Marshall University Athletics
Leftwich Fires Six TDs As Herd Reclaims "The Bell"
11/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Leftwich Fires Six TDs As Herd Reclaims "The Bell"
11/17/2001
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Byron Leftwich didn't think Ohio's ball-control offense would allow him to have a big game.
Leftwich passed for 399 yards and six touchdowns to lead Marshall (No. 25 ESPN/USA Today, No. 24 AP) to a 42-18 victory over Ohio on Saturday.
It didn't matter that Ohio's offense held the ball for more than 37 minutes.
"We wanted to come out and get in our rhythm tonight," Leftwich said. "It's tough to get possession time with that team. We wanted to score every time we got the ball, on every possession."
The junior narrowly missed his fourth 400-yard game. He tied the school record for TD passes in a game set by Heisman Trophy finalist Chad Pennington against Ball State in 1997.
Leftwich, who completed 28-of-39 passes, left the game in the final minutes after giving Marshall a first down at the Ohio 26.
"Chad will probably call me tonight and ask me why I didn't break the record," Leftwich said.
He'll likely get the chance to erase another Pennington mark. Leftwich needs 307 yards in his final two games to break the school record of 3,799 yards set by Pennington in 1999.
"I was coming into the game telling people that Pennington's accuracy was a lot better than Leftwich," said Ohio defensive back Bop White. "But when he stepped onto the field, he showed me a lot. He surprised me. He makes the right decisions and he's putting that ball right on the money."
After the game, Marshall accepted a bid to the GMAC Bowl on Dec. 19 in Mobile, Ala. The Herd will play the No. 2 team from Conference USA.
Marshall is at home next Saturday against Division I-AA Youngstown State before playing in the Mid-American Conference championship game Nov. 30 at the West Division winner.
In avenging a loss to the Bobcats last year, Marshall (9-1, 6-0 MAC East) won the Battle of the Bell, a symbol of the Ohio River separating West Virginia and Ohio.
Despite losing for the fifth straight time, Ohio (1-9, 0-6 MAC East) scored more points than its three previous games combined.
Four of Leftwich's TD tosses went to Darius Watts, who has drawn comparisons to former Herd standout Randy Moss and entered the game third in Division I-A receiving with 128 yards per game.
"I went up to Darius Watts after the game and challenged him. I said, 'Are you sure you're just a sophomore?' " said Ohio coach Brian Knorr. "Because it seems like he's been here forever. That young man is amazing."
Watts caught 10 passes for 136 yards and was one TD catch short of the school record of five set by Moss against Ball State in 1997.
Watts' fingertip catch of a 26-yard pass set up Leftwich's 3-yard TD toss to Trod Buggs for a 28-6 lead early in the third quarter.
Leftwich threw five straight incompletions on Marshall's next two series, and Ohio answered with a 16-yard TD run from Jamel Patterson.
But Leftwich rebounded with five straight completions on the next drive. Watts caught a 6-yard pass over the shoulder of White for a 35-12 lead late in the third quarter.
Leftwich capped Marshall's scoring with a 29-yarder to Curtis Jones midway through the final quarter.
Ohio, which is third in the nation with 243.3 rushing yards per game, compiled 318 Saturday. But the Bobcats squandered two early scoring chances.
Kevin Kerr missed a 44-yard field goal on the opening possession.
After Ohio recovered a fumble at the Marshall 27, Alonzo Jones intercepted Dontrell Jackson and returned it to the Ohio 48.
Marshall's Brandon Carey raced up the middle for 22 yards on first down and Leftwich hit Watts with a 26-yard TD pass to open the scoring.
Early in the second quarter, Marshall's Sam Goines recovered a fumble at the Herd 48. Watts went high to snare a bullet pass from Leftwich for a 3-yard score.
Leftwich passed for all 85 yards of Marshall's next possession, finding Watts on a fade pattern from 9 yards out for a 21-0 lead.
Ohio's Joe Mohler took the snap on a fake punt and ran 31 yards to the Marshall 44. A 26-yard pass from backup Freddie Ray to Jason Caesar moved the ball to the 13.
On fourth-and-1 at the 4, Ray scrambled to his right and threw across the field to a sliding Chris Knaack in the end zone with 25 seconds left until halftime for Ohio's first points in 12 quarters.
