THE GAME
Gardner-Webb begins a four-game road swing on Saturday, traveling north to face Marshall at 3:30 pm in Huntington, WVa. The game will stream live on ESPN+, with Chad Bush and Doug Chapman on the call from Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Dave Friedman and Mike Pacheco will be in the radio booth to broadcast the game live on WGNC 1450 AM / 101.1 FM (TuneIn Radio App).

HOT ROUTES
Gardner-Webb head coach Tre Lamb (33, September 16, 1989) is the second youngest head coach in the FCS ranks currently, with only Austin Peay skipper Scotty Walden (32, November 15, 1989) slightly younger.

Marshall head coach Charles Huff was 2-0 vs. Gardner-Webb as a student-athlete at Hampton, helping the Pirates to a comeback home win in 2004 and a big road win in 2005. Huff started at center in Boiling Springs for the 8th-ranked Pirates in 2005 and cleared a path for 325 rushing yards in a 52-21 Hampton win

Gardner-Webb is playing three FBS opponents in a season for the first time in program history. GWU played two FBS foes in 2009 (NC State, Buffalo), 2011 (Ohio, Wake Forest), 2019 (Charlotte, East Carolina) and 2021 (Georgia Southern, Charlotte).

Gardner-Webb is 45-13 when limiting opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. GWU has held each of its first two opponents under 100 yards rushing this season.

Gardner-Webb has two preseason All-America selections on its roster – Narii Gaither and Ty French – for the first time since 2014. GWU is the lone Big South squad with multiple preseason All-America selections in 2022.

Gardner-Webb has been without Gaither for all but two snaps over the past three game due to an injury. The  Runnin' Bulldogs hasn't generated more than 100 yards rushing in any of those three games as a team.

The Runnin' Bulldogs have scored 50 or more points 19 times during its NCAA Division I tenure, going 18-1 in those games. The only loss came in a 53-51 sprint at Charlotte on October 5, 2013.

Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern are the two remaining original football members of the Big South Conference. The two schools began play in 2002, with GWU claiming that first league trophy. The first conference season featured GWU, CSU, Liberty and Elon.

SERIES NOTES
Marshall leads the series 1-0 on the strength of a 55-0 win on September 7, 2013 in Huntington, WVa. ... Gardner-Webb is 0-1 against the Sun Belt this season, falling 31-27 at Coastal Carolina on September 10 ... The Thundering Herd meeting marks the second of three FBS games for Gardner-Webb this fall (at Liberty on 10/15) ... Gardner-Webb freshman offensive lineman Evan Ferguson (Spring Valley HS) is the son of former Marshall All-America lineman Aaron Ferguson.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Gardner-Webb will play a program-record seven road games this season, including four in the month of October. The four-game road swing ties the longest in program history, with the previous set happening from September 12-October 17 in 2009. GWU went 2-2 that year with wins at Western Carolina and Charleston Southern sandwiching losses at NC State and Buffalo. Gardner-Webb will play at Marshall (10/1), at Robert Morris (10/8), at Liberty (10/15) and at Charleston Southern (10/22) before getting back home to play Bryant (10/29) in Spangler Stadium.

RED ZONE 'D'
Gardner-Webb's defense has been stellar at keeping teams out of the end zone when pressed inside its own 20-yard line this season. Opponents are converting just 56 percent of their red zone chances into touchdowns, scoring only five in nine trips. Gardner-Webb has allowed one field goal as well for a 67 percent overall effort protecting its red zone.

THIRD DOWN SUCCESS
The Runnin' Bulldogs have been successful on each side of the ball on third down, converting 47.4 percent of the time offensively and limiting opponents to a frigid 27 percent on the other side. The offensive conversion rate is 19th nationally, with the defensive rate 12th nationally. 

TOUGH SCHEDULE
Gardner-Webb's opponents through its first four games have combined to go 13-3 so far (81.3%), with Coastal Carolina posting a 4-0 mark to date. The 2022 September slate ranks No. 5 nationally by the NCAA in terms of toughness, just off the pace of Yale, Merrimack, Mississippi Valley State and Portland State. Both of Gardner-Webb's FCS games have come against teams ranked in each of this week's top-25 polls – #23 Elon and #13 Mercer. 

THE HEAD COACHES
Gardner-Webb head coach Tre Lamb is the second-youngest skipper in Division I football at age 33. He is 7-12 in his brief tenure, with three of those losses coming to 85-scholarship FBS programs. Charles Huff is 9-8 in his second year as a college head coach, which includes this season's impressive win at Notre Dame on September 10. Huff won seven games as a first-year head coach last season.

DEEP THREAT
Gardner-Webb's TJ Luther ranks 12th nationally and leads the Big South with 22.7 yards per catch through four games and has posted four 100-yard receiving games during his brief time in Boiling Springs. He had 188 yards through the air in the narrow loss at Coastal Carolina (9/10) and caught a 33-yard touchdown pass to give GWU a halftime lead at Elon (9/17). He followed up with seven catches for 100 yards and a 21-yard touchdown in the loss to No. 16 Mercer (9/24). Luther also had a 47-yard catch in that game to set up another GWU score.

RECORD BALANCE
In its first two games this season, Gardner-Webb smashed Division I era single-game records for rushing yards and passing yards. The 'Dogs ran for 412 yards and eight touchdowns in its opening win over Limestone (9/1) and followed with a record 448 yards through the air in a 31-27 loss at Coastal Carolina (9/10). 

THE MAYOR OF ROCK HILL
Gardner-Webb deploys one of the most talented offensive players in the country in Narii Gaither (5-10, 181, Sr.). The Rock HIll, S.C., native is a preseason FCS All-America choice as an all-purpose back and is one of only two men in the nation returning  after leading his team in both rushing yards and receptions. Gaither, who nearly reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark last season despite playing in just eight full games, was also recently named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List – given annually to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. He didn't disappoint in the season opener, churning out 137 yards and a score on just 13 carries – despite playing less than two full quarters. Gaither had just one carry for nine yards at Coastal, missing the final 65 snaps with an injury.

GREAT EIGHT
Gardner-Webb tied a school record with eight rushing touchdowns in its opening night win over Limestone (9/1) and did not pass for a touchdown for the first time since a February 27, 2021 win over No. 24 Elon during the spring season. Five different GWU players scored on the ground, with Janiero Crankfield (3) and Bailey Fisher (2) leading the way.

 BONJOUR
Another star returning for Gardner-Webb plays defense and does so at a very high level. Defensive end Ty French (6-3, 234, Jr.) is a preseason FCS All-America choice, as well as one of the nation's most feared pass rushers. A disruptive force on the edge, the Moultrie, Ga., native had 14.5 tackles for loss last season and recorded 7.0 sacks over his final four starts of the season. A two-time, first-team All-Big South selection, French was recently named to the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List. The Buchanan Award is given each season to the top defender in the Football Championship Subdivision. French had a half sack at Coastal Carolina (9/10) and added another sack at Elon (9/17).

TIGHT SQUEEZE
Gardner-Webb has been close to breaking the door down in the column over the past two seasons, with six of its 10 losses coming by just one possession. Two of those losses came last season in double overtime in back-to-back weeks. Gardner-Webb had a stretch of five-straight losses come by one possession, including nailbiters this season at FBS Coastal Carolina (31-27) and CAA contender Elon (30-24).

DIALING LONG DISTANCE
Gardner-Webb has four active ball carriers who has at least one touchdown run of 40 yards or more during their time in Boiling Springs – Narii Gaither (43 yards, TD), Donovan Jones (79 yards, TD), Jalin Graham (73 yards, TD) and Bailey Fisher (68 yards, TD)

MR. JAMARI BROWN
Sensational safety Jamari Brown (5-11, 198, Jr.) recorded a 54-yard interception return at Coastal Carolina in Week 2, and now has 111 career INT yards. He is the league's active career leader in the category, and needs 43 interception return yards to enter the Big South Conference's career Top 10. Brown also had a 17-yard fumble return in that game and was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. 

PARTNERSHIP
The Big South Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) have created an association of their football member institutions, to begin with the 2023 NCAA Division I football season. The unique agreement combines the two conferences' football membership to ensure NCAA championship access. It will provide the football member institutions a schedule of games against all the teams in their home conference and additional games against schools from the other conference. This new model for FCS football also creates more stability for the multisport conferences.

BIG FISH
Quarterback Bailey Fisher is one of the top men at his position in the country, evidenced by his appearance in the top-10 of 12 different offensive categories among the NCAA FCS active career leaders. Fisher is second on the list of players with at least 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing – accumulating 7,855 yards through the air and 1,036 yards on the ground. Fisher ranks in the top-25 in all of Division I (FBS/FCS) in eight different offensive categories.

FRENCH CONNECTION
Defensive end Ty French also ranks highly among active career leaders in the FCS, ranking third in the subdivision in tackles for loss per game (1.42) and ranking seventh in total sacks per game (0.78). French ranks 17th among all Division I active career leaders (FBS/FCS) in TFL per game. He also ranks 22nd in forced fumbles per game.

HIGHLY RATED
Gardner-Webb signed the two highest-rated recruits since the current rating system was implemented by 247Sports.com and Rivals.com. Receiver AJ Johnson (6-3, 204, Fr.) was a four-star recruit and was selected for the Under Armour All-America Game. He was rated as one of the nation's top-20 receiver prospects. Linebacker Ty Anderson (6-1, 210, Fr.) was rated as highly as the No. 24 recruit at his position nationally. The duo combined for more than 20 Power 5 offers.

BEST IN STATE
Three current players on Gardner-Webb's roster were State Players of the Year as seniors. Quarterback Bailey Fisher (Rabun County HS, Ga.) earned Class 2A Offensive State Player of the Year honors in 2017. Defensive back Jamari Brown (Eastside HS, Ga.) was named Class 4A Defensive State Player of the Year in 2018. Running back Donovan Jones (Champagnat Catholic, Fla.) was the Class 2A Offensive State Player of the Year in 2020

HELLO OLD FRIENDS
GWU will face one more former Big South Conference foe in 2022, traveling to Liberty (10/15) after facing off at Coastal Carolina (9/10) and Elon (9/17). Elon is now a member of the CAA, while Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt) and Liberty (C-USA)  compete in the FBS.

PRESEASON HONOR
Narii Gaither (5-10, 181, Sr.) was named Big South Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in July, and is only the second Gardner-Webb man to earn that honor in league history. Quarterback Tyrell Maxwell was also named prior to the 2017 season after earning the postseason award in 2016. Gardner-Webb has seen seven men earn Big South Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors, including four consecutive between 2007 and 2010.

ELITE COMPANY
Gaither is one of only three backs to pace the Big South Conference in total rushing yards for two consecutive seasons, joining Liberty's Dre Barnes (2002-2003), Stony Brook's Miguel Maysonet (2010-2012) and Coastal Carolina's De'Angelo "Hop" Henderson (2014-2015) also accomplishing the feat. Maysonet is the only man to lead the league for three consecutive seasons.

LET'S DO IT AGAIN
Gardner-Webb did lose its 2013 matchup at Marshall by a wide margin, but wound up ranked in the national top-25 just three weeks later after wins over No. 11 Richmond and No. 8 Wofford. GWU went on two win seven games that season. 

A CUT ABOVE
Transfer Cutrell Haywood (6-0, 217, Gr.) joined the program in January from the University of Idaho and made a quick, strong impression. The Stockton, Calif., native totaled 145 receptions during his time with the Vandals, including a pair of 50-catch campaigns. He was an All-State choice at Stagg High, leading the entire state of California in yardage after catching 100 balls for 1,644 yards and 22 scores. He had 11 catches for 96 yards and a score at Coastal Carolina (9/10).

TACKLES AND BOOKS
All-Big South linebacker William McRainey (6-0, 219, Jr.) has started each game of his career so far and led the league, while ranking No. 15 nationally with 109 total tackles last season. The Shallotte, N.C., native earned 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and is an Academic All-America candidate again in 2022.

THE BIG MAN
Starting tackle Travis Burke (6-8, 285, R-Fr.) is the tallest man to start a game for Gardner-Webb since junior college transfer Alex Vega (6-8, 385) started for the Runnin' Bulldogs during the 1995 season. Other recent starters near that height – defensive end Shaquille Riddick (6-7, 245) in 2013 and tackle Corey O'Daniel (6-7, 345) in 2010 both earned All-Big South honors, with Riddick named FCS National Defensive Lineman of the Year.

UP NEXT
Gardner-Webb gets back on the road next week, traveling to Moon Township, Pa., for the Big South Conference opener at Robert Morris (10/8). Kickoff is set for Noon and will mark the first league game for GWU in the Keystone State (ESPN+). Dave Friedman and Reginald Walker, Jr., will call the action live on WGNC 1450 AM / 101.1 FM (TuneIn Radio App). It will mark Gardner-Webb's 14th Big South opener away from home (6-7 record through 2021).