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NCAA Football Recap (Louisville-Marshall)
Posted: Thur December 24, 1998 at 1:11 a.m EST MARSHALL 48, LOUISVILLE 29PONTIAC, Michigan (Ticker) -- Chad Pennington won the battle of quarterbacks, throwing for 411 yards and four touchdowns, and Marshall scored on eight of its final 10 possessions to overpower Louisville, 48-29, in the Motor City Bowl. The Mid-American Conference champions rolled to their first-ever bowl victory behind Pennington, who outdueled Chris Redman by completing 18-of-24 passes without an interception in his third career 400-yard game. Redman, a fellow junior, was 35-of-54 for 336 yards, a touchdown and an interception. "They had the coverage, but our receivers made some plays," Pennington said. "We had to take the pressure off of our defense and put the pressure on our shoulders." If both quarterbacks remain in school as expected, they will be front-runners for the 1999 Heisman Trophy. "(Redman) is a great quarterback," added Pennington. "Chris and I talked a lot all week. He has pinpoint accuracy and a great feel for the game." The Thundering Herd (12-1) went three-and-out on the opening possession but were stopped just twice thereafter. Billy Malashevich missed a 56-yard field goal on the last play of the first half and coach Bob Pruett had his team kneel down in the final moments with Marshall deep in Louisville territory. Marshall players celebrated the victory by dousing Pruett, who has led the Herd to 101 victories in the 1990s. Marshall is the only Division I-A or I-AA school to record 100 victories during the decade. "We had seven goals at the start of the season and we think we reached two of those today," Pruett said. "One was to win a bowl and the other was to finish in the top 25. I think we proved it today that we belong in the top 25." Playing in the Motor City Bowl for the second straight season, Marshall recorded its first bowl victory in its third try. The Herd lost to Catawba in the 1948 Tangerine Bowl and was beaten by Mississippi, 34-31, in the inaugural game last year. Last season's trip came in Marshall's return to I-A play after nearly two decades of I-AA dominance that included two national championships and six trips to the title game. Despite the loss in its first postseason appearance since 1993, Louisville (7-5) closed a remarkable turnaround campaign. The Cardinals recovered from last year's 1-10 season in which the lone victory came against winless Illinois. "We accomplished a bowl game this year and more than anyone thought we would," said Louisville coach John L. Smith, "even more than some of the players probably thought. We have to take a look at this season with a positive attitude and we have to improve even more this year. We're not going to dwell on one game. We have to look at the whole season and build on that." After a wild final 18 minutes of the first half that saw the teams score touchdowns on six consecutive possessions, Marshall took over with 17 points in the opening 12:06 of the third quarter. The Thundering Herd stopped Louisville on the opening possession of the period, then struck on the third play when Pennington found Jerrald Long open along the left sideline for a 50-yard score. On the first play of Marshall's next possession, Doug Chapman took Pennington's screen pass 65 yards to the Louisville 10-yard line. Moments later, Chapman barreled his way for a one-yard TD. Louisville was forced to punt and Damone Williams returned the kick 41 yards to the Cardinals 15. The Thundering Herd settled for Malashevich's 22-yard field goal and a 38-21 lead. "I felt the third quarter was the crucial quarter," Pennington said. "We wanted to come out and take the pressure off the defense. We saw how they scored 21 quick points in the first half." Marshall pushed its advantage to 45-21 just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter on another one-yard TD plunge by Chapman. The Cardinals fought within 16 points four minutes later on Leroy Collins' one-yard TD run and two-point conversion scamper. But Malashevich's 32-yard field goal sealed the victory with just over 10 minutes remaining. "They did a great job in the second half," Smith said. "They have some great speed and they took away our routes. I just felt they played harder than we did in the second half. We put a lot of pressure on our offense to score every time it had the football." After the teams went a shocking 12:56 without scoring, Marshall ended the drought when Pennington hit James Williams for a 29-yard score. It was the first of six consecutive touchdowns on drives covering 97, 79, 84, 87, 82 and 80 yards. Collins fought his way for a two-yard touchdown early in the second quarter before Marshall regained the lead on Pennington's 14-yard TD toss to Lanier Washington. Redman's only scoring strike of the game came moments later when he found Charles Sheffield for 21 yards. Pennington hooked up with James Williams again on a 26-yard score to put Marhsall ahead, 21-14, but the Cardinals tied it with 1:52 left in the half on Collins' 13-yard run. Llow Turner carried 13 times for 94 yards and Chapman added 94 on 26 attempts for Marshall, which racked up 613 yards of total offense compared to 402 for the Cardinals. Pennington hit eight different receivers, with John Cooper leading the way with 67 yards on five catches. "We had to establish a running game and eat up the clock to start out the second half because they scored 21 points in the blink of an eye," said Chapman. "Our offensive line also did the job up front." Collins carried 14 times for 84 yards for Louisville, while Arnold Jackson totaled 96 yards on eight catches. © 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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