Marshall Thundering Herd vs Rice Owls Match Player Stats On Dec 07, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 7, 2013

Rice 41, Marshall 24: Running back Luke Turner threw two touchdown passes as the host Owls defeated the Thundering Herd in the Conference USA championship game for their first outright league title since 1957.

Jordan Taylor caught six passes for 131 yards and a touchdown - all in the first half - for Rice (10-3), which enters its bowl game on a four-game winning streak. The Owls' Taylor McHargue was 8-of-16 for 196 yards and a touchdown while Charles Ross rushed for 109 yards and two scores.

Marshall's Rakeem Cato was 24-of-41 for 265 yards and threw two touchdown passes to extend his streak with at least one to 31 games. Devon Johnson recorded a 1-yard TD run for the Thundering Herd (9-4), who had their five-game winning streak snapped.

Marshall had outscored its last four opponents 87-10 in the first quarter, but found itself trailing 14-0 after 15 minutes in this one. McHargue pitched to Turner, who threw a perfect pass to a wide-open Donte Moore for a 35-yard touchdown 4:45 into the game and McHargue connected with Taylor for a 75-yard TD strike 2:10 later.

Ross' 4-yard touchdown run capped a 52-second drive which covered 62 yards in four plays to give Rice a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter. The Owls sealed the win in the third on Darik Dillard's 17-yard burst around right end on an option pitch from Turner and Turner's 8-yard jump pass to Connor Cella to make it 34-10.