— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — It took two overtimes for Marshall to pull out a victory over Texas State to make for a happy Homecoming Saturday evening at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Didn’t matter to Thundering Herd receiver Adrian Norton.
Norton caught a 21-yard TD pass from Carlos Del Rio-Wilson with 1:14 left and a 2-point conversion run by Floyd Lacey on an end around gave the Herd a 27-24 lead and had the crowd of 27,533 excited.
Texas State, which has lost three straight heartbreakers, would get a field goal on the final play to tie the game at 27 and force overtime. The teams traded touchdowns in the first OT. The Herd limited the Bobcats to a field goal on its possession in the second, then got the game-winning TD to wrap up the long day.
“Win at all costs. No matter when we get the ball,” Norton said. “However many quarters it takes. Long and short of it. Get the job done. Go into the bye week with good morale. Light a fire? Don’t need a fire. We know what we’re supposed to do, what we’re capable of.”
Marshall trailed 17-13 at the half. The offense came to life the second half and overtime sessions.
“An option route. The defender was over top of me,” Norton said of his late TD. “I hope he throws it to me. When I catch the ball, he’s on my back. He falls off and I see the end zone. I’m getting there. Great moment. To hear everybody in the Joan erupt. Awesome. Carlos … he’s a tough guy. Being that big he extends plays, he’s a run threat and doesn’t put the ball in harm’s way.”
Jo’Shon Barbie scored both TDs for the Herd in the overtime on runs of 4 yards and 1 yard for the clincher.
The Herd defense came up with a key stop first in the second OT when Jadarius Green-McKnight had a pass breakup on third down in the end zone. Texas State quarterback Brad Jackson had to rush the throw a bit due to pressure from Kerion Martin.
“Had a big play at the end of the game. They had to take the ball first and obviously you have to get them off the field, field goal” ,Green-McKnight said. “That’s like a victory right there. And then it’s up to your offense. We let them score three. We didn’t want that to happen, but it happened. And then we put the ball in our offense’s hands and we came out on top.
“We all have a dog mentality. We send a lot of pressure. We want to attack the quarterback and just get after it. To even be in this position, I feel like that’s a great win for us. Shout out to the crowd. They were real electrified and they got us amped up.”
Linebacker Javae Gilmore said it boiled down to the Herd coming together in all three phases.
“Don’t like the feeling, the nervousness and stuff,” Gilmore said. “Mindset after the first overtime, let’s settle down, let’s get a field goal. I know Carlos. The offense is going to score. He shows me that he puts team first, everything on the line. Body and everything. I’ve got to do the same. Like I told him, keep going. We’re with him.”
Texas State entered with one of the top offenses in the Sun Belt Conference. The Herd slowed them when it mattered most.
“They’re explosive,” Gilmore said. “Calm down, we’re still here able to stop them no matter where it is. Keep playing until they cross that goal line.”
Marshall’s offense has generated yards and points since Del Rio-Wilson took over full time at quarterback. He went 22-of-32 for 277 yards with a score and a pick and carried 17 times for 88 yards. That’s 365 yards in total offense.
“Once they got the field goal in the fourth quarter to tie it and go to overtime, we knew we had to finish. Have the dog mentality,” said Del Rio-Wilson, a transfer from Syracuse. “Kind of crazy. I thought on the sidelines back to the Louisiana game (double OT loss). That was a different outcome.”
Del Rio-Wilson knew he had to pick up his game in the second half.
“At the beginning, I take blame for that,” Del Rio-Wilson said. “I wasn’t locked in as I should be mentally. The first two quarters are on me. Come out after halftime, I knew I had to step up in that leadership role and I did. Means a whole lot to the team. We came together. Special teams, offense, defend. It feels good.”
Del Rio-Wilson had all the confidence in Norton as he scored the go-ahead TD late in regulation.
“I saw the coverage. I knew he had 1 on 1,” Del Rio-Wilson said. “I trust Adrian. He’s got good hands. Take the soreness and hurts. I’m grateful. I could be one of those players not getting in the game at all.”
Barbie was seeing his first action in several weeks and made the most of it.
“I’m glad it’s over,” Barbie said after his winning TD stood following a review. “It felt good to be back. When we needed the offense the most and everybody the most, I feel like everybody started clicking together. We feel like we’re a tough group and Coach (Dwight Galt) hit on that all week – being tougher than most guys. We showed it today.”
On special teams, placekicker Lorcan Quinn tied a program record with four field goals. It was the first time a Marshall kicker had four field goals in a game since Reece Verhoff did so in a 12-0 win at Old Dominion in 2022.
Gilmore led the defense with 12 tackles and defensive back Boogie Trotter added 10 — both of which are career-highs.
The Herd now takes next week off. The next game is October 30 against Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C. Start time is 7:30 p.m., and ESPN or ESPN2 will air the game live. The Chanticleers are 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Sun Belt after a win Saturday at Appalachian State.