We Are Marshall Trivia Quiz

Answer: The student body convened outside the building and chanted the school's motto.

Nate Ruffin (played by Anthony Mackie), a team captain who hadn't flown with the team because of an injury, organized a gathering of the students outside the building where the board was meeting. Ruffin crashed the board meeting and brought the members to the window.

The students chanted, "We are--Marshall!" on cue, leaving no doubt as to what they wanted the Board to do. They decided to proceed with hiring a new coach, and starting over.

Answer: Red Dawson, an assistant coach

Red was supposed to fly to the game with The Thundering Herd, but at the last minute, while walking across the tarmac to the plane, he did a favor for another assistant coach and traded assignments with him. The other guy had been leaving on a recruiting tour that would take several days. He didn't want to go, because it would mean he would miss his granddaughter's piano recital, so they switched duties; the other coach boarded the plane for the short trip to the game and back, and Red headed off to spend some days on the road finding new team members.

The brief scene when Red returned home after hearing the news of the crash, is moving. His wife believed him dead until he pulled into the driveway.

Answer: He was, but he refused the offer.

Red, who was played by Matthew Fox, was the first person to be offered the head coaching job, but he turned it down. He was too overwhelmed by the tragedy, and the turn of events that spared him, to deal with it at the time. He spent the days following the crash building a shed on his property, something he'd promised his wife he'd do a while ago. University President Dedmon came to Red's house to try without success to convince him to come back as head coach.

As he left after his unsuccessful recruiting effort, President Dedmon said to Red's wife, "If it had been me, I'm not sure I'd have the strength to get out of bed in the morning. Let him build a hundred sheds if he wants."

Answer: A coach called the school to offer his services.

Jack Lengyel (McConaughey), a football coach from Wooster, Ohio, called Dedmon to express interest in the job. Dedmon drove to Wooster to interview him. The interview didn't go well until the end, when Lengyel answered Dedmon's question about why he wanted the job.

He said his answer wouldn't be complicated; Dedmon replied, "I've had four months of complicated; I just want honest." Lengyel said he'd thought about how much he loved his wife and kids, how hard it would be to lose them; he figured it was pretty tough for Marshall, and he thought maybe he could help. That speech (and the complete absence of any other candidates) got him the job.

Answer: "Now I just need fifty-five more!"

No question but that there was a daunting challenge ahead for the coach. One very bright spot was that Coach Lengyel WAS successful in convincing Red Dawson to come back as an assistant coach, for one season. They were able to recruit several other coaches as well, but finding players was almost impossible. Young talented athletes wanted a shot at a winning team, or at least a team that could put 11 men on the field! No one was willing to take a chance on Marshall.

Answer: Petition the NCAA to allow freshmen to play for Marshall

President Dedmon, beautifully played as a mild-mannered and somewhat diffident man by David Strathairn, was pessimistic about their chances of getting NCAA to grant the school an exception; the regulatory commission was known not waive rules easily. He wrote and called the NCAA numerous times seeking permission to play freshman, but each time his request was rejected. Finally, in a short but funny scene, Coach Lengyel convinced him to go to the NCAA in person to plead the University's case ("You didn't propose to your wife on the phone, did you?--and she didn't accept in a letter, did she?"). Dedmon went, and the NCAA caved. If not for that, it's unlikely they'd have been able to recruit enough players to play in the '71 season. Once they got the exception, they got players--freshman, but players nonetheless!

Answer: A strategy designed for teams with weak offenses

"The Veer" was a strategy Red remembered when the coaches were wracking their brains for new strategies to help their mostly-freshman team play better. Developed by a coach in Texas, it was being run almost exclusively by West Virginia University (WVU), Marshall's neighbor and sometime rival in Morgantown. Hmmm...

Answer: There were crosses labeled with the letters "MU", on their helmets.

If this scene didn't choke you up, you need help.

Jack and Red, in a stunningly audacious move, went to West Virginia University to ask its head coach to "give some pointers" on how to execute "The Veer". They just walked in to their rival's headquarters and asked for state secrets. What was really amazing is that the WVU coach, after dissolving into incredulous laughter at their request, gave them access to the team's film library containing all their play footage! "We don't play you this year, so have at it!"

Two players entered the film room while Red and Jack are there, before the WVU coach could intercept them; they'd been told to watch some films after practice. Their coach followed them in and told them to forget about it. They turned to face their coach, revealing on the backs of their helmets small crosses in green (Marshall's color) labeled "MU". The WVU coach, seeing that Jack and Red had noticed this, made a joke, "The colors kinda clash, don't they?" Jack, visibly moved, said, "First class, Coach...first class." The other coach, very serious, replied, "Whatever you need, you just let me know."

Answer: A shoulder injury

He had a dislocated shoulder when the movie opened, and he re-injured it in the Morehead State game. He wanted to play despite the injury, which was serious, and he did play until halftime in the Xavier game after he was hit again; then the coaches benched him.

There's a moving scene here between Ruffin and Red, both of whom came from the doomed team, where Red tells Ruffin he's done enough and it's okay to sit out.

Answer: The Xavier game

It was the team's first home game since the plane crash. It was a thriller that was undecided until the last seconds of the game, but they won on a touchdown pass. The fans stormed the field, and remained there for hours after the game ended, reluctant to leave. It was the first of only two wins that season.

Answer: President Dedmon

President Dedman was fired early in the semester; the reasons are not fully brought to light in the film. It was implied that his support of the new team made him unpopular with some of the Board members who had felt strongly that bringing back football was the wrong thing to do at the time.

He continued to attend the games, however, even though he'd made it clear from the start that he had no interest in, and no understanding of, football.

Answer: Assistant Coach Dawson

He lost his composure on the practice field and walked off; Coach Lengyel followed him. Dawson, near tears, said he didn't think forming a team that couldn't win was any way to honor the team that had been, and he quit.

Answer: To the gravesite of several players who had been buried together

Another very moving scene. Coach Lengyel gave a stirring pep talk to his players, and as he spoke, Coach Dawson rejoined the group. The scene took place at the gravesite of six players whose bodies had been so damaged in the crash as to be unidentifiable; they'd been buried together as a result.

Answer: President Dedmon

The coach handed the ball to Dedmon, explaining (because Dedmon knew nothing about football) that it is customary to give the game ball to the most valuable player. Dedmon's response was that he wasn't a team member, and Coach Lengyel responeds, "This is Marshall--we'll take anybody!"

Answer: He stayed four years, all losing seasons, then he resigned.

Lengyel resigned after four seasons with The Thundering Herd. His record there was 9 and 33. The team didn't have another winning season until 1984, but after that they won eight conference championships, five bowl games, and two national championships in their division.

Coach Lengyel ultimately became the coach of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame; President Dedmon accepted a position at another college; Nate Ruffin left the area when he graduated. Red Dawson resigned as he'd intended after the 1971 season and never returned to football.