New Mexico Bowl 2017: 3 takeaways from Marshall’s upset of Colorado State

2. Offensive balance won the day in the New Mexico Bowl

The Thundering Herd walked away from their first New Mexico Bowl appearance victorious thanks to a balanced offensive performance. While Colorado State quarterback Nick Stevens has been more hyped throughout the season, it was Chase Litton who stole the show in Albuquerque.

Litton was hardly perfect throwing the ball. The Herd quarterback finished 17-of-32 for 262 yards. A pair of touchdowns was counterbalanced by a pair of interceptions. But other than the turnovers, Litton was more effective moving the ball than his counterpart at quarterback. Stevens threw for 320 yards, but he needed 52 passing attempts to get there as he completed fewer than half of his throws. He had four total touchdowns, two rushing and two passing, but

Stevens was throwing so much because the Rams couldn’t get anything going on the ground. During the 2017 regular season, Dalyn Dawkins averaged 112 yards per game. Izzy Matthews added another 58 yards on the ground per outing. The backfield duo racked up eight rushing touchdowns apiece. But the Marshall defense held them to less than half their season averages and kept both players out of the endzone.

In the end, Marshall could turn not just to Litton but also Keion Davis and Tyler King, their own backfield duo that each racked up over 100 yards against the Rams. Davis led all rushers with 141 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. King added 107 yards and a score on six carries and a reception.