Marshall earned its first road win of the season Saturday, Sept. 20, with a 42-28 victory over Middle Tennessee at Floyd Stadium in a game that featured a weather delay of more than two hours.
“Just very proud of this football team,” head coach Tony Gibson said. “We got down, but boy, we finished the game, and that’s what I like to see.”
The Herd struck early as defensive back Daytione Smith intercepted a deflected pass off Blue Raiders quarterback Nicholas Vattiato on MTSU’s opening drive. Quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson capitalized on the field position with a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Toby Payne. Payne, who also caught a second touchdown later in the game, has posted multiple touchdown games twice in his Marshall career.
Play was halted with 8 minutes 47 seconds left in the first quarter because of lightning. After a 2 hour 12 minute delay, both teams returned to trade big plays. Jekail Middlebrook’s 72-yard rush set up a quick Vattiato touchdown pass to tie it 7-7, but Marshall answered with a 68-yard touchdown strike to Demarcus Lacey. MTSU tied the score again on a 41-yard reception by Amorion Walker before Del Rio-Wilson’s 2-yard run made it 21-14.
The Blue Raiders closed the gap to 21-20 at halftime and grabbed the lead late in the third quarter with a touchdown and two-point conversion. But the fourth quarter belonged entirely to Marshall, which outgained MTSU 157-25 and scored 21 unanswered points to pull away.
“Whenever we’ve got our foot on the neck of our opponents, we’re not trying to let up,” Del Rio-Wilson said. “We came to dominate and really make a statement.”
Del Rio-Wilson threw for 261 yards and accounted for five touchdowns, four through the air, earning Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.
“(Del Rio-Wilson) put this team on his back,” Gibson said. “Big-time throws, runs, he’s tough. He’s just a competitive kid.”
Marshall (2-2) has won two straight games heading into its Sun Belt opener at Louisiana on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Cajun Field in Lafayette.
Ethan Peltier can be contacted at [email protected]
