Quote:HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- It was barely 20 degrees outside, with light snow falling and the wind whipping, but inside Marshall's sparkling new indoor practice facility, coach Doc Holliday was burning up the turf as he paced back and forth along the goal line.

The Thundering Herd were wrapping up practice last week, and Holliday was hell-bent on making sure their bloop kickoffs are perfect.

"I want it on the numbers [the 25] and better hang time," Holliday barked. Marshall was prepping for UAB, which boasts one of the most dangerous kickoff returners in the country, J.J. Nelson, who has already taken back three for touchdowns.

Quote:"If it was up to us, we'd play all the big teams. But it's not up to us," said Marshall running back Devon Johnson, who has bulled his way to 1,573 rushing yards this season. "We play the teams on our schedule and play everybody the same way.

"We just keep going no matter what anybody thinks about us, take one week at a time and figure that if we take care of our business that we'll get a chance against a team from a big conference in a big bowl."

And what will that prove?

"That we're actually a pretty good team and not just some small school that had a weak schedule," Johnson said.