LAFAYETTE, La. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Confetti and a trophy.Â
That's the vision that brought Marshall offensive lineman Logan Osburn back to the Thundering Herd football team after a rocky 6-7 season in 2023.
As he lifted the Sun Belt Conference football championship trophy beside his coach and in front of his teammates, the Cabell Midland High School alumnus was filled with emotion, realizing that his vision had become reality.Â
"That's the reason I came back, to be honest," Osburn said. "I turned down a lot of money for this moment. I prayed about it and God told me to come back, and I did, and He would never steer you wrong. I'm just so proud of this team."
On the eve of Marshall's 31-3 win over Louisiana in the title bout, Osburn reflected on his feelings following a loss in the 2020 Conference USA championship game, which the Herd lost to UAB.Â
Four years later, with a new coach and in a new conference, he's got new feelings to replace those. Coach Charles Huff said he couldn't be happier for Osburn to have ended his college career as a champion.Â
"I love them all, every single one of them, even the guys that couldn't make the trip. But I really wanted to win it for Logan Osborn," Huff said Saturday, a day before departing the Herd's coaching job for Southern Miss. " I'm honored to be the coach that helped him get that, something that he hadn't gotten. He's played with a lot of really good teams, a lot of really good players, but that was the one piece that was missing."
One More for the Case
Saturday's win not only captured Marshall's first Sun Belt football championship, but it also distinguished the Herd as the the only team to win a conference championship game in three leagues: the Mid-American Conference, Conference USA and the Sun Belt.Â
While other schools may have claimed championships in three conferences, those haven't come after winning a championship game outright.
Mama's Mantle
Herd quarterback Braylon Braxton was ecstatic that he got to keep the championship belt he was given after being named the MVP of Saturday's title game, but he might not keep it for long.Â
"My mom keeps all our trophies," Braxton said. "She's got trophies from when we were 5 years old still, so she's definitely taking this."
The Tulsa transfer is a perfect 8-0 as a starter and finished with 268 all-purpose yards Saturday, with 193 yards and two touchdowns through the air and another 75 on the ground.Â
Scoring Glitch
Thirty-four combined points were the fewest scored in the seven-year history of the SBC championship game, but Marshall's 28-point win also represented the largest margin of victory in the game, while the Ragin' Cajuns' three points were the fewesr a team has scored on championship weekend. Â
Seeing Green ... Again
Marshall defensive lineman Mike Green broke the Sun BeltÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s single-season record with his 17th sack, surpassing the standard set by TroyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Javon Solomon in 2023. The lone sack of the night for Green also tied Marshall's single-season record, and he finished the night with 1.5 tackles for loss, five total tackles and a pass break-up.
Notable Stats
Herd wide receiver Tychaun ChapmanÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s eight receptions were the second-most by a player in an SBC championship game. Jordan Houston became the fifth player to rush for at least 100 yards in the game, and Braxton's 268 all-purpose yards were the fourth-most by a player. Marshall was the first road team to win the championship game.
