 37–31	18,003	[10]
November 16	VMI	No. 10	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 61–0	17,535	[11]
November 23	East Tennessee State	No. 8	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 63–9	18,256	[12]
November 30	No. 14 Western Illinois*	No. 8	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)		W 20–17	16,840	[13]
December 7	No. 4 Northern Iowa*	No. 8	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)		W 41–13	16,889	[14]
December 14	No. 2 Eastern Kentucky*	No. 8	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)		W 14–7	21,084	[15]
December 21	vs. No. 13 Youngstown State*	No. 8	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)	CBS	L 17–25	12,667	[16]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

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