Herd Football’s Rally In Raleigh Falls Short

Box Score | Coach Huff – Post-Game Presser

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Football's rally to remain undefeated fell just short on Saturday as the Thundering Herd suffered its first loss of the season in a 48-41 loss to N.C. State in front of 56,919 fans at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina.

With the loss, Marshall falls to 4-1 on the season and sees its nine-game winning streak come to an end. The Herd is still 1-0 in the Sun Belt standings as the loss to the Wolfpack ended the non-conference portion of the slate.

"They battled and they played hard," Marshall football coach Charles Huff said. "That's a real ACC Power Five football team. We made way too many mistakes to beat that caliber of a team. You just can't do it."

Marshall quarterback Cam Fancher threw for a season-high 315 yards and totaled four touchdowns in the loss for the Herd.

Fancher's 16-yard touchdown toss to Caleb Coombs with 1:29 left in the game cut N.C. State's lead to one possession and a Herd defensive stop gave Marshall a chance. However, the Herd was stopped on fourth down in its own territory as the Wolfpack survived another battle with Marshall.

The Thundering Herd offense outgained N.C. State, 419-401, but turnovers and turnovers on downs proved costly.

In addition to Fancher's strong effort, wide receiver Darryle Simmons had his best effort in a Marshall uniform with eight catches for 87 yards.

"Everybody is really jelling as a team and as an offense, especially," Simmons said. " Coach Huff always preaches 'Next Man Up' and to be ready. I was just ready for my opportunity when it came."

Those turnovers negated a defensive effort in which the Herd collected three interceptions, including one that was returned 27 yards for a touchdown by Josh Moten.

Dyoni Hill collected one of them early in the third quarter, adding to a career day for him as he also accounted for eight tackles, including a tackle for loss, in the game.

Hill's interception came on the first drive of what became a wild third quarter in which both teams got big plays on the offensive end.

"Our defense, we want everything to be on us," Hill said. "For us to come out and get takeaways meant a lot to the defense and it gave the offense some momentum.

Marshall took a 24-21 lead into the locker room after the Thundering Herd scored 10 points in the final 2:34 of the half.

After Marshall's Rece Verhoff connected on a career-long 43-yard field goal to cut the deficit to four points, the defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball back for the offense.

Fancher executed beautifully, completing all four of his passes on the drive before capping it with a 4-yard touchdown run in which he extended for the pylon to give the Herd the halftime lead.

Prior to that, it had been Marshall's defense that had set the tone for the offense, producing a pair of interceptions that directly led to 14 first-half points.

J.J. Roberts grabbed an interception on N.C. State's first drive to help set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Cam Fancher that gave Marshall the early lead.

After N.C. State tied things up, Moten made an acrobatic interception on a quick out route and stayed on his feet, returning it 27 yards for a score.

Marshall returns to action at 7 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 14 when the Herd travels to take on Georgia State for its first road contest in Sun Belt Conference play.

For all the latest information about Marshall Football, follow @HerdFB on Twitter and @Herd_FB on Instagram.

To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.

---HerdZone.com---

Next Event

Team Stats

Cam Fancher

Players Mentioned

Caleb Coombs

Cam Fancher

Dyoni Hill

Josh Moten

J.J. Roberts

Darryle Simmons

Rece Verhoff

Marshall University Athletics