Cato's Big Night Leads Marshall Past Tulsa

Tulsa scored 20 straight points in the second half to take a 34-31 lead in the fourth quarter, but Marshall scored the final two touchdowns to take home a 45-34 win in front of a crowd of 16,723 Thursday evening at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

The Golden Hurricane (2-8, 1-5 C-USA) erased a 21-0 first-quarter deficit, taking hold of the lead early in the fourth quarter, on the strength of three Marshall fumbles in the third period. TU led 34-31 with under five minutes to play, but the Thundering Herd (7-3, 5-1 C-USA) scored touchdowns on each of its final two drives to claim the 45-34 win.

Tulsa recorded five takeaways in the contest - an interception and four fumbles - and finished with a plus-three turnover ratio.

Marshall scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the game. Threatening to score a fourth, TU linebacker Shawn Jackson picked off a tipped pass on his own 7 yard line. The Hurricane scored on that possession and its next possession to close the deficit to 21-14.

The Herd scored twice more in the second quarter to take a 31-14 advantage into halftime.

Tulsa scored on each of its first four second-half possessions, taking advantage of short field position. The TU defense forced three fumbles and a punt on Marshall's first four second-half possessions. The Hurricane drove 15 and 54 yards four touchdowns, and 38 and 42 yards for field goals to move ahead 34-31.

Marshall then scored on two straight drives, taking over after a punt and then on downs, reaching the end zone each time to reach the 45-34 score.

Senior Trey Watts rushed for a career-high 169 yards and scored two touchdowns for Tulsa. Redshirt freshman quarterback Dane Evans completed 13-of-39 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. Jackson finished with 14 tackles, and interception and two fumble recoveries.

Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato passed for 456 yards and five touchdowns on 33-of-58 completions. Tommy Shuler tallied 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Devon Smith added 114 yards receiving with a touchdown.