Marshall Thundering Herd vs Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Box Score on Oct 24, 2013

Middle Tennessee 51, Marshall 49: Logan Kilgore threw for four touchdowns – including the game-winning 9-yard strike to Tavarres Jefferson as time expired – to lead the host Blue Raiders past the Thundering Herd in a Conference USA thriller.

Middle Tennessee (4-4, 2-1) held a 45-35 advantage with 13:17 remaining following Kilgore’s 6-yard TD throw to Corey Carmichael, but Marshall (4-3, 2-1) put together consecutive scoring drives to take a four-point lead with 2:29 left. The Blue Raiders methodically marched down the field in 13 plays and got a key 18-yard catch from Jefferson on a fourth-down play with eight seconds remaining.

Following a first-down incompletion that left three seconds on the clock, Kilgore fired a pass to a leaping Jefferson in the front of the end zone to end it. Kilgore finished with 277 yards and added a rushing score while Essray Taliaferro ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns for the Thundering Herd.

After Middle Tennessee used a late second-quarter score to draw even at the half, Jordan Parker and Kilgore scored on 1-yard runs and Cody Clark chipped in a 37-yard field goal to give the Blue Raiders a 10-point lead. Rakeem Cato closed the gap to 38-35 on a 6-yard TD throw to Tommy Shuler with 2:39 left in the third but was countered by Kilgore’s third touchdown pass on the ensuing drive.

Kevin Grooms, who had two rushing touchdowns, capped a 15-play drive to bring Marshall back within three and, following a Middle Tennessee punt, Taliaferro rushed six times during an eight-play march that ended with his second score and set up the dramatic finish.