Marshall's Charles Huff is On3 Group of Five national head coach of the week

Each week during the season, On3 selects a national Group of Five head coach of the week.

Our choice for Week 4: Marshall’s Charles Huff.

For the second time in two years, Huff led the Thundering Herd to a win over a Power Five opponent. After beating No. 8 Notre Dame last September, Huff guided Marshall to a 24-17 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday. 

Following an early Hokies touchdown, the Thundering Herd scored 24 of the game’s next 27 points in building a 24-10 lead that they held until midway through the fourth quarter. They then held on for the win after a Virginia Tech touchdown that cut the lead to seven.

Marshall is now off to just its second 3-0 start since 2014.

“They’re a good football team,” Huff said of Virginia Tech. “A premier program in the country. And our guys battled. Our guys battled. We’ve got good players too. Not as many as they do, but our guys battled and they found a way to win. I think our process helped us out. … Collectively, an organizational win.”

Honorable mentions

Central Michigan’s Jim McElwain: McElwain guided Central Michigan to a 34-30 road win over a South Alabama team that won 10 games last year and was just a week removed from a 33-7 victory over Oklahoma State. The Chippewas entered the game as a 16.5-point underdog.

USF’s Alex Golesh: A week after providing a significant test for Nick Saban and Alabama, Golesh and USF beat Rice, 42-29. Rice, which beat a Power Five opponent (Houston) two weeks ago, was a 2.5-point favorite. In just four games as USF’s head coach, Golesh already has more wins (two) than the Bulls had all of last under the previous USF staff. The victory over Rice was the Bulls’ first over an FBS opponent since 2021 and just their second since 2019.