Green Out in Huntington

Stop it. I understand the marketing potential of having a White Out, Black Out or whatever. But now Marshall is having a Green Out tonight against Houston. Embattled coach Mark Snyder's job is on the ropes, so any ploy to take the focus off him is probably good.

To gain even more motivational pull, Snyder had his players switch from their customary white helmets after pre-game drills to green helmets (my example is not what they are wearing) with a white M. The Herd haven't worn green helmets since the mid-1980s.

So far, so good as Marshall's defense is playing extremely well and it looks like the Herd will go into halftime with a 16-3 lead. Much better effort than Marshall's White Out game against Cincinnati -- a 33-10 loss on Oct. 3.

I'm still not a big fan of these cheap motivational ploys, but it does give Rece Davis something to talk about. "We have Green Out conditions in the stands tonight." What the hell does that mean anyway?

Snyder may want to consider keeping the greenies the rest of the year since it looks like Marshall may end a three-game losing skid and improve to 4-4 and still be in the running in Conference USA.