ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After Conference USA's abbreviated bowl schedule finished Saturday, the league office posted the most interesting stat.
Up to that point, C-USA had the FBS leaders in touchdown passes by a senior (Brandon Doughty, Western Kentucky, 48), junior (Nick Mullens, Southern Mississippi, 38), redshirt freshman (Brent Stockstill, Middle Tennessee, 30) and true freshman (Chase Litton, 23 in 11 games).
Mullens and Stockstill joined Doughty and Louisiana Tech's Jeff Driskel in throwing for 4,000 yards.
If you watched Marshall's grind-it-out 10-3 season, you may have forgotten that C-USA historically is an offensive league. Then again, the Herd's 49-28 loss to WKU should have reminded you.
Of the quarterbacks in the league's top 10 in passing yards and/or efficiency rating, seven return. (Interestingly enough, both Old Dominion QBs are included.) You follow the QBs, you follow the future.
And if you look at MU's starting lineup, you should come to this conclusion: There is almost no way MU can replicate its defensive effort. There is zero way it an match what the 2015 specialists did.
I won't throw a bunch of numbers at you, but I'll tell you this: This was the best Marshall defense since 1999. You can point at the struggles against Purdue and WKU, but I'll come back with the '99 team's trouble with Western Michigan. You can't be the Steel Curtain for all 13 or 14 games in modern college football.
Look at some of the losses. Jarquez Samuel and Steve Dillon will be missed. I don't think Samuel had five missed tackles all year - when you got in his grasp, you were DOWN. No questions.
They will miss linebackers Evan McKelvey and D.J. Hunter. Look for Devontre'a Tyler and Shawn Petty to be on the field together - and they could be dynamite - but repeating this year's production on the second level is a lot to ask.
Kendall Gant's performance in the bowl game was encouraging, but the safety position will miss Taj Letman, one of the best junior-college recruits brought in under coach Doc Holliday. Letman caught on quickly in 2014 and led like a fifth-year senior this fall.
And this at cornerback: Junior Corey Tindal made an announcement on Twitter that read to me like he's leaving.
The future of the specialists should concern you. Tyler Williams performed for four years in the tradition of Chris Hanson and Curtis Head. Matt Cincotta wasn't Mike Bartrum or Chris Massey, but he was very good and got downfield to make tackles occasionally.
And Deandre Reaves as kick returner. He flipped momentum. Arguably, he stole a game or two. I'm hard-pressed to think of a kickoff return man that capable since James Williams of those late 1990s teams.
Those are your biggest holes. Offensively, the Herd's most notable loss is left guard Sebastian "Swede" Johansson. Right tackle Clint Van Horn could, and should, be granted an extra year.
2015 was Marshall's Year of the Defense. 2016 must be the Year of the Offense.
Barring a departure by strength and conditioning coach Scott Sinclair, Litton won't be so scrawny next season. Sinclair has repeatedly transformed young athletes into stronger yet not musclebound players who outwork opponents in the fourth quarter.
The Herd's 16-10 St. Pete Bowl victory over brawny Connecticut was another prime example. Yes the Huskies had problems, and they started on the offensive front, but that's not Marshall's concern. It was no accident that the Herd held the ball 19 minutes in the second half and no accident that the Huskies couldn't cross the 50-yard line in the fourth quarter.
The Herd will be fine at running back, as witnessed by some of Hyleck Foster's performances, and by Keion Davis' 10-carry assault in MU's final field-goal drive Saturday. Tony Pittman will still be around, and Delvin Weems will come on board after the Herd nearly needed to lift his redshirt.
That depth could bring Foster back to slot receiver; we'll see. His 99 carries in seven games has given him the ball-security confidence he didn't have before he lost his jobs at the slot and punt return.
The Herd should be able to replace Davonte Allen at "X." Raylen Elzy? Justin Hunt? This position needs an upgrade, so stay tuned.
And Litton and tight end Ryan Yurachek have the chemistry down. Emanuel Byrd has been solid at tight end, as well.
Litton will be given freer reign in coordinator Bill Legg's offense. The progress of Rakeem Cato was instructive - Legg was very conservative in Cato's freshman year, knocked defenses off guard with a super-tempo offense in Cato's sophomore season, refined the scheme in Cato's third year and generally flipped Cato the keys in year No. 4.
I think Litton is ahead of that schedule by a step.
In the Herd's division, WKU probably will contend, even with a new QB. Middle Tennessee should be better. Alex McGough will be a veteran at Florida International, though the Panthers are prone to dumb mistakes and flat efforts. Whoever emerges at QB for Old Dominion will be battle-tested.
Those four teams will score some points. Southern Miss, who Marshall is expected to visit, is back to full power. Pittsburgh and Louisville are on the schedule.
Marshall's offense had better be ready to rumble in 2016.
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This game received the Christmas gift of disrespect Thursday during ESPN's telecast of the Bahamas Bowl. On several occasions, the Worldwide Leader promoted its Saturday bowl offering, a five-game marathon.
Except for this: Only three games were mentioned, beginning with the Indiana-Duke game on ABC. The St. Pete Bowl and the Heart of Dallas Bowl (Southern Miss vs. Washington) were left off.
What, ESPN? Are you ashamed of televising a Conference USA school? Are you outsourcing graphics and somehow paying for them by the letter?
ESPN, you're getting more bush by the minute and it has nothing to do with budget cuts. I cheer, albeit in futility, for a stronger Fox Sports 1.
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With that, I wish an early happy New Year to all. See you in 2016.