Marshall Football: Late interception dooms Herd, Ohio 27 - Marshall 24

It is hard to win football games when you lose the turnover battle, a difficult lesson Marshall learned tonight as Ohio exited Joan C. Edwards Stadium with a 27-24 victory. The Bobcats used a forth quarter fumble and interception to erase a 21-17 defect and keep their perfect season intact.

Both forth quarter turnovers occurred as Marshall was looking to complete scoring drives deep in Ohio territory. With the score knotted at 24, Thundering Herd quarterback Rakeem Cato completed a nine yard pass to Antavious Wilson near the Bobcat 30 yard line. Wilson was hit by Larenzo Fisher, causing a fumble which was returned by linebacker Nate Carpenter near Marshall's 30 yard line, setting up a Matt Weller field goal and 27-24 Ohio lead. Given the ball back with just over 90 seconds remaining, Marshall drove down to the Bobcats 27 yard line before Cato threw an interception, ending MU's comeback hopes. 

Despite the late interception Cato had another effective night passing the football. The sophomore quarterback completed 44 of 65 passes for 432 yards and three touchdowns. Cato's favorite target was his former high school teammate Tommy Shuler. Shuler caught a game high 13 passes for 121 yards. Senior wide receiver Aaron Dobson got close to the century mark, hauling in 11 receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown. Marshall had a difficult time running against a stout Ohio defense, only gaining 59 yards on 22 carries. In fact, Cato was the leading rusher with 32 yards. 

Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettelton had his third impressive game in a row, hitting 20 of 35 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Tettelton spent a lot of time handing off to junior running back Beau Blankenship who registered 30 carries for 102 yards. 

Marshall returns to the football field next Saturday as they visit Rice. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30pm ET with TV coverage provided by CSS. 

Notes - Box Score...Dobson's touchdown catch moved him to fifth all-time on Marshall's career TD reception list...Alex Schooler started at right guard in place of John Bruhin...Offensive lineman Corey Tenney did not play after appearing on the sideline with crutches to start the game...Attendance was counted at 33,436, the 6th largest crowd in Marshall football history...Ohio's victory was its first in Huntington since 1977 and only at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.