Marshall running back Brenden Knox (20) busts through the Ohio defense for a second quarter touchdown on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, W.Va.
Bryan Walters|OVP Sports
Ohio receiver Shane Hooks (5) hauls in a second quarter touchdown between Marshall defenders Brandon Drayton (8) and Chris Jackson, right, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, W.Va.
Bryan Walters|OVP Sports
WVU sophomore defensive tackle Darius Stills (55) sacks Wolfpack quarterback Matthew McKay (7) during the Mountaineers' 44-27 victory on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va. (Alex Hawley|OVP Sports)
Bryan Walters|OVP Sports
As is the case with anything at the moment, things can change in the upcoming weeks ahead.
But, as it stands now, only Marshall has gone unscathed in regards to its 2020 college football schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ohio State Buckeyes, West Virginia Mountaineers and Ohio Bobcats have lost at least one game apiece from their regular season schedules this fall, while the Thundering Herd is still slated for a full docket of a dozen games with a little over a month left before college football officially kicks off.
Ohio State suffered the biggest blow thus far, mainly due to the fact that the Big Ten Conference has decided to play a league-only slate of games for the 2020 campaign.
The Buckeyes lost non-conference home matchups with Mid-American Conference programs Bowling Green (Sept. 5) and Buffalo (Sept. 19), as well as a much-anticipated road meeting in Eugene (OR) against the University of Oregon on Sept. 12.
Ohio State still has nine games on its 2020 schedule, which will officially begin on Saturday, Sept. 26, when it takes on visiting Rutgers at the Horseshoe.
The Buckeyes will play five of their nine Big Ten contests at home, including the season finale against archrival Michigan on Nov. 28.
Ohio University suffered only one loss on the schedule thus far as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced that all of its affiliated schools will not participate in football this fall.
The Bobcats were slated to face North Carolina Central in the season opener on Sept. 5 at Peden Stadium.
As it currently stands, Ohio will now open the 2020 campaign on the road during a Saturday, Sept. 12, meeting with Boston College at Alumni Stadium.
The Bobcats make their home debut against Marshall on Sept. 19 and close out non-conference play on Sept. 26 when they travel to Texas State University — a member of the Sun Belt Conference.
Ohio — which will play 5-of-11 games at Peden Stadium this fall — has a balanced mix of home and road contests headed into its Mid-American Conference schedule. The Bobcats begin MAC play on Saturday, Oct. 3, when they travel to Toledo.
West Virginia — from a location stand point — has the most favorable schedule of the four teams being discussed as the Mountaineers are slated to play six of their 11 games in the friendly confines of Milan Puskar Stadium.
WVU, however, is slated to open the year at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (GA) as part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The Mountaineers face Florida State in that featured event on Saturday, Sept. 5.
West Virginia opens its home schedule a week later when it faces Eastern Kentucky and would have completed its non-conference schedule on Sept. 19 when it faced visiting Maryland.
The Terrapins, however, are a member of the Big Ten Conference — and therefore are playing a conference-only schedule this fall.
The Mountaineers open Big 12 play on Saturday, Sept. 26, when they welcome Kansas State to town.
The 2020 campaign will be an emotional one for the Marshall Thundering Herd as this fall marks the 50th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that almost led to the dismantling of the program nearly a half-century ago.
Marshall’s first opponent this season is, not coincidentally, the East Carolina Pirates, the team that MU faced back in 1970 just hours before that tragic plane crash.
To commemorate the event, the Herd opens the 2020 schedule at ECU before a national television audience on Saturday, Aug. 29, in Greenville (NC).
Marshall then waits two weeks before making its home debut against Pittsburgh on Sept. 12, then travels to Athens the following week to take on Ohio in the Battle for the Bell. MU completes its non-conference schedule on Friday, Sept. 25, when it hosts Boise State.
The Thundering Herd — which has an equal slate of six home and six road contests — begins Conference USA play on Saturday, Oct. 3, when it welcomes Rice.
Unlike the Big 10 Conference, the Big 12 Conference, Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference have yet to officially address the COVID-19 situation in regards to scheduling.
So, at least for now, the plan for each of those respective conferences is to go forward as-is in regards to scheduling. That, however, could change in the upcoming weeks as kickoff draws nearer.
All starting times for all games, as of noon Thursday, July 23, are to be determined at a later date.
© 2020 Ohio Valley Publishing, all rights reserved.
MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD
| Date | Opponent |
| 8-29 | at East Carolina |
| 9-12 | vs. Pittsburgh |
| 9-19 | at Ohio |
| 9-25 | vs. Boise State |
| 10-3 | vs. Rice |
| 10-10 | at Western Kentucky |
| 10-17 | at Louisiana Tech |
| 10-24 | vs. Florida Atlantic |
| 10-31 | at Florida International |
| 11-14 | vs. Middle Tennessee State |
| 11-21 | vs. Charlotte |
| 11-28 | at Old Dominion |
OHIO BOBCATS
| Date | Opponent |
| 9-12 | at Boston College |
| 9-19 | vs. Marshall |
| 9-26 | at Texas State |
| 10-3 | at Toledo |
| 10-10 | vs. Eastern Michigan |
| 10-17 | at Miami (OH) |
| 10-24 | vs. Bowling Green |
| 11-4 | at Central Michigan |
| 11-11 | at Kent State |
| 11-18 | vs. Buffalo |
| 11-27 | vs. Akron |
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
| Date | Opponent |
| 9-5 | vs. Fla. State (at Atlanta) |
| 9-12 | vs. Eastern Kentucky |
| 9-26 | vs. Kansas State |
| 10-3 | at Texas Tech |
| 10-10 | vs. Texas Christian |
| 10-17 | at Texas |
| 10-24 | vs. Kansas |
| 11-7 | vs. Oklahoma |
| 11-14 | at Oklahoma State |
| 11-21 | vs. Baylor |
| 11-27 | at Iowa State |
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
| Date | Opponent |
| 9-26 | vs. Rutgers |
| 10-10 | vs. Iowa |
| 10-17 | at Michigan State |
| 10-24 | at Penn State |
| 10-31 | vs. Nebraska |
| 11-7 | vs. Indiana |
| 11-14 | at Maryland |
| 11-21 | at Illinois |
| 11-28 | vs. Michigan |
Bryan Walters can be reached at 740-446-2342, ext. 2101.
