Conference USA Quick Recaps For Week 13

Marshall 38, Tulane 23

Big plays by their special teams and defense enabled the opportunistic Marshall Thundering Herd (5-7, 4-4) to defeat Conference USA foes Tulane (4-8, 2-6) 38-23, despite being out-gained by the Green Wave 408 yards to 270.  The Thundering Herd extended a 14-7 second quarter lead to 21-7 when Essray Taliaferro blocked a punt by Tulane’s Jonathan Ginsburgh, which Kevin Perry collected and returned two yards for the score. 

The Thundering Herd tacked on another touchdown before halftime when senior signal caller Brian Anderson hit Tron Martinez (23 carries, 58 yards, 2 receptions, 16 yards, 1 touchdown) for a 19-yard scoring strike, making the lead to 28-7.  Anderson had a rough go of it in his final game as a Herd player, getting sacked twice and completing only 9-of-23 passes for 163 yards to go along with 2 touchdowns and one interception.

Tulane quarterback Ryan Griffin had an uneven performance, as well.  Griffin’s sole touchdown pass of the game, a 12-yard toss to Ryan Grant in the second quarter cut the Green Wave’s deficit to 28-14, but the third quarter pick-six he threw was a killer, digging Tulane a 38-14 hole from which they never dug out.  For the game, Griffin threw an astounding and arm-numbing 65 passes, completing 36 for 368 yards and three interceptions to go along with that touchdown.  Griffin was also sacked four times.

Thanks in no small part to senior linebacker Mario Harvey’s 21 tackles (nine solo, 12 assists), the Herd held the Green Wave’s star frosh running back Orleans Darkwa in check for most of the game.  Darkwa scored twice, but he rushed for only 65 yards on 23 carries. 

Rice 28, UAB 23

Jeremy Eddington’s second touchdown of the game, a 22-yard sprint through the UAB defense with 44 seconds remaining, gave the Rice Owls (4-8, 3-5) a come-from-behind 28-23 win over the UAB Blazers (4-8, 3-5).  Eddington’s touchdown capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive that consumed 4:09, leaving UAB with only 39 seconds to score, which turned out not to matter, as Rice forced a turnover on downs and ran out the remaining 15 seconds to claim their second consecutive victory.  Eddington finished with 66 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 10 carries, pacing an Owls’ ground attack that racked up 198 yards, 11 first downs, and three touchdowns on 51 carries.

UAB took a 23-21 fourth quarter lead when Bryan Ellis hit running back Pat Shed for a 32-yard pitch-and-catch touchdown with five minutes remaining in the game.  Ellis and Shed also linked up for a 12-yard second quarter touchdown that tied the score at 14 going into halftime.  The Rice defense struggled to cover Shed, who caught seven passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns.  Ellis completed 21-of-39 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns. 

The contest was a real back-and-forth affair from the opening whistle.  Rice took a 7-0 first quarter lead when Sam McGuffie (18 carries, 56 yards, 1 touchdown) scored on a five-yard touchdown run.  The Owls’ lead proved to be short-lived, however, as UAB answered five players later, scoring on a 23-yard touchdown strike from Ellis to Jackie Williams (3 receptions, 39 yards, 1 touchdown).  Rice took a 14-7 second quarter lead on Eddington’s first touchdown of the game, a nine-yard scoring run, but UAB equalized before the half on the first Ellis-to-Shed touchdown.