Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
5-5 , 3-3
Georgia State
1-9 , 0-6
Del Rio-Wilson Leads Herd Past Georgia State, 30-18
11/15/2025 6:25:00 PM | Football
Herd QB accounts for 418 yards, three TDs in hometown return
Box Score | Coach Gibson Post-Game Press Conference
ATLANTA, Ga. – Marshall quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson enjoyed his return to his hometown on Saturday as he threw for 321 yards and rushed for another 97 while accounting for three touchdowns in the Herd's 30-18 win over Georgia State at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium.
With the win, Marshall moves to 5-5 on the season and 3-3 in the Sun Belt Conference.
"It was not the greatest of atmospheres, and I thought our kids overcame that," Marshall coach Tony Gibson said. "Early on, we gave up a big run, but I thought we settled in after that and played much better."
Del Rio-Wilson helped the Herd solidify the win when he led Marshall's offense on a 97-yard drive in the game's pivotal stages.
With the Herd pinned deep, Del Rio-Wilson found Demarcus Lacey on third down for 10 yards to keep the drive alive before a completion of 39 yards to Toby Payne moved the ball near midfield.
Del Rio-Wilson capped the drive with a 29-yard scoring strike to Adrian Norton to put the Herd up two scores late.
The Atlanta native finished 22 of 27 for 321 yards and three touchdowns through the air while rushing for 97 yards and leading the Herd to another performance in which they had no turnovers.
"It's good to be home," Del Rio-Wilson said. "I had a lot of family and friends from back home, so it was fun. Just having that support from my friends and family, it was different for me. I feel like the offense was just clicking and we brought everything together."
Marshall's Jibreel Al-Amin then forced a late fumble that Caleb Clark-Glover recovered – the Herd's third forced turnover of the game – to seal the win. Al-Amin finished with 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, a half-sack and a forced fumble.
Payne caught five passes for a career-high 110 yards to lead the Herd receiving corps.
"This is probably the best game I've had blocking-wise and receiving-wise," Payne said. "It felt good to put it all together. I had a good week of practice and took it to the field."
Marshall took a 21-10 lead into the locker room after Del Rio-Wilson connected with Payne for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left before halftime.
Georgia State's Braeden McAlister followed with an SBC record-tying 60-yard field goal at the half to set the score.
After a slow start, Del Rio-Wilson found his rhythm over the final 20 minutes of the first half, completing his final 13 passes before the break, capped by the score to Payne.
With the game tied at 7 in the early second quarter, Del Rio-Wilson used both his legs and arms to give the Herd the lead following a 5-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Lacey. Del Rio-Wilson completed all five throws on the drive and added a 22-yard rush.
Marshall's defense got a pair of interceptions on Saturday – one by Jadarius Green-McKnight in the first half to negate a scoring opportunity and another by Daytione Smith to start the second half.
Smith was injured early in the fourth quarter and was taken to nearby Grady Medical Center in downtown Atlanta for observation.
"By the time I got to him, he was moving his hands and feet and he had feeling, so just keep praying for him," Gibson said. "Any time like that takes a lot out of the team, and he'd played really well today. We're just praying for him."
Marshall next heads to Boone, N.C., to face App State at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
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Team Stats
MAR 0, GSU 7
GSU - Simmons,Jordon 92 yd run (Rickman,Liam kick), 2 plays, 92 yards, TOP 00:18
MAR 7, GSU 7
MAR - Allen,Michael 4 yd run (Quinn,Lorcan kick), 7 plays, 85 yards, TOP 02:38
MAR 14, GSU 7
MAR - Lacey,Demarcus 5 yd pass from Del Rio-Wilson,Carlos (Quinn,Lorcan kick) 9 plays, 71 yards, TOP 04:38
MAR 21, GSU 7
MAR - Payne,Toby 26 yd pass from Del Rio-Wilson,Carlos (Quinn,Lorcan kick) 8 plays, 90 yards, TOP 02:05
MAR 21, GSU 10
GSU - McAlister,Braeden 60 yd field goal 7 plays, 32 yards, TOP 00:46
MAR 21, GSU 18
GSU - Hollier,Grant 2 yd pass from Finley,TJ (Simmons,Jordon pass) 15 plays, 96 yards, TOP 08:50
MAR 24, GSU 18
MAR - Quinn,Lorcan 30 yd field goal 8 plays, 55 yards, TOP 04:02
MAR 30, GSU 18
MAR - Norton,Adrian 29 yd pass from Del Rio-Wilson,Carlos () 8 plays, 97 yards, TOP 03:45
