Helllooo everybody and come along for the ride as I birth the Marquette Golden Eagles program on NCAA 14.
In this episode, the Golden Eagles head south to Knoxville for an SEC matchup with the (1-3) Tennessee Volunteers. After winning the SEC Championship last year, the Vols have stumbled into this season losing three of their first four, including a major upset loss in Week 1 at the hands of Southern Mississippi.
Despite delivering the first conference championship in over 15 years, there are rumblings that Butch Jones may be on the hot seat after a horrendous start. Still too early to say he's coaching for his job, however, each week his job security drops lower and lower.
As for the opposition, Marquette enters with a red-hot 3-0 start to Year 5, coming off their most hard-fought win of the season last week against North Carolina. The offense has been clicking like never before as junior QB Greg Walker has displayed tremendous command under center and the JUCO addition of Josh Terry has already paid huge dividends.
The offense will face their toughest task yet as Neyland Stadium presents the 11th-ranked Toughest Place to Play in the country while the Vols pose a devastating defensive front led by senior DE Corey Vereen.
Led by QB Charles Smiley, who enters Week 5 as the 3rd leading passer in the nation, the Volunteers jump to an early 13-0 lead as the Marquette offense really struggles to get going. The Golden Eagles try to inch their way back into it, but could they overcome the rainy conditions and fierce road environment from Neyland Stadium to work a comeback and remain undefeated?
In the next episode, Marquette hosts their 2nd wave of visits headlined by #10 TE Tyson Williams who has stood as the top recruiting priority this season. With a couple other big names in attendance, it's imperative that the Golden Eagles put together a strong performance in front of the recruits against the Washington Huskies.
Following the game against UW, we'll get a recruiting update which should see us bring in our first commit of the season. Additionally, we'll get an updated look around the nation at the Top 25 and Heisman Watch, which most recently contained five running backs for the first time in this series.
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