From left, Braylon Braxton, Mike Green, Logan Osburn and head coach Charles Huff celebrate a 31-3 win in the Sun Belt Conference football championship game at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana on Dec. 7, 2024.
From left, Braylon Braxton, Mike Green, Logan Osburn and head coach Charles Huff celebrate a 31-3 win in the Sun Belt Conference football championship game at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana on Dec. 7, 2024.
LAFAYETTE, La. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” On a day that greatly resembled the one on which the Marshall football team last won a conference championship a decade ago, the Thundering Herd did it again.
The persistent rains cleared out, but cloud cover remained as nightfall set in at Cajun Field on Saturday. But Marshall walked away with a trophy and its first title since joining the Sun Belt with a 31-3 victory over the Louisiana RaginÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ Cajuns to secure the HerdÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s first 10-win season since 2015.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œ(Former Marshall) coach Bobby Pruett always told me when I took this job that we play for championships,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Thundering Herd coach Charles Huff said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œNo, coach, we play for them and we win them.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Braylon Braxton, who was chosen as the gameÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Most Valuable Player, threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns and Jordan Houston stepped in for an injured AJ Turner and delivered 117 yards on 17 carries.
Houston scored the touchdown that all but sealed the win for the Thundering Herd, which tallied 410 yards of total offense Saturday night.
MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s defense matched that intensity and limited the RaginÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ Cajuns to only a first-quarter field goal, the lowest scoring output of any offense in the seven-year history of the SBC championship game.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œJust because we deserved to be here, doesnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t mean anything was going to be given to us. We we had to go out there and we had to take it,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Herd defensive lineman Mike Green said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThis team deserved everything we got, and IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m extremely proud of the win we just got.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The CajunsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ offense never bounced back after losing quarterback Chandler Fields with an injury in the second quarter, forcing them to turn to true freshman Daniel Beal in a game they were trailing 7-3. His first play was a designed rush that failed to convert on fourth-and-short in plus territory.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHe went out there tonight against a really good (defensive) front and a lot of pressure was on his shoulders because of the struggles we were having running the football,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Cajuns coach Michael Desormeaux said of Beale, who was the teamÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s third-string quarterback to begin the season. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œCertainly not an ideal situation for that kid to be in, but IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m proud of him ... thereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s no better way to learn than to be thrown into it.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Fields connected on half of his eight passes for 104 yards, while Beale finished 9 of 24 for 95 yards. Both Lance LeGendre and Harvey Broussard caught four passes and finished with 81 and 80 yards, respectively.
But Louisiana was kept to just 77 rushing yards on 28 carries. Its two biggest plays of the night ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” passes of 47 and 34 yards from Fields before the injury ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” were about the only two mistakes the Herd made on that side of the ball, and they came early.
But even in those moments, their confidence never wavered.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m gonna be dead honest, from the first snap, I knew we was gonna win the game,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Herd linebacker Jaden Yates said after making a team-high six tackles. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe take a lot of pride in going out there and defending every blade of grass ... off that first snap, we realized we smelled blood in the water.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Marshall took its first lead of the game on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Braxton to Tychaun Chapman, who had a step on his defender and met the ball in the end zone, one play after the quarterback had converted a third-and-9 with his legs to keep the drive alive.
That sequence was when the Sun Belt Conference newcomer of the year said he finally felt comfortable in the game.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œEarly, I was doing some bone-headed stuff I probably shouldnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t have,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Braxton said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThrowing the ball up trying to make plays that werenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t there, but I stayed the course, settled down and got the win.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The Marshall lead doubled on Ethan PayneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s 15-yard touchdown run to set the halftime score at 17-3, and Braxton linked up with Bralon Brown for a 20-yard scoring play halfway through the third quarter to balloon the lead to 21.
MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s ability to dictate the pace of the game paid off in a big way, and it yielded results early. The Herd ran 20 plays in the first quarter and held the ball for more than nine minutes. It did it again after halftime, spending 9:36 with the ball and running 19 plays.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think it gives you a huge advantage,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Herd offensive lineman Logan Osburn said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhen weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re able to stay on the field and keep their offense off the field, weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re going to win games. And coach Huff challenged us all week and said (the game) was going to be won up front, and I think we did a hell of a job executing.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Luke Creasy is a sports reporter for HD ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥. He can be reached by phone at 304-526-2800.
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