Marshall Thundering Herd vs Florida International Panthers Match Player Stats On Nov 23, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 23, 2013

Marshall 48, Florida International 10: Rakeem Cato passed for 241 yards and four touchdowns as the visiting Thundering Herd moved into a first-place tie with East Carolina in Conference USA's East Division.

Gator Hoskins caught six passes for career highs in touchdown receptions (three) and yards (137), Tommy Shuler caught six passes for 74 yards and a touchdown and backup quarterback Blake Frohnapfel ran for a touchdown and passed for another for Marshall (8-3, 6-1 C-USA). The Herd will host East Carolina (9-2, 6-1) on Friday for the East Division title and a berth in the Conference USA championship game at stake.

E.J. Hillard completed 15-of-29 passes for 167 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ya'Keem Griner, to lead Florida International (1-10, 1-6). The Panthers, who came into the game ranked No. 122 in the nation with an average of 10.1 points and 223 yards, finished with 262 total yards.

Austin Taylor connected on a 43-yard field goal on the first series of the game to put Florida International ahead, 3-0, the Panthers' first lead in a game since Oct. 12. But it was all Marshall after that as the Herd scored 34 unanswered points and tacked on two fourth-quarter touchdowns following Hillard's touchdown pass to Griner.

Hoskins had touchdown receptions of 25, 15 and 32 yards to give him 25 for his career, breaking the school record for touchdown receptions by a tight end that was held by Cody Slate (23, 2006-09). Shuler, who caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Cato, has 80 catches this season to become the first player in school history to have two 80-reception seasons in his career.