1992 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

The 1992 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by third-year head coach Jim Donnan, the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 12–3 with a mark of 5–2 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for second in the SoCon. Marshall advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship playoffs, where they beat Eastern Kentucky in the first round, Middle Tennessee State in the quarterfinals, and Delaware and Youngstown State in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game to win the program's first national championship. The team played home games at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.

1992 Marshall Thundering Herd football
NCAA Division I-AA champion
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, W 31–28 vs. Youngstown State
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	12–3 (5–2 SoCon)
Head coach	Jim Donnan (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Greg Briner (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Mickey Matthews (3rd season)
Captains	Mike Bartrum Jim Durning Bob Lane Byran Litton Michael Payton Phil Ratliff Donahue Stephenson
Home stadium	Marshall University Stadium
Seasons ← 1991 1993 →

1992 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 The Citadel $^	6	–	1	–	0			11	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Marshall ^	5	–	2	–	0			12	–	3	–	0
No. 16 Appalachian State ^	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Western Carolina	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Furman	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
East Tennessee State	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
VMI	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Chattanooga	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	7:00 pm	Morehead State*	No. 2	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 49–7	27,062	[1]
September 12	7:00 pm	Eastern Illinois*	No. 2	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 63–28	25,556	[2]
September 19	1:30 pm	at VMI	No. 2	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA		W 34–16	9,800	[3]
October 3	2:00 pm	at Missouri*	No. 1	Faurot Field Columbia, MO		L 21–44	39,644	[4]
October 10	7:00 pm	Furman	No. 6	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	SSN	W 48–6	28,272	[5]
October 17	4:00 pm	at No. 4 The Citadel	No. 5	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	SSN	W 34–13	23,025	[6]
October 24	4:00 pm	Chattanooga	No. 3	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	SSN	W 52–23	21,135	[7]
October 31	1:30 pm	at Western Carolina	No. 2	E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC		L 30–38	9,180	[8]
November 7	1:00 pm	Appalachian State	No. 5	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (rivalry)	SSN	L 34–37	21,467	[9]
November 14	1:00 pm	Tennessee Tech*	No. 10	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	SSN	W 52–14	15,388	[10]
November 21	2:00 pm	at East Tennessee State	No. 6	Memorial Center Johnson City, TN		W 49–10	5,002	[11]
November 28	1:00 pm	No. 12 Eastern Kentucky*	No. 6	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)		W 44–10	16,598	[12]
December 5	1:00 pm	No. 4 Middle Tennessee State*	No. 6	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	SSN	W 35–21	14,011	[13]
December 12	1:00 pm	No. 8 Delaware*	No. 6	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	SSN	W 28–7	16,323	[14]
December 19	12:00 pm	No. 7 Youngstown State*	No. 6	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)	CBS	W 31–28	31,304	[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1992 Marshall Thundering Herd football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 19 Mike Bartrum Sr WR 8 Troy Brown Sr WR 34 Melvin Cunningham Fr QB 18 Chad O'Shea Fr RB 36 Chris Parker Fr QB 14 Michael Payton Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 86 Billy Lyon Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Jim Donnan Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players drafted in the NFL

The following players were selected in the 1993 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Troy Brown	Wide receiver	8	198	New England Patriots

^[16]

Awards and honors

• Michael Payton, Walter Payton Award^[17]