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Going into Saturday’s game, there was little doubt that Marshall would come away victorious against FCS school Morgan State. What nobody saw coming was how dominate the Herd would be.
In a 62-0 rout of the Bears, Marshall could do little wrong.
The Herd started slow as Chase Litton gave up a fumble on the opening drive of the game. At that moment, there was wave a dread that fell over a lot of fans. There was a glimmer of hope when the defense stopped the bears on a 4th and short play on the Herd’s side of the field. The rest of that fear was washed away when Litton got the ball back and lead a 72 yard drive that ended with a 22 yard pass to Michael Clark.
The Herd took an early lead and never looked back.
Chase Litton connected with 5 different receivers to put up 6 touchdowns. The defense which was the topic of a lot of conversation forced two fumbles that were returned for touchdowns.
The first fumble the defense returned set a school record for longest fumble recovery for a touchdown. Corey Neely forced the fumble and George Davis scooped it up and took it to the house.
Litton threw for 309 yards in the game with an 81% completion rate. Tony Pittman ran for Marshall’s other touchdown. The Herd finished with 530 total offensive yards.
The rebuilding defense held up its end of the game as well. They forced four turnovers, and only allowed the Bears to gain 222 yards.
One area the Herd needs to improve on is how many penalties they gave up. Marshall was flagged eight times giving up 70 yards. This has been an area they have struggled with in the past, and appears to be something to keep an eye on this year as well.
Morgan State learned something many teams have come to find out: you do not just walk in to Joan C. Edwards Stadium and expect to win. Marshall’s .871 win percentage at home (2nd best in FBS schools) speaks for itself.
Marshall will host former MAC rival Akron next week. While the Zips may not be the tough competitors they were in the 90’s, they will provide a bigger challenge to Marshall. Marshall leads their series with Akron 9-4.