Buffalo’s Marks shines in Camellia Bowl win
Kevin Marks scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:09 left and Buffalo made a final defensive stop to beat Marshall 17-10 in the Camellia Bowl on Friday in Montgomery, Ala.
Subbing for the national leader in rushing yards per game, Jaret Patterson, Marks carried 35 times for 138 yards for the Bulls (6-1) against one of the nation’s top run defenses.
Grant Wells took Marshall (7-3), which had rallied from a 10-0 deficit, to the Buffalo 20 with no timeouts. Kadofi Wright’s sack helped force a fourth-and-11 and Eric Black added his second sack to end the threat.
Buffalo improved to 2-3 in bowls, also beating Charlotte in the 2019 Bahamas Bowl.
The matchup between the nation’s top rushing team and the No. 2 run defense lost some of its luster even before kickoff.
Pat terson, who had 1,072 yards and 19 touchdowns in six games, didn’t dress out after sustaining a right knee injury in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game.
Marks had 23 carries for 117 yards by halftime, though he was mostly shut down in the second half by a defense giving up just 88.9 rushing yards a game.
The Thundering Herd still held Buffalo to 155 rushing yards, half of its own average.
Marshall tied it on Shane Ciucci’s 21-yard field goal with 8:48 left in the third. AP ANNOUNCES TOP PAC-12 HONORS >> Dynamic running backs Jarek Broussard of Colorado and Oregon State’s Jermar Jefferson were voted co-offensive players of the year by a media panel in The Associated Press All-Pac-12 team released Friday.
USC safety Talanoa Hufanga was voted defensive player of the year, Colorado’s Karl Dorrell was coach of the year and Utah freshman running back Ty Jordan was newcomer of the year. ARK ANSAS LI N E BACK E R STAYING IN SCHOOL >> AllSEC linebacker Grant Morgan said he will return to Arkansas for another season in 2021.
Morgan was leading the nation with 110 tackles before sustaining a knee injury during the second half of the Razorbacks’ 50- 48 loss at Missouri on Dec. 5.