Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, November 14
Huntington, WV
11:00 AM
Middle Tennessee
2-6 , 2-4
14
at
42
Marshall University
7-0 , 4-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Middle Tennessee
0
7
7
0
14
Marshall
7
14
21
0
42
Blue Raiders fall at No. 16 Marshall
11/14/2020 3:26:00 PM | Football
HUNTINGTON, W.V. — There were positives from Middle Tennessee's performance Saturday on the road against No. 16 Marshall, but a few costly mistakes proved to be the Blue Raiders' downfall.
It was an emotional day for the Marshall community, as Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took the lives of 75 people, most of them team members, coaches and boosters.
The Thundering Herd (7-0, 4-0) played on the emotions and capitalized on a few turnovers to hand MT (2-6, 2-4) a 42-14 loss.
"I thought our guys, especially defensively in the first half, did a lot of good things," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said. "In the second half, we gave up some big plays, and offensively, we didn't do anything."
Middle Tennessee's defense looked up to the task at taking down the first ranked opponent in program history early on Saturday. A few turnovers just couldn't be overcome.
The Blue Raiders limited Marshall to punts on its first two drives, but the second one was misplayed and recovered by the Thundering Herd at the 7-yard line.
After a touchdown thanks to the short field, MT forced Marshall into two punts and a turnover on downs over the Herd's next three possessions. That gave the Blue Raiders an opportunity to draw even on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when redshirt junior quarterback Asher O'Hara hit senior Jarrin Pierce for a 4-yard touchdown.
"We're trained for sudden change … to put the ball down wherever we are and stop them," junior defensive end Jordan Ferguson said. "The first key to the game was to stop the run and make them beat us over the top."
Marshall pulled ahead with a touchdown with just over three minutes left in the second quarter, and Middle Tennessee was set up for a chance to tie things up heading into the half.
The Blue Raiders marched into Thundering Herd territory and were threatening to score, but O'Hara was sacked and the ball was knocked loose. Marshall recovered at its own 45 with 1:32 left in the half and got into the end zone a few plays later, going up 21-7 heading into the halftime locker room.
Middle Tennessee had another chance to cut into the lead on the first drive of the third quarter and made it all the way to the Thundering Herd's 8-yard line, but the Blue Raiders' third fumble of the day doomed the opportunity.
In total, the Raiders had three fumbles and one turnover on downs that led to 28 Marshall points.
"That's highly disappointing," Stockstill said. "We either punted or turned it over [on 13 of 15 possessions] and that's not a recipe for winning when you do that."
Besides the turnovers, Middle Tennessee did a good job of moving the ball against maybe the best defense in Conference USA.
Marshall went into the game second in the country in points allowed per game (9.5) and third in total defense (252.5 yards per game allowed), but the Blue Raiders were able to gain 303 yards, including 247 through the air.
O'Hara finished 11-of-39 passing with 241 yards and two total touchdowns (one passing). He hit Pierce nine times for 90 yards and a score, and fellow senior CJ Windham had six catches for 76 yards.
"I thought we did pretty good, but we didn't have too many big plays and just couldn't put points on the board," O'Hara said. "You have to take care of the ball better. It hurts momentum a lot when we have stuff rolling and we don't keep it going."
Senior Reed Blankenship led MT defensively with 11 tackles. Fellow senior linebacker DQ Thomas had 10 tackles, and redshirt sophomore Decorian Patterson had seven tackles, a half tackle for loss and a pass breakup.
The Blue Raiders will go out of conference play next week with a road trip to Troy, the second time the teams have met this season. The Trojans won 47-14 in Murfreesboro on Sept. 19.
"It's just all about moving forward," Pierce said. "We're just taking it a game at a time and a day at a time."
Gallery: (11-14-2020) @MT_FB at Marshall
It was an emotional day for the Marshall community, as Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took the lives of 75 people, most of them team members, coaches and boosters.
The Thundering Herd (7-0, 4-0) played on the emotions and capitalized on a few turnovers to hand MT (2-6, 2-4) a 42-14 loss.
"I thought our guys, especially defensively in the first half, did a lot of good things," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said. "In the second half, we gave up some big plays, and offensively, we didn't do anything."
Middle Tennessee's defense looked up to the task at taking down the first ranked opponent in program history early on Saturday. A few turnovers just couldn't be overcome.
The Blue Raiders limited Marshall to punts on its first two drives, but the second one was misplayed and recovered by the Thundering Herd at the 7-yard line.
After a touchdown thanks to the short field, MT forced Marshall into two punts and a turnover on downs over the Herd's next three possessions. That gave the Blue Raiders an opportunity to draw even on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when redshirt junior quarterback Asher O'Hara hit senior Jarrin Pierce for a 4-yard touchdown.
"We're trained for sudden change … to put the ball down wherever we are and stop them," junior defensive end Jordan Ferguson said. "The first key to the game was to stop the run and make them beat us over the top."
Marshall pulled ahead with a touchdown with just over three minutes left in the second quarter, and Middle Tennessee was set up for a chance to tie things up heading into the half.
The Blue Raiders marched into Thundering Herd territory and were threatening to score, but O'Hara was sacked and the ball was knocked loose. Marshall recovered at its own 45 with 1:32 left in the half and got into the end zone a few plays later, going up 21-7 heading into the halftime locker room.
Middle Tennessee had another chance to cut into the lead on the first drive of the third quarter and made it all the way to the Thundering Herd's 8-yard line, but the Blue Raiders' third fumble of the day doomed the opportunity.
In total, the Raiders had three fumbles and one turnover on downs that led to 28 Marshall points.
"That's highly disappointing," Stockstill said. "We either punted or turned it over [on 13 of 15 possessions] and that's not a recipe for winning when you do that."
Besides the turnovers, Middle Tennessee did a good job of moving the ball against maybe the best defense in Conference USA.
Marshall went into the game second in the country in points allowed per game (9.5) and third in total defense (252.5 yards per game allowed), but the Blue Raiders were able to gain 303 yards, including 247 through the air.
O'Hara finished 11-of-39 passing with 241 yards and two total touchdowns (one passing). He hit Pierce nine times for 90 yards and a score, and fellow senior CJ Windham had six catches for 76 yards.
"I thought we did pretty good, but we didn't have too many big plays and just couldn't put points on the board," O'Hara said. "You have to take care of the ball better. It hurts momentum a lot when we have stuff rolling and we don't keep it going."
Senior Reed Blankenship led MT defensively with 11 tackles. Fellow senior linebacker DQ Thomas had 10 tackles, and redshirt sophomore Decorian Patterson had seven tackles, a half tackle for loss and a pass breakup.
The Blue Raiders will go out of conference play next week with a road trip to Troy, the second time the teams have met this season. The Trojans won 47-14 in Murfreesboro on Sept. 19.
"It's just all about moving forward," Pierce said. "We're just taking it a game at a time and a day at a time."
Team Stats
MT
MAR
Total Yards
303
520
Pass Yards
247
336
Rushing Yards
56
184
Penalty Yards
40
75
1st Downs
18
26
3rd Downs
6
5
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
24:46
35:14
1st Quarter
MT 0, MAR 7
MAR - JOHNSON, Willie 3 yd pass from WELLS, Grant (CIUCCI, Shane kick) 2 plays, 7 yards, TOP 0:44
2nd Quarter
MT 7, MAR 7
MT - PIERCE, Jarrin 4 yd pass from O'HARA, Asher (HOLT, Crews kick) 11 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:53
MT 7, MAR 14
MAR - HAGLER, Hayden 1 yd pass from WELLS, Grant (CIUCCI, Shane kick) 6 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:25
MT 7, MAR 21
MAR - GAMMAGE, Corey 17 yd pass from WELLS, Grant (CIUCCI, Shane kick) 4 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:00
3rd Quarter
MT 7, MAR 28
MAR - GAMMAGE, Corey 28 yd pass from WELLS, Grant (CIUCCI, Shane kick) 4 plays, 92 yards, TOP 1:34
MT 14, MAR 28
MT - O'HARA, Asher 2 yd run (HOLT, Crews kick), 3 plays, 28 yards, TOP 1:02
MT 14, MAR 35
MAR - EVANS, Sheldon 26 yd run (CIUCCI, Shane kick), 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:11
MT 14, MAR 42
MAR - JOHNSON, Willie 23 yd pass from WELLS, Grant (CIUCCI, Shane kick) 3 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:09
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
29
TD
1
YDS
241
INT
0
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
6
INT
0
Players Mentioned
S
/ Football
DE
/ FootballQB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
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