After a series of defensive and special teams miscues, the Herd lost to the Georgia State Panthers 41-24 on Saturday, Oct. 14, in Atlanta, Georgia.
One bright spot of Saturday’s game for the Herd was seeing running back Rasheen Ali score three touchdowns. Quarterback Cam Fancher found Ali in a mesh of Marshall and Georgia State players on a wheel route on the final play of the third quarter for a 65-yard touchdown reception.
With his 174 all-purpose yards and scoring efforts, Ali remains in the top five in FBS in scoring and rushing touchdowns.
“I thought he did a really good job managing the game,” head coach Charles Huff said. “He got the ball to a bunch of different receivers.”
Fancher threw for over 300 yards in the contest and for 18 straight completions, not missing a receiver in the second half.
The Panthers got off to a hot start on special teams, blocking a punt and recovering it in the end zone to add a touchdown to the scoreboard. This put the Panthers up 14-7 in the first quarter.
Marshall’s special teams woes reappeared in the crucial moments of the fourth quarter. Down 27-24, the Marshall defense held the Georgia State offense and forced a punt that would give the Herd the ball back and possibly an opportunity to tie or take the lead.
On the punt, though, the Herd special teams unit committed a roughing the kicker penalty which gave the Panthers an automatic first down and resumed its once-halted drive. Georgia State scored on the drive off of a two-yard quarterback keeper from Darren Grainger to extend the Panthers lead to 34-24.
The Herd had one more opportunity on defense to try for a comeback. Marshall held the Georgia State offense to a crucial third down that the Panthers failed to convert. However, after the play, Marshall standout Owen Porter was called for a personal foul that gave the Panthers the first down and the ball in Herd territory.
The penalty led to a Marcus Carrol rushing touchdown to put the game well out of reach for Marshall. Carroll amassed 159 yards on the ground and averaged 5.7 yards per carry.
“We rode our way into this storm, and we’ve got to ride our way out of it,” Huff said. “No one is feeling sorry for us. We’ve got to get ready to go on Thursday.”
Marshall has a short rest period between games this week. The Herd takes on the undefeated James Madison Dukes on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
