Stan Hill got the job done.
That was the bottom line Tuesday night as Hill led Marshall to a dramatic 36-34 victory over Miami to keep Marshall's hope for a sixth straight MAC East Division title alive.
To say that Hill was a clutch performer in his debut as Marshall's starting quarterback would be a serious understatement. If replacing injured Heisman Trophy candidate Byron Leftwich were not enough pressure, the Herd's season was on the line and the game was nationally televised by ESPN.
Hill responded by completing 25 of 39 passes for 292 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed 12 times for 23 yards, with the final yard coming with 10 seconds to play for a touchdown to give Marshall the victory.
The deciding TD run came on a run-pass option.
"The main thing was either throw it away or get in the end zone," Hill said. "Coach Pruett told me not to take the sack. I dropped back, and I saw JD (Josh Davis) coming across and they all bit on him and I saw an opening."
Withe the victory, Marshall (7-2, 5-1) controls it's own destiny in the race to the Mid-American Conference title game. The Herd can clinch the host spot in the game with a victory over Ohio on November 23 in the annual "Battle For The Bell."
Miami fell to 7-4 overall and 5-2 in MAC play with the loss.
"I have never been prouder of a team in my career," coach Bob Pruett said. "Byron inspired this team all week and we played our hearts out tonight."
Marshall led throughout the game, but never could put the RedHawks away. After taking a 17-3 lead early in the second quarter, Miami battled back to knot the game at 17-17 by halftime.
Hill fired a pair of TD passes to Darius Watts early in the third quarter, but the Herd failed on both PAT attempts, leaving Marshall with a 29-17 lead.
Miami came right back on a 49-yard TD pass by Ben Roethlisberger and a field goal to get within two of Marshall entering the final quarter.
That was where the score stayed until Miami broke on top 34-29 with 6:33 left on a 17-yard run by Luke Clemens.
It appeared as if the RedHawks would secure the win when, with 2:38 left to play, Marshall failed on a fourth down play from the Miami 27. The Herd defense, however, rose to the occassion, stopping Miami on three plays to get the ball back for one final drive.
The Herd took over on their own 43 with 1:39 to play and with no timeouts. Hill completed three straight passes to move Marshall to the 16 and then scrambled for a 7-yard gain to the Miami nine.
On second down Hill fired a strike to Darius Watts on a post route in the back of the end zone, but the standout junior was unable to hang on to the ball.
Hill threw incomplete for Davis on third down, bringing up a fourth and three with seconds to play. Hill again looked to Davis on a fade route and, as the pass fell to the ground, so did a penalty flag.
A pass interference call gave Marshall a first down at the Miami two. Another interference call on first down set the stage for Hill's dramatice run to glory.
Hill's performance was the best for a Marshall quarterback making his first start in at least 30 years. He is also the fifth straight Marshall QB to win his debut as a starter, joining Leftwich, Eric Kresser, Chad Pennington and Matt Zban.
Watts also turned in his best effort of the season, hauling in nine passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns. He moved into sixth on the MAC career list for receiving yards with 2,775 and into fifth on the Marshall career list. He now stands just three TD receptions shy of the MAC career record of 35.
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