HUNTINGTON, W.Va.—Doc Holliday didn’t need a “rah rah” speech at halftime and no major adjustments were necessary. Marshall simply needed to execute better in the second half if it was going to comeback against FAU.
And it did.
Marshall trailed FAU 16-14 at the break, but outscored the Owls 21-0 in the second half to run its record to 8-0.
“All that was said was ‘Hey guys, let’s go do what we do. Let’s go play the way we are capable of playing. Defensively, let’s start tackling a little better and get them off the field on third down,’ which we didn’t do a very good job of in the first half.”
FAU converted 5-of-11 third downs and a fourth down try in the first half as it controlled the ball for nearly 21 minutes.
“We just were not executing like coach wanted us to do on third downs,” said defensive back Darryl Roberts. “We came in, coach Heater made a few adjustments, and we simply executed better after that.”
The offense also struggled in the first half, unable to find much rhythm. Marshall ran just 25 plays in the third quarter and Rakeem Cato was limited to 6-of-12 passing for 97 yards. Cato had one-on-one opportunities and took shots down field, but could not connect on the big play.
“I think it was execution on my part. They did what they did last year; a couple of balls were overthrown and there were some other mistakes, but I think we did a great job coming back as a team in the second half.”
Cato threw for 121 yards and a touchdown the second half. The offensive line also plowed the way for Devon Johnson to rumble for two more touchdowns.
“I think we did the same thing in the second half we did in the first, we just did a better job of executing. We had those two big runs and we got away from that (in the first half). We just weren’t executing and throwing and catching like we normally do.”
The play of the game came in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. FAU facing 4th and goal on Marshall’s 6-yard line, Darryl Roberts batted a pass away from the Owls’ Nate Terry, keeping FAU out of the endzone and igniting the Marshall sideline.
“There were a couple of big plays down there in the score zone,” praised Holliday.
Three plays later Devon Johnson got loose for a 66-yard touchdown run and Marshall would go on for the win.
“The only thing that matters is the win,” reminded Holliday. “You get that win and you’re 8-0 and everybody is happy.”