— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall got off to a slow start, then erupted for 21 points in the second period to trigger the Thundering Herd past struggling Florida International, 38-0, Saturday afternoon at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Lo and behold, the Herd, known for its passing game, got all five touchdowns rushing.
The Herd is 5-3, 3-1 in the Conference USA and shares the East Division lead with Western Kentucky after its win over Charlotte.
FIU is 1-7 overall with its seventh-straight defeat, 0-4 in C-USA and that means a losing season is a reality. The Panthers have lost 14 of their last 15 overall.
They have given up at least 31 points in six straight games.
First-year Herd coach Charles Huff said Saturday’s outcome started back on Monday after the open date.
“Probably the best week of practice we’ve had,” Huff said in his post-game remarks. “From an energy standpoint, a focus standpoint, a leadership standpoint. Told the guys don’t leave it on the practice field. Saw a lot of positives. Starting to put things together.”
After a 3-point first period, the Herd had more yards rushing than passing. That changed in the second. The score came on a 29-yard field goal by Shane Ciucci.
Wells ran for a TD, Sheldon Evans a TD on a 41-yard dash set up after a Steven Gilmore pick and Rasheen Ali wrapped up the second-quarter burst with a 6-yard TD run for his 14th rushing score and 16th TD this season.
The Herd, No. 6 in the nation in passing, had 116 yards through the air and 168 on the ground.
“We’re starting to do things consistent teams do,” Huff said. “It’s really difficult to get a shutout in college football. Outstanding job by coach (Lance) Guidry and his staff. That’s a couple of weeks in a row. Got to continue to build on.”
Panthers quarterback Max Bortenschlager managed just 76 yards passing in the half and 128 for the game on 14-of-27. He came in averaging nearly 290 yards per game, including a nation-leading 18.59 per completion. Kaylan Wiggins took over in the fourth for his first action of the season. Top rusher was D’Vonte Price with 51 yards on 10 carries.
Kicker Chase Gabriel had a 44-yard field goal try blocked four seconds before halftime. In the third, his try from 34 yards sailed wide left. Punter Tommy Heatherly had a 53.8 average on five punts with a long of 63.
Ali added a second TD on a 2-yard run to cap a 17-play, 80-yard drive with 30 seconds left in the third period. That drive took 6:56 with a big play a 20-yard pass from Wells to tight end Xavier Gaines down to the FIU 20. Ali finished with 133 yards on 21 carries.
Marshall had 456 total yards to 288 for FIU. The Herd had 210 passing and 246 rushing. The Panthers finished with 180 passing and 108 on the ground.
“It started in practice,” Huff said of the way the offensive line played. “The focus. The intensity. We communicated better. We’ve got to finish blocks.
“Sheldon ran strong. Finish runs, get to the second level. That showed up today.”
Luke Zban took over at quarterback in the fourth. Later Cam Fancher replaced Zban. Wells finished 20-of-25 for 184 yards with no touchdowns. He came in averaging 322. Ethan Payne (Poca) added a 1-yard TD run in the fourth.
“Probably the most consistent game Grant’s called all year,” Huff said. “Made good decisions, was efficient. Running the ball kept us ahead of the sticks.
“We worked on young-guy development (during off week). That showed up a little today. We got rest, get healthy as possible.”
Marshall’s last shutout was last year in the opener against Eastern Kentucky (59-0). The last C-USA shutout came in 2018 against UTSA (23-0). This is the first shutout under Huff.
Special teams got a shoutout, too, from Huff.
“We’d knew it would be an underlying factor,” Huff said. “Coverage is better. We continue to move in the right direction.”
Former Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato attended the game.
Marshall returns to action next Saturday at Florida Atlantic.