BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Brandon Doughty threw for 370 yards and five touchdowns, carrying Western Kentucky to its first Conference USA East Division title with a 49-28 win over Marshall on Friday.
Behind Doughty, who became the first quarterback in FBS history to surpass 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in consecutive seasons, the Hilltoppers (10-2, 8-0) earned 31 first downs and held the ball for 35:11 while scoring on eight of 16 possessions.
Marshall (9-3, 6-2) managed only 273 yards overall and couldn’t overcome a slow start with just 15 yards on 18 first-quarter plays.
Thundering Herd quarterback Chase Litton was picked off twice by linebacker Nick Holt and finished 19-of-38 passing.
“You got to give that football team credit,” Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. “They are an excellent football team and that quarterback is as good and accurate as anyone I’ve ever been around.
“Our goal always is and always will be to win the conference championship and unfortunately we didn’t get that done.”
Doughty carved up Marshall on his first drive of the game, needing only three plays to go 75 yards in 44 seconds for a 7-0 lead after hitting Nicholas Norris in the flat for a 35-yard score.
Norris led WKU with seven catches for 75 yards.
Holliday said the beginning to the game was nothing out of the ordinary for the Toppers’ offense.
“They’ve done that to a lot of people this year,” Holliday said. “Hopefully that quarterback doesn’t get a seventh year because he’s good.”
WKU extended its lead six seconds into the second quarter on an Ace Wales 15-yard run and 14-0 lead. Wales finished with 131 yards on 24 carries while turning in his sixth consecutive conference game with a 100-plus performance.
With Marshall’s offense stuck in the mud, WKU’s air attack took full advantage. Doughty found Tyler Higbee for a 5-yard score and a 21-0 lead.
“I thought our defense was outstanding,” said Hilltoppers coach Jeff Brohm. “Our guys found a way to come out today, and it wasn’t perfect at times, but our guys found a way to play harder, play tougher.”
Desperate for any form of positive production, Marshall found the scoreboard with an explosive 97-yard kickoff return by Deandre Reaves, trimming the lead to 21-7 with 6:07 left in the half.
“We needed something,” Reaves said. “We were down 21-0 and we needed some juice. We think highly of our special teams. We needed a spark.”
Doughty and Higbee would hook up once again to answer the Marshall score on a 11-yard strike to set the new record while extending the advantage .
Litton fired an answer by the Herd on a 4-play, 46-yard touchdown drive, finding Ryan Yurachek in the back corner of the end zone, trimming the lead to 28-14 with 2:01 left in the half.
That proved to be too much time to hand Doughty with a full collection of timeouts as the sixth-year senior marched his troops 75 yards in eight plays, finishing with a 9-yard hookup with Taywan Taylor and a 35-14 lead at the break.
Marshall looked poised to strike out of the locker room, as three consecutive Litton passes found their mark, moving Marshall into WKU territory. However for the Herd, it was only the beginning of the end, as it turned the ball over three consecutive series—two Litton fumbles and Nick Holt’s second pick of the game—and WKU cashed in on two Garrett Schwettman field goals, making it 41-14 with 6:54 left in the third.
Litton hit Justin Hunt on a 32-yard touchdown pass at the end of the third quarter, trimming the Tops lead to 20 only to have Doughty one up him once again to open the fourth.
Doughty’s fifth score came on a seven-play, 65-yard drive with Antwane Grant making the grab from 19 yards out and a 49-21 lead.
Hyleck Foster added a 4-yard touchdown at the end of the contest to close out the scoring.
Marshall managed only 31 rushing yards on 25 carries, the fewest as a team since 43 yards in a loss to UCF in 2011. Remi Watson led the Herd with 29 yards on nine carries.
“I’ve got to get better,” Litton said. “We are put in situations that I have to succeed and there were three straight times that I really just let this team down.”
— James Collier