South Alabama Jaguars at Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall walks into this one as the preseason league's toast; South Alabama walks in trying to prove the preseason poll wrong.

Bush’s Picks

USAMRSH

USAMRSH

OverUnder

Best BetMarshall

Marshall brings back a quarterback who was good enough to earn Preseason Offensive Player of the Year buzz in the league, while South Alabama can't even name its starter yet. That gap alone makes Marshall the side to trust here, especially with South Alabama replacing this much of its roster through the portal. This reads like a mismatch on paper before a single snap is played.

South Alabama

• +Returning starting RT Ethan Hubbard anchors rebuilt line
• +New DC Todd Orlando brings fresh defensive scheme
• −No confirmed starting QB heading into fall camp
• −Lost ~27 players in portal, including 3 O-linemen

Marshall

• +Preseason Sun Belt Offensive POY at quarterback
• +Picked 3rd in Sun Belt East with title votes
• −Defense forced a coordinator change after 2025
• −Second-year coach still building a winning identity

The headline matchup here is Carlos Del Rio-Wilson against a South Alabama defense that's being rebuilt on the fly. Del Rio-Wilson is back for Marshall after throwing for 2,043 yards and 17 touchdowns last season while adding 661 yards and 6 more scores on the ground, and the league noticed — he was tabbed Preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year. South Alabama, meanwhile, doesn't even have a settled answer at quarterback. Bishop Davenport ran the show in 2025 (2,072 yards, 12 TDs), but nothing about 2026 QB1 is locked in heading into fall camp.

Context matters here beyond the quarterback spot. South Alabama coach Major Applewhite blew up his defensive staff this offseason, bringing in Todd Orlando to run the defense, and the roster took real hits in the portal — reportedly around 27 players out the door, including 3 offensive linemen. That's a lot of continuity lost up front for a team replacing pieces with 11 transfers, 7 juco additions and 23 high schoolers. Marshall isn't standing pat either — new blood at receiver (Chris Culliver) and running back (a transfer from Kentucky) gives Del Rio-Wilson more to work with, and a new defensive coordinator arrived in December to shore up the other side of the ball. Neither program is publishing a number on this one yet, but expect Marshall to open as a comfortable favorite once books get around to it.

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Zoom out and the gap in expectations is the whole story. The Sun Belt's preseason coaches poll has Marshall 3rd in the East with actual first-place votes for the conference crown. South Alabama landed 6th of 7 in the West. This is only the 2nd meeting ever between these programs — South Alabama won the first one 28-0 back in 2023 — so there's no rivalry cushion here, just a program on the rise against one mid-rebuild.

South Alabama Jaguars

Oct 8?@ Arkansas State—

Oct 2?vs UL Monroe—

Sep 26?@ Kentucky—

Sep 19?vs Ohio—

Sep 12?@ Tulane—

Sep 5?vs SE Louisiana—

Marshall Thundering Herd

Oct 9?vs Coastal Carolina—

Oct 2?@ James Madison—

Sep 26?vs Gardner-Webb—

Sep 19?@ Missouri State—

Sep 12?vs Middle Tennessee—

Sep 5?@ Penn State—

South Alabama's case for a surprise here leans on Applewhite's staff shakeup actually paying off fast and a returning right tackle in Ethan Hubbard giving the rebuilt line at least one anchor. But that's asking a lot from a group replacing this much talent this quickly. Marshall's path to disappointment mostly runs through a defense that struggled enough in 2025 to force a coordinator change — if that unit isn't fixed by October, a offensively limited South Alabama team could hang around longer than expected.

South Alabama Jaguars

(0)

Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report

Marshall Thundering Herd

(0)

Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report

Bottom line: this is a program-trajectory game more than a rivalry game. Marshall arrives with the better quarterback, the better preseason billing, and momentum after just missing a bowl in year one under Tony Gibson. South Alabama arrives with questions everywhere — quarterback, offensive line, and a defense installing a new scheme under Orlando. On paper, this should be Marshall's game to lose.