Marshall football has its biggest September in several years, schedule-wise, and we're not talking about the Sept. 10 opener against Morgan State.
We're not talking about the Sept. 17 game with Akron, either, though Terry Bowden's Zips are nothing to sneeze at. They won the last four regular-season games of 2015, then sneaked out of the Idaho Potato Bowl with a 23-21 win over Utah State.
But here, I'm discussing the next two games, the marquee home game Sept. 24 against Louisville and the Oct. 1 game at Pittsburgh.
For the first time ever, the Thundering Herd will play two consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, and for the first time since 2011 it will play two "big name" teams back-to-back. (MU played Virginia Tech and Louisville in consecutive weeks in '11, when the Cardinals were in the old Big East.)
Finally, the world can pipe down about Marshall not playing anybody. The Herd is not playing Baylor (as Rice is, at home), but what the heck. Chances are, the "Group of 5" representative in the big-boy bowls will have lost a game.
In looking at Louisville and Pitt, you can start with one 2015 game - they played each other last Nov. 21 before 42,119 at Heinz Field. The Panthers scored 35 fourth-quarter points and held on to win 45-34.
Nathan Peterman threw for 232 yards and four touchdowns, and Qadree Ollison ran for 152 yards and a score. Avante Maddox scored on a 30-yard interception return late in the first half to make it 42-17.
The Cards only ran 24 times, but seven of those were sacks. Net gain: minus-1 yard. Three quarterbacks combined for 355 yards and three touchdowns.
Louisville closed the gap to 42-34 with 12:55 left, in part with a Lamar Jackson 49-yard pass to Jamari Staples and a Jackson 2-yard run. Chris Blewitt (awful name for a kicker) hit an 18-yard field goal to give Pitt a two-score lead with 5:25 left. The Cardinals failed to cross midfield and the Panthers ran out the clock.
There's the summary. Now, let's figure out which of this game's contributors will be back, and probably will play the Herd. Let's start with Louisville.
The Cardinals finished 8-5 and are expected to be better. Upwards of nine offensive starters and eight on defense return. Four potential NFL players decided to return for their senior seasons.
Jackson ran for 226 yards in the Cards' win over Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl, but spent the spring trying to become a more polished pocket passer. It seems he is the starter over Kyle Bolin, after the two battled through last season.
Staples, the leading receiver in 2015, might ring a bell. He came to Louisville as a refugee of the Alabama-Birmingham program, which was shut down days after the 2014 season. He didn't do much against Marshall - he missed the 2013 game with an injury and was targeted just once in the 2014 game.
Staples and the No. 2 receiver, James Quick, are back. They combined for 1,262 yards and eight TDs.
The Cardinals' defense will revolve around linebacker Keith Kelsey (107 tackles, 12 for loss), cornerback Trumaine Washington (four interceptions) and safety Josh Harvey-Clemons (88 tackles). Defensive tackle DeAngelo Brown (6.5 tackles for loss) is a 300-pound load inside.
For Pitt, Peterman will return after throwing for 2,287 yards and 20 touchdowns. He is one of those two-year graduate transfers, coming from Tennessee after starting two games in his three years. Tyler Boyd was his top target, but he left early and was drafted in the second round by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ollison is a load at 6-foot-2, 230 pounds. Four offensive lineman return, and they run 6-6, 300; 6-5 300; 6-4 335; and 6-6, 300.
Ollison and safety Jordan Whitehead were the ACC's offensive and defensive rookies of the year, and tied for the overall rookie award.
Defensively, the Panthers lose three all-league picks, but return seven starters from last November.
There is something Herd fans can discuss, along with MU's perilous backup quarterback situation.
nnn
With a big chuckle, I am remembering when former Marshall coach Mark Snyder declared that you need five quarterbacks in the program. Never mind you can't give enough reps for more than three.
And never mind that backups tend to depart in search of playing time. A genuine "best of luck" to Michael Birdsong, who is heading to Tennessee Tech to play for first-year coach Marcus Satterfield. Trivia item: Satterfield played wide receiver and punter for East Tennessee State from 1995-98, thus facing Marshall twice.
So with Chase Litton and incoming freshman Garret Morrell being the only scholarship QBs in the fold, the focus turns to (a) any late transfers and (b) emergency throwers.
For the latter, two come to mind. Tight end Emanuel Byrd comes to mind. He played QB at Albany (Georgia) High and early in his Georgia Military career, before moving around the offense. Linebacker Shawn Petty's four-game stint as Maryland's QB late in 2012 was one of the wildest stories I talked about before MU's 2013 bowl game against the Terrapins.
Anybody else want to take a shot?