HUNTINGTON - Let's consider the immediate future of Chase Litton, who was pressed into full duty Saturday in Marshall's 45-7 win over Norfolk State.
Was his 270-yard, four-touchdown, no-interception start a function of being polished beyond his years, or the product of soft opposition?
Valid question. I will give credit to NSU - while being a typical Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team of a few studs and a load of mistake-prone, jersey-filling plodders, the Spartans were decidedly better than Herd foes Gardner-Webb (2013) and Rhode Island (2014).
That's not much of a compliment, and this Spartan team has its shortfalls. Linebacker Deon King had 21 tackles Saturday because he had to, basically. Slants and everything else down the middle were open all day.
Those big men on the three-man front weren't very good. "They got tired really quick because they were really big," said Marshall center Michael Selby.
But let's give Litton the benefit of the doubt. His teammates certainly were.
"He was fine," Selby said. "We practiced with Chase multiple times through spring and [preseason] camp. I'm sure he was nervous; I'd be nervous if I was coming in and playing quarterback.
"But overall, he didn't show it."
Deandre Reaves caught Litton's first two touchdown passes. About the first, Reaves said, "He kind of put it out there in stride for me. My man was kind of playing off of me, so I just had to get in the hole and outrun him."
OK, enough Norfolk State. Up next for Litton, Michael Birdsong or both is Kent State. As Marshall fans remember from the Thundering Herd's recent Mid-American Conference stint, the Golden Flashes often don't have much flash.
But last week, they brought out the boobirds in Minnesota, losing only 10-7. They might be able to play a little defense.
(As you alertly point out the Flashes lost 52-3 to Illinois, dig a little deeper. The Fighting Illini scored their first five touchdowns on drives of 38 or fewer yards.)
The Mid-American Conference has been a bear all month. MAC schools are 5-5 vs. other "Group of 5" teams, including Ohio's win over the Herd, and own three wins over "Power 5" teams. Toledo has knocked off Arkansas and Iowa State.
So what got into Kent, which is 7-19 after its 11-3 season of 2012?
Kent's defense took advantage of a struggling Minnesota line and an out-of-sync passing game. The Flashes scored their only touchdown on cornerback Demetrius Monday's 80-yard fumble return and held the Golden Gophers to 104 yards rushing, 288 total, and 13 first downs.
Combine that with the Herd facing a road game, and Litton's degree of difficulty will take a sizable jump.
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On the flip side, the Gophers blanked Kent's offense, doing so by allowing just 142 yards on 59 plays - 2.4 yards on average.
Against Illinois, the Flashes (1-2) gained 245 total yards and turned the ball over four times. In those two games, the Flashes converted just 6 of 35 third downs and dented the "red zone" just once.
If you're wondering, Kent's win came against another one of those MEAC teams, Delaware State, 45-13. The Hornets are even lower on the MEAC pecking order than Norfolk State.
So the early read for the 3:30 p.m. Saturday game at Dix Stadium is this: Marshall's defense could (should) dominate as long as it's not facing short fields. Perhaps the Herd could skip its ritual 7-0 deficit.
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Ah, yes, those opening opposition touchdowns. You know the drill: The Herd wins the toss, defers and kicks off. If the other team wins the toss, it chooses to receive and the Herd kicks off.
And either way, that other team drives for a touchdown on the game's first possession. Norfolk State turned the trick Saturday.
"We weren't really rattled," said linebacker D.J. Hunter. "We just had to calm down and make our plays. I've got faith in our secondary."
That has now happened seven times in Chuck Heater's three seasons as defensive coordinator. Two other times the opponent has kicked a field goal in the game's opening possession and five other times opposing offenses have provided the game's first points in later drives.
But the Herd's adjustments tend to come quickly, and effectively. Marshall's record in the 14 games in question? 9-5.
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I'm remembering why Tommy Shuler fielded punts most of last season despite having a slightly better chance of breaking a return for a touchdown as I do.
Hyleck Foster is muffing his way out of the that chore,. I'm not sure he should have been reinserted after his first fumble in the first quarter, the one Keith Baxter recovered.
But there Foster was in the fourth quarter, committing a monster faux pas by trying to field one of those chunked Bo Lomax punts on the bounce. Unless I was seeing things, MU coach Doc Holliday didn't even wait until the Spartans recovered to step onto the field and chew out Foster.
(Doc needs a tethering system to keep him on the sideline. A good project for the students in MU's new engineering center.)
It may be too much to stick Reaves back there, adding to his kickoff return and slot-receiver duties, but coaches have to think about it.
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Other thoughts from Saturday:
n Was that Hunter with his hand in the turf at defensive end? Pretty much. He often sneaks onto the line as it is, but added a wrinkle to his cat-quick moves.
"I just do that to get a little bit of a faster start off the ball," he said. "Our G.A., coach [Clint] McMillan, gave me the idea and I've seen it work, so I can take every little thing I can get."
I'll say it again: Tackles hate trying to block this guy.
n Kick return penalties are the worst. They kill your field position and they deserve a dishonorable mention in the Herd's offensive woes at Ohio.
MU committed four return penalties in that game, and followed that up with two against NSU. Three if you count two penalties on one return, one of which the Spartans had to decline.
That's six return fouls for the Herd in the last two games. Of all the horrific stats, that deserves more mention.
n Reaves' 36-yard TD reception was the Herd's longest pass of the season, and the only one longer than 27 yards. Davonte Allen's long reception is 19.
For Litton, Birdsong or whoever, there's one of your bigger challenges.