— By David Walsh
Marshall used a pair of school-record performances on Saturday to power past Old Dominion, 36-23, in Sun Belt Conference action at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
Placekicker Jorge Diaz Nicolas booted a single game school-record five field goals and Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw returned a missed field goal 100-plus yards for the school mark and a 27-10 halftime lead.
Monarchs’ kicker Andrew Nelms was short on a 55-yard field goal try right before the half. Turner-Bradshaw fielded the ball in the end zone, headed upfield on a return, broke right and sprinted to the end zone for a score to shock ODU.
“We practice that every Thursday,” Herd coach Tony Gibson said on postgame radio. “Looks like we caught them off guard. I’m not sure they knew he was back there. That was a big-time play by the guys. Turner-Bradshaw did what he was supposed to do. Extremely big going into the half.”
100 YARD KICK SIX
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— Marshall Football (@HerdFB) October 31, 2026
With the win, Marshall is within one victory of bowl eligibility at 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Sun Belt. ODU’s disappointing campaign continues with the Monarchs now 2-7 and 1-5 in SBC play.
In the lead-up to the game, Gibson said all three of his quarterbacks could see action Saturday and they did. However, they didn’t generate big numbers.
Zion Turner started, went 4-of-8 for 53 yards and one pick that the Monarchs’ Brandon Crutchfield returned 44 yards for a score early in the third period to cut his team’s deficit to 27-17.
Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, the starter up until Marshall’s previous game against South Alabama, hit on 3-of-9 passes for 66 yards.
Khalil Wilkins, the versatile transfer from West Virginia, completed his only pass for 23 yards in the fourth period. That completion came on a series that stalled before Diaz Nicolas came on to boot his fourth field goal.
“Too many undisciplined penalties,” Gibson said. “We’ve got to get that cleaned up. I’m very happy with our defense. They got a few takeaways and set up our offense a few times. We need to turn field goals into touchdowns. We’ve got to get back to the drawing board. All three quarterbacks played as I anticipated happening. I’d like to see us get better.”
T.J. Lester got the Herd started with two rushing touchdowns in the first period. His first, a 4-yard run, was setup by an ODU fumble. His other score came on a 49-yard sprint.
Diaz Nicolas booted two field goals in the first half.
MU tailback Judah Price continued his surge with 15 carries for 82 yards and Lester had eight carries for 76 yards and two scores.
ODU quarterback Jaxon Potter completed 25-of-46 passes for 329 yards and was intercepted three times in his first start. Receiver Josh Rodriguez had nine receptions for 143 yards.
ODU had just 80 yards rushing.
Diaz Nicolas added his fifth field goal for a 36-17 lead with 5:52 left. The Monarchs would get one more score on a 14-yard run by Maurki James with 3:54 to play to set the final margin.
The Herd defense forced ODU to turn the ball over on downs on its final two possessions.
Each team recorded four sacks.
“I’m excited about the direction the defense is going,” Gibson said. “The defense had a great pass rush all day. They got their hands up and tipped a few balls. Not pretty all the time, but we got the job done.”
In addition to Diaz Nicolas’ stellar showing, Herd freshman punter Cooper Heimbach averaged almost 44 yards on seven punts.
“Special teams solid,” Gibson said. “Jorge’s 15 points are big in this game. Spot on with the kicks. I’m pretty pleased.”