Marshall crushes Southern Miss, improves to 9-0

Marshall remained undefeated and defeated Southern Miss 63-17 tonight in Hattiesburg, MS. Southern Miss jumped out to a 14-0 lead thanks to early success on the ground and Todd Monken rolling the dice with some gutsy calls. However, Marshall woke up and ended the game on a 63-3 run, winning 63-17.

Southern Miss opened up the game with a long drive that resulted in a short Ito Smith touchdown run. Then, Todd Monken made a gutsy move, attempting an onside kick which Southern Miss recovered. The Golden Eagles then scored again on another Ito Smith touchdown run making it a 14-0 USM lead. Monken rolled the dice again, trying another onside kick which Southern Miss again recovered but it was negated due to an offsides penalty.

Marshall then scored 21 points in a five minute timespan en route to a 28-17 lead at halftime. Marshall dominated the second half, outscoring Southern Miss 35-0. Rakeem Cato threw for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Marshall's ground game was strong, with 335 yards total with an average of 8.8 yards per rush.

Marshall is now 9-0 and would appear to be in the driver's seat for the non power 5 "access bowl" spot. They'll play UAB next week at Legion Field in Birmingham. Southern Miss falls to 3-7 (1-5 in CUSA) and will turn around and travel to San Antonio for a Thursday night matchup against UTSA.