CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tyre Brady caught two scores and Marshall’s defense limited UNC-Charlotte to nine first downs in 14-3 win Saturday night.
Keion Davis ran for 122 yards and Tyler King added 71 as the ground attack enjoyed a rare uprising for the Herd (4-1, 1-0), which controlled the ball for 36 minutes
The winless 49ers (0-6, 0-2) managed just 212 yards and converted 3-of-14 on third downs. Marshall’s passing attack lacked its typical effectiveness in a low-scoring affair.
“I am never going to apologize for a win,” Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. “We came here on the road and won the game, we are going to get on the plane and be happy on the way back, then get ready for next week.”
Marshall earned its second straight road victory after going winless away from Huntington in 2016.
“Once we get the ball offensively and get in the red zone we have to be able to put points on the board,” Holliday said. “We moved the ball extremely well on offense — we had over 400 yards of total offense — we just didn’t get the ball in the endzone.”
The Herd had multiple missed scoring opportunities in the game. Kaare Vedvik missed a 34-yard field goal in the second quarter after Ryan Yuracheck suffered a rare drop in the endzone.
The 49ers’ only points came on a field goal after a 42-yard bomb from Hasaan Klugh to Trent Bostick.
Klugh felt the pressure from Marshall’s front seven all night, suffering seven quarterback hurries and two sacks.
Defensive lineman Ryan Bee found a way through the middle of the offensive line untouched multiple times.
“Klugh was our focus this week — he was the biggest threat to us. He’s a great athlete, great player, and we knew he was their big weapon,” said Bee, who made a sack and three hurries. “We had to get to him and we did that tonight.”
Klugh completed just 10-of-26 passes for 132 yards with one interception. He was also stifled on the ground running eight times for 4 yards.
Strong defensive performances have become the norm for a Marshall team used to lighting up the scoreboard.
“I tell Chase and the offense all the time we have their back, because we know they have our,” Bee said. “When something isn’t going right you have to be able to rely on the unit on the other side of the ball to pick you up. It was a good team win.”
Charlotte upset the Herd last year in Huntington.
“We wouldn’t have won this game last year—we would have found a way to lose. The defense wouldn’t have got off the field or the offense wouldn’t have been able to get first downs when we needed them,” Yuracheck said. “This just shows how far we have come as a football team. Any road win you can get is an awesome one.”
The Herd overcame three fumbles by their halfbacks, losing two. Another turnover was avoided by the Herd getting off a quick snap off before the booth had a chance to review another instance of King coughing up the ball.
“I’m really proud of our team. I thought we came out and battled extremely hard against a good Marshall team,” Charlotte coach Brad Lambert said. “We had opportunities to make it a one-score game. It’s a fine line and our margin for error is not very big. I saw a lot of fight in them, especially defensively.
“You watch film all week and you know that they are a really good offense and their defense came in and played really well against us.”
— By Troy Alexander