HUNTINGTON — The Marshall Thundering Herd held off a late rally attempt to earn their eighth win of season and defeat the Georgia State Panthers 28-23 on Saturday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Herd quarterback Cam Fancher finished with 277 all-purpose yards, throwing for two touchdowns, completing 18 of 28 passes and Khalan Laborn rushed for 100 yards exactly, to notch his ninth 100+ yard rushing game of the season.
The Panthers (4-8, 3-5 Sun Belt) shocked the Herd on the very first play of the game with a 55-yard completion by Darren Grainger to Kris Byrd to put Georgia State deep in Marshall territory. Five plays later, a three-yard touchdown run by Tucker Gregg gave Georgia State an early 7-0 lead. The Herd offense moved the ball early, but a pair of missed field goals left Marshall trailing by a touchdown after the first.
Georgia State would later extend their lead to 10-0 with a 39-yard Michael Hayes with 7:47 remaining in the second quarter.
Needing a spark, Laborn took a hand off to the right side and cut through the Panthers defense for an 83-yard score and cut the deficit to three. Laborn's dash was the longest run of the season since his 78-yarder against Gardner Webb earlier in the year.
The Herd defense would follow up by forcing a three and out and allow Fancher and the offense to go back to work. A pair of 13 and 23 yard scrambles from the freshman quarterback set up Rasheen Ali's first touchdown of the season and a 14-10 halftime lead for Marshall.
Georgia State would tally the only score in the third quarter to take a 17-14 lead when Jamari Thrash hauled in a 12-yard pass from Darren Grainger.
Fancher would hit E.J. Horton down the right sideline for 33 yards to help lead the Herd on a quick five play, 76-yard scoring drive. The final play of the drive came when Fancher found Charles Montgomery on a 32-yard score to give the Herd a 21-17 lead.
The Marshall defense responded in a huge way on the ensuing possession, with three consecutive sacks from Owen Porter, Eli Neal, and Koby Cumberlander to shut down the Panthers chances of answering with a score of their own.
Following Georgia State's punt, the Herd would pad their lead when Laborn rushed in his second score to put Marshall up 28-17 with 5:31 remaining on the clock.
Georgia State managed a late score with 3:45 remaining, but Marshall ran out the remaining time to send the seniors out with a win in their final game on their home turf.
The Marshall Thundering Herd (8-4, 5-3 Sun Belt) will now await its bowl destiny.
Ga. State 7 3 7 6 = 23
Marshall 0 14 0 14 = 28
First Quarter
GSU—Tucker Gregg 3 run (Michael Hayes kick), 11:57.
Second Quarter
GSU—Michael Hayes 39 field goal, 7:47.
MARSH—Khalan Laborn 83 run (Sean Meisler kick), 5:25.
MARSH—Rasheen Ali 5 pass from Cam Fancher (Sean Meisler kick),1:25.
Third Quarter
GSU—Jamari Thrash 12 pass from Darren Grainger (Michael Hayes kick), 8:52.
Fourth Quarter
MARSH—Charles Montgomery 32 pass from Cam Fancher (Sean Meisler kick), 10:09.
MARSH—Khalan Laborn 1 run (Sean Meisler kick), 5:31.
GSU—Marcus Carroll 2 run ( ), 3:45.
Comments