The Marshall Thundering Herd has been to Boise before, the year was 1994 and the occasion was the semi finals of the then 1-AA Football playoffs.

I was in the booth calling the game on radio with the Paul J. Schneider as the Thundering Herd took a lead into halftime. But as we learned last week in Tallahassee, the Broncos come to play a complete game and Boise State rallied to beat Marshall 28-24.

Boise State advanced to the 1-AA Championship game the next week, ironically played at Marshall's home stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The Broncos lost to Youngstown State 28-14 to finish the year 13-2.

It was after that game Boise State head coach Pokey Allen was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that eventually took his life.

It was an unforgettable time in Boise State football history and Marshall's return to the blue for the first and only time since 1994 has rekindled many memories.

Before the Marshall game in 1994 coach Allen promised to ride a horse down Broadway if Bronco fans put more than 20,000 fans into Bronco Stadium. They did and on a snowy Boise day, Pokey Allen rode a horse down Broadway to keep his promise.

Last week Marshall opened the season beating VMI (Virginia Military Institute) 56-17. The Herd had 29 offensive plays of 10 yards or more, much like the 28 plays of 10+ yards BSU ran versus Florida State.

Just saying, as they did in 1994, the Herd will come to Boise Saturday night for a 7 pm kickoff and present a challenge to the Broncos.

 

 

 

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