— By Bill Cornwell

The start of the Tony Gibson era is here.

A native of Van, Gibson makes his head coaching debut as the leader of Thundering Herd football at 3:30 p.m. Saturday when Marshall faces fifth-ranked Georgia at Sanford Stadium for a contest airing on ESPN.

Marshall and Georgia have played just one other time, when the Bulldogs scored a 13-3 win back in 2004 in Athens.

Marshall will face more than its fair share of headwinds Saturday as the Bulldogs have won 31 straight games at Sanford Stadium, a streak that dates back to 2019.

The coaching contrast is significant. While Gibson is beginning his MU coaching career, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is starting his 10th season at his alma mater. He has a 105-19 record with the Bulldogs and that includes back-to-back national ch

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