The verdict is in and it’s probably not a surprise: Marshall’s version of the Oregon offense was neither prevalent nor effective against WVU Saturday.

Defensive co-coordinator Keith Patterson said he saw the Thundering Herd use some of the same plays “but their plays look a little different.”

There was a nervous laugh and then an understanding that he was politely saying the personnel wasn’t quite the same. Ambiguity went out the window a little later. Patterson said Marshall tried to play fast, especially early, but not for long.

“I kept thinking, ‘If they go tempo, we might score 100. They better not tempo us,'” Patterson said. “Our system is built to play tempo. We’re a field and boundary team so we should be able to get deployed and lined up pretty quickly. Plus, working against Dana’s tempo all spring and then during camp helps.”