Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Upsets Sixth-Ranked Kansas State, 27-20
9/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Marshall Upsets Sixth-Ranked Kansas State, 27-20
9/20/2003
- Box Score
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Marshall capitalized on a game-breaking defensive touchdown and used a potent running attack to pull the biggest upset in school and Mid-American Conference football history, upending the No. 6 ranked Kansas State Wildcats 27-20 at KSU Stadium on Saturday.
Marshall's Franklin "Butchie" Wallace ran for a game-high 112 yards on 17 carries to lead the Thundering Herd past the Wildcats (4-1). MU (2-2) outrushed a Kansas State team that was allowing only 62.5 yards per game rushing entering the contest to the tune of a 210-128 edge.
Junior defensive end Jonathan Goddard returned a fumble 84 yards for a Marshall touchdown toward the end of the first quarter to tie the game at 7-7. Goddard's game-swinging defensive play was his first career touchdown.
Herd newcomer Earl Charles contributed 84 yards on the ground and proved to be a lethal change of pace back when combined with Wallace, as Marshall picked up 10 of its 16 first downs via the ground game.
The Wildcats grabbed a 20-19 lead with 8:22 remaining in the fourth quarter on a Darren Sproles 12-yard touchdown run. The Thundering Herd then used a 31-yard kickoff return from Chris Royal to set up a game-winning drive that culminated in a Graham Gochneaur 3-yard TD pass to tight end Jason Rader. MU went up by seven points after Gochneaur found Josh Davis at the goal line for a two-point conversion to go up 27-20.
KSU (4-1) stormed down the field on its ensuing posession, aided by a Jeff Schwinn 33-yard screen pass to Sproles to the MU three yard line. An illegal formation penalty on K-State pushed the Wildcats back five yards to the seven yard line before Marshall's Dionte Wilson provided the coverage on a Schwinn pass as time expired to preserve the victory for Marshall (2-2).
The Herd won the turnover battle 4-1, while limiting the Wildcats to only two third down conversions in eleven attempts.
With starting quarterback Stan Hill sidelined with a knee injury, Gochneaur delivered with two touchdown passes versus one interception. The Highland Village, Tex., native found Darius Watts in the corner of the endzone in the second quarter for the wide receiver's 40th career touchdown and a 13-10 MU lead.
The win marked the first time that Marshall has defeated a regular season opponent ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. Marshall topped BYU (ranked 25th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll) in the 1999 Motor City Bowl. It also marked the first time ever that a Mid-American Conference school has defeated a team ranked sixth or higher in the major polls.
Marshall travels to Troy, Ala., to battle the Troy State Trojans next Saturday in the Thundering Herd's final non-conference game of 2003.
