The game , with an official attendance of 40,139 , was telecast on ESPN2 . It was a rematch of one of Marshall 's most historically significant games . On November 14 , 1970 , the two teams met at East Carolina , with the Pirates winning 17-14 . That night , the plane carrying the Herd back to Huntington , West Virginia crashed just before landing , killing all 75 on board . The two teams had only met one time since the crash , a 45-0 East Carolina win in 1978 . They later played every year from 2005 to 2013 , when both schools were members of the C-USA East Division
crashed just before landing
Southern Airways Flight 932
2001 GMAC Bowl