Marshall University Athletics
Late Rally Falls Short In 35-23 Loss To James Madison
11/8/2025 5:45:00 PM | Football
Roberts rushes for 121 yards as Herd eclipses 400-yard mark offensively
Box Score | Coach Gibson Post-Game Press Conference
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Football rallied back from a 16-point second-half deficit, but a comeback attempt fell short in a 35-23 loss to James Madison in front of 26,727 fans in the 'Play For The 75' game at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
With the loss, Marshall falls to 4-5 on the season and 2-3 in Sun Belt Conference action.
"First off, Coach Chesney and James Madison, congratulations to them because they have a heck of a football team," Marshall head coach Tony Gibson said. "We've got a locker room that's hurting right now for a lot of different reasons. We wanted this game not only for us, but for the '75' and we put a lot into it. It's a tough pill to swallow."
Marshall trailed by as many as 16 midway through the third quarter but rallied back to within 28-23 after scoring 11 straight points in between the third and fourth quarters.
A fake punt pass from Nathan Totten to Gavin Magorien led to a Tracy Stephens touchdown reception from Carlos Del-Rio Wilson and Lorcan Quinn later added his third field goal of the game from 23 yards out following an interception by Paul Hutson III to pull the Herd back within 28-23 with 10:15 left.
The Herd defense continued its solid play with another pair of defensive stops and got possession back for the offense near midfield with 4:54 left, but the Dukes stopped Marshall a yard short of the line to gain on a fourth down and later added a touchdown in the final minutes to set the score.
Despite the loss, Marshall's rushing attack continued its strong play with the Herd rushing for 248 yards on 50 carries.
For the second straight week, Antwan Roberts led the way on the ground for the Herd with 121 yards on 20 carries, including a 15-yard touchdown run in the first half.
Quinn finished the game 3-for-3 on field goal attempts. In addition to his fourth-quarter field goal, he connected on field goals of 49 and 52 yards late in the second quarter.
It was also the fifth straight game in which Quinn has hit two or more field goals, breaking the previous Marshall record in that category of four, set by Billy Malashevich in 1998.
Quinn is now 17 of 21 on field goal attempts this season with four makes being from 50-plus yards.
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---HerdZone.com---
