NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Marshall running back Darius Marshall led the nation in rushing yards and all-purpose yards going into the game against Tulane on Saturday.
His averages took a hit, but the Thundering Herd defense put a bigger hit on the Green Wave offense in Marshall's 31-10 Conference USA victory.
Marshall had just 98 yards rushing (on 20 carries) and 112 all-purpose yards - well below his averages of of 159.8 rushing yards and 235.8 all-purpose yards - but he scored two touchdowns, one more than Tulane.
The Thundering Herd defense held Tulane out of the end zone for the final 56 minutes, provided the tie-breaking touchdown, and protected that lead with a goal-line stand and three more takeaways.
"Guys were hitting out there today," Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. "The front seven were hitting guys, and we were able to come up with some turnovers."
Marshall(4-2, 2-1 Conference USA) won for the third time in four games. The Green Wave (2-3, 0-2) saw its two-game winning streak end.
The Thundering Herd contained Tulane wide receiver Jeremy Williams, who came in leading C-USA in receiving yards per game (131.3). Williams had 53 yards on eight catches and his first-quarter fumble was returned 29 yards by Ashton Hall for a first-quarter touchdown that gave Marshall the lead for good.
"We out-rushed them (189-116) and we out-passed them (215-207)," Tulane coach Bob Toledo said, "but we didn't outscore them."
Marshall's 11-yard touchdown run broke a tie at 7 midway through the first quarter and his 5-yarder completed a 31-0 blitz.
"We did a great job of containing him," Toledo said, "but we did a very poor job of pressuring the quarterback and covering their receivers. Their quarterback (Brian Anderson) did a nice job of completing passes."
Anderson was 18-for-22 for 207 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
"We started the game throwing the football," Snyder said. "We figured, coming into the game, that we wanted to loosen them up a bit. It was a whole bunch of guys stepping up and making plays when we needed to make plays."
Tulane received the opening kickoff and eight plays later, Jordan Sullen ran 32 yards for a touchdown. But the Green Wave didn't score again until Ross Thevenot kicked a 33-yard field goal to complete the scoring with 9:31 left in the game.
After a failed onside kick following Sullen's touchdown, Darius Marshall scored on an 11-yard run. The Herd took a 14-7 lead on Hall's 29-yard fumble return after Albert McClellan knocked the ball loose from Williams.
"It was a gift," Hall said. "(McClellan) wrapped it up and everything, and I just picked it up and ran it in."
The Green Wave missed an opportunity to even the score when it failed on running plays on third-and-goal and fourth-and-goal from inside the Marshall 1 after driving 81 yards.
The Thundering Herd then drove 99 yards for a touchdown, increasing the lead to 21-7 when Anderson threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Chuck Walker with 34 seconds left in the first half.
"That was impressive," Snyder said. "To get a fourth-and-goal stop, that's impressive, but to have your offense take it the length of the field the other way, that just makes you feel good as a coach."
Tulane was trying to cut into that deficit on its first possession of the third quarter, but Andre Anderson fumbled and Devin Arrington recovered for Marshall at its 39.
Eight plays later Craig Ratanamorn kicked a 32-yard field goal for a 24-7 lead with 6:58 remaining in the third quarter.
"We were driving, then we had a couple of fumbles and a couple of picks," Williams said. "Then on fourth-and-inches we couldn't get it in. We just didnt finish drives. That was pretty much the story."
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
