The task for No. 22 Southern Miss was easy: beat 2-8 UAB in front of a raucous crowd of 72 fans at Legion Field and it’s off to the Conference USA title game for you, Golden Eagles. Heck, for good measure, USM didn’t even have to win to tonight; a loss by Marshall against Memphis would have sufficed.
But, no, Southern Miss. You just had to do it the hard way, didn’t you?
In stunning fashion, USM lost tonight to UAB 34-31 and Marshall came from behind to beat Memphis 23-22. Even then the Herd tried everything in their power to lose. Up by one with just over a minute to play, Marshall running back Tron Martinez fumbled the ball inside Memphis territory, which was recovered by the Tigers. Then, on a game-deciding fourth down, the Herd got away with a pass interference so obvious even Marshall fans had to go “uhhh....yeahhhh... “
Be that as it may, Marshall, at 5-6, is very much alive in the C-USA East standings. A win over East Carolina next week and another loss by USM (to Memphis, of all teams) would give Doc Holliday‘s team a trip to the C-USA championship game -- likely against Houston.
For Southern Miss, there’s no way to soften it: this was a very bad loss. Not only is it embarrassing after the Golden Eagles cracked the Top 25, but it could potentially be the kind of loss that hangs over to the following game.
That could pave the way for Marshall, who had a brutal schedule this year. Their first six games? At West Virginia (7-3), Southern Miss (9-2), at Ohio (8-3), Virginia Tech (10-1), at Louisville (5-5) and at Central Florida (4-6). On paper, no one outside of Huntington would give Marshall a chance in any of those games. The fact that MU was able to grab victories against USM (hence the tiebreaker if Marshall wins/USM loses next week) and Louisville was huge.
And, now, they’ll have a chance to represent the East division of Conference USA in the championship game. They still need some help, but they’ve already made it farther than many thought they would.
