WHAT YOU NEED NOW - CONTENT UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY
June 27, 2005
MU COUNTDOWN
#4—Sept. 20, 2003: Marshall Defense Holds Strong to Preserve 27-20 Victory
by Grant Traylor
Huntington News Network Sportswriter
As Marshall officially winds down the final ten days of being a member in
the Mid-American Conference, the talk has certainly shifted to Marshall
football in Conference USA.
But, before shutting the gates on the MAC career, HNN would like to take a
chance to look back at some of the great moments in Marshall football.
The following is one part of a 10-day series of the greatest football games
over Marshall’s eight years in the Mid-American Conference…from ashes to
glory and beyond.
Here’s a look at our #4 classic: Marshall’s first victory over a top 10
team: a 27-20 victory over Kansas State in Manhattan, KS. Huntington, WV -- Marshall’s defense forced four turnovers and stopped
Kansas State from scoring on the game’s final play to hold on for a 27-20
victory over the #6 Wildcats in Manhattan, KS.
After Kansas State had scored with 4:35 to go in the first quarter, the
Wildcats drove again deep into Marshall territory looking to put the game
out of reach early.
However, Johnathan Goddard took an option pitch out of mid-air and raced
84-yards for the tying score to give Marshall momentum heading to the second
quarter.
Both teams were without the services of their starting quarterbacks as
Kansas State’s Ell Roberson and Marshall’s Stan Hill both watched the game
from the sidelines.
That forced both to go to the ground game, a move that would have seemed to
favor Kansas State as they featured all-Big 12 running back Darren Sproles.
However, the Marshall defense was able to minimize Sproles efforts, holding
him to 77 yards on 14 carries.
Meanwhile, Marshall got 226 yards on the ground, including 112 from Butchie
Wallace on only 17 carries.
After the first quarter, Marshall held Kansas State without a touchdown for
nearly three quarters, but two field goals by Wildcats kicker Joe Rheem kept
the game close at 16-13 going into the fourth.
A 21-yard field goal by Nick Kelly gave Marshall a 19-13 lead with 11:38 to
go in the game, but Sproles ran in a 12-yard touchdown and Rheem’s extra
point gave Kansas State a 20-19 lead with 8:22 left.
However, Marshall backup quarterback Graham Gochneaur connected with Jason
Rader on a 3-yard pass to put the Thundering Herd back on top. The two-point
conversion pass to Josh Davis was also converted, making it 27-20 with 3:30
left in the game.
Kansas State immediately went back to work and drove down inside the
Marshall 10-yard line, causing the 46,700 fans in attendance to stand in
anticipation of the game’s final play.
Marshall defense dropped into zone coverage as quarterback Jeff Schwinn
looked for an open receiver. Finally, he found receiver Davin Dennis break
between two defenders, but the pass went off his fingertips and bounded
away, giving Marshall a 27-20 road win over the #6 Wildcats.
Two weeks before, Marshall had come within minutes and an injury to Hill of
upsetting Tennessee on the road and finally they got the defense they needed
to pull the road upset.
It didn’t have any definite impact on the rest of the season as the team
finished 8-4 and did not win the MAC East title for the first time since
returning to the conference in 1997.
There was nothing dazzling about the win, no quarterback throwing for 200
yards and four scores as Marshall fans had been accustomed to in year’s
past. However, the team stuck together and for at least one Saturday, they
were good enough to walk into the house of a top-10 team and hand them an
“L”.
The mighty Mid-major from the Mid-American Conference had stunned the
nation….as a team!
