Marshall vs. Toledo
Dec 04, 1998
Extended Box
NCAAF 1 2 3 4 F
- - - - --
Marshall 6 0 0 17 23
Toledo 7 0 0 10 17 FINAL
Marshall-Hanson 9 run (two-point conversion failed)
Toledo-W Tait 1 run (France kick)
Toledo-FG France 33
Marshall-Poole 19 pass from Pennington (Malashevich kick)
Marshall-Derricott 21 fumble return (Malashevich kick)
Marshall-FG Malashevich 32
Toledo-Bilik 1 pass from Wallace (France kick)
Marshall Toledo
First downs 17 22
Rushed-yards 35-120 35-90
Passing yards 249 337
Sacked-yards lost 1-7 2-5
Return yards 20 13
Passes 23-39-1 30-54-2
Punts 6-46.0 5-39.6
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-2
Penalties-yards 8-70 4-29
Time of possession 29:24 30:36
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Marshall-Chapman 23-106, Hanson 1-9, Turner 5-5,
Pennington 6-0. Toledo-W Tait 16-60, Taylor 11-30, Wallace 8-0.
PASSING: Marshall-Pennington 23-38-0-249, Leftwich 0-1-1-0.
Toledo-Wallace 30-54-2-337.
RECEIVING: Marshall-Poole 5-61, Cooper 5-32, L Washington 4-70,
Long 4-56, Chapman 4-18, Turner 1-12. Toledo-Curry 8-87, Bilik
8-59, J Freeman 5-47, Taylor 3-73, Kreitzburg 2-29, W Tait
2-22, Long 2-20.
Att: 28,085
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Game Story
HUNTINGTON, West Virginia (Ticker) -- Marshall captured its
second straight Mid-American Conference title and a spot in the
Motor City Bowl with a 23-17 victory over Toledo in the second
annual MAC championship game.
Cornerback Daninelle Derricott returned a fumble 20 yards for a
touchdown and defensive end Carlos Smith set up a score with an
interception for Marshall (11-1), which will play Louisville on
December 23rd in Detroit.
"To go back to the bowl ... I'm excited," said Marshall coach
Bob Pruett. "It is extremely tough to repeat. That's a credit
to our administration and staff."
The Thundering Herd lost last season's inaugural Motor City
Bowl, 34-31, to Mississippi.
Chad Pennington, playing most of the game with a severely pulled
right groin, completed 23-of-38 pases for 249 yards and a
touchdown, a 19-yard toss to Nate Poole early in the fourth
quarter that put Marshall ahead for good. The Thundering Herd
won despite being held to their second-lowest point total of the
season.
"Our players played their hearts out and their players played
their hearts out," added Pruett. "I am proud to have been apart
of this game and I am proud to be apart of this conference.
Toledo (7-5) climbed within six points with 63 seconds to play
when Chris Wallace found tight end Mike Bilik in the back of the
end zone for a one-yard score. The Rockets had a chance to
recover the ensuing on-side kick but Marshall cornerback Damone
Williams came up with the ball, sealing the victory.
Moments later, Marshall players celebrated the team's 100th
victory of the decade by dousing Pruett with sports drink and
fans tore down one of the goalposts with 13 seconds to play. The
Thundering Herd became the only school in Division I-A or I-AA
to win 100 games in the 1990s.
Wallace had his best game of the season, completing 20-of-54
passes for 337 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
"First of all, congratulations to Marshall," said Toledo coach
Gary Pinkel. They did the things at the end that you have to do
to win. They have a good football team and a good program."
Both teams blew several opportunities to put points on the board
early. Billy Malashevich and Jason Witzak missed on field goal
attempts of 25 and 44 yards, respectively, for Marshall, while
Todd France was wide on a 46-yard attempt and had a 27-yarder
blocked.
France did hit from 33 yards just 20 seconds into the fourth
quarter to give Toledo a 10-6 advantage, but the Rockets did not
score again until the final minute.
The Thundering Herd, whose offense was almost completely shut
down for the first three quarters, suddenly came alive. Marshall
went 61 yards in just three plays and took the lead when
Pennington lofted a pass into the right corner of the end zone
for Poole, who barely got his feet in bounds for the 19-yard
score.
Down 13-10, Toledo got the ball back on its own 12-yard line. On
the second play, Wallace threw a pass to the left side for
running back Antwon McCray, who hauled in the pass but
immediately dropped the ball. Derricott scooped it up and
sprinted untouched into the end zone to make it 20-10.
On Toledo's next possession, Smith picked off Wallace at the
Rockets 21 and Marshall took advantage six plays later when
Malashevich connected from 32 yards for a 23-10 lead.
"It's not rocket science. You can't make mistakes like that and
win football games," added Pinkel. "Our mistakes are why we
lost this football game ... period."
Doug Chapman carried 23 times for 106 yards and Poole hauled in
five passes for 61 yards for Marshall, which has posted at least
10 wins in eight consecutive seasons and was playing in the
postseason for the eighth straight campaign.
The Thundering Herd held Toledo to just 90 yards on the ground.
Wasean Tait had 60 yards on 16 carries while Chester Taylor
added 30 yards on 11 attempts.
Marshall's best drive of the game took place on the game's
opening possession, when it marched 61 yards in nine plays. The
Thundering Herd were apparently going to settle for a 26-yard
field goal, but punter Chris Hanson, the holder, raced around
right end on the fake for a nine-yard TD. Ironically, Hanson
mishandled the snap on the extra point, leaving Marshall ahead,
6-0.
Hanson's bobble allowed Toledo to grab a narrow lead on the next
possession when Tait barreled his way for a one-yard touchdown.
The score was set up when Wallace threw a screen pass to Taylor,
who rumbled 47 yards to the Marshall 1.
Marshall played without leading receiver Lavorn Colclough, who
was suspended prior to the game for disciplinary reasons.