College Football
Saturday, December 18
Pruett knows he's living on edge
Associated Press

PONTIAC, Mich. -- Bob Pruett's team is 12-0, ranked No. 11, yet was almost left out of the postseason bowl merry-go-round. Still, there is nowhere Pruett would rather be coaching than at Marshall.

The Thundering Herd (12-0) needed a miracle finish over Western Michigan in the Mid-American Conference championship game to land a berth in the Motor City Bowl. Marshall will face BYU (8-3) on Dec. 27 in the Silverdome.

But what if the Herd had lost the MAC championship game? They would have been an 11-1 team, sitting at home over the holidays.

The MAC champion gets an automatic berth in the Motor City Bowl.

"That's one of the reasons I favor a playoff system," Pruett said Thursday at a news conference with Brigham Young coach LaVell Edwards. "But the important thing is that we didn't lose that game. We won it, and we're here."

Even so, Pruett knows he's living on the edge. He has the unbeaten team, but BYU has the program with the national reputation. He doesn't mind.

"They're a name team," said Pruett, who recently signed a contract extension, turning down an offer from Houston. "They're nationally ranked. I think we've got the best of both worlds."

The fact that his team will be viewed as a bunch of underachievers if BYU doesn't win this game is not lost on Edwards. He knew he was taking a chance accepting the bid to this game. But he didn't become famous by ducking challenges.

"I thought this was an intriguing matchup," Edwards said.

Until 1997, Marshall was a Division I-AA team, beating up on the likes of Howard, Furman and The Citadel. The Herd moved up to Division I-A for the 1997 season and joined the Mid-American Conference.

That means Marshall now beats up on the likes of Ball State, Akron and Central Michigan.

The Herd is heading to the Silverdome for the third straight year. Marshall, despite having a wide receiver named Randy Moss, lost to Mississippi in the 1997 game, but beat Louisville in last year's game.

BYU, meanwhile, has become one of the most familiar football programs in the nation under Edwards. During his 28 years, the Cougars have posted a 251-94-3 record that includes a national championship in 1984.

The Cougars, unranked in the AP poll but listed as No. 25 in the USA Today-ESPN Coaches' poll, could have played in the Las Vegas Bowl. But that game is being played this Saturday. Since this is exams week at BYU, the timing just wasn't right.

So, when the Motor City Bowl folks called, BYU accepted their bid, knowing the dangers.

"This was a chance to play in a dome, which we've never done before," Edwards said. "It means we don't have to worry about practice conditions. The other side, of course, is that Marshall is a terrific team."

Actually, the Cougars faced the same situation last season when they accepted a berth in the Liberty Bowl. They paid for it, too. Tulane, like Marshall, was undefeated and featured a strong quarterback -- Shaun King. Tulane beat BYU 41-27 in that game.

"I'd probably feel different if I were younger," the 68-year-old Edwards said. "I'm at the point where if we win, it's because of mature leadership. If we lose, the game has passed us by."

Pruett hopes that by staying, he can build a national reputation for Marshall the way Edwards did for BYU. This season, he took the Herd on the road and returned with a win over Clemson. Next season, Marshall will play Michigan State and North Carolina.

"We're using this game just to see where we are," Pruett said.

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