Auburn Offense Struggles, but Nick Marshall Comes Up Big When It Counts

MANHATTAN, Kan.—Nick Marshall didn't win any awards with his performance Thursday night.

With the entire nation watching on the only college football game of the night, a big statistical performance away from home could have made him a legitimate contender for the Heisman Trophy.

But Marshall only went 17-for-31 passing for 231 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in No. 5 Auburn's 20-14 road win against No. 20 Kansas State.

After rushing for 103 yards in the previous game, the stingy Kansas State defense held him to 46 yards on the ground.

No one is ready to call Marshall a Heisman finalist after the Tigers escaped with a close victory in Manhattan, but he won something more important to him than national acclaim—he won a game that could make a difference in his team's fight for another national title berth.

"This prepared us a lot," Marshall said after the game. "I'm glad we had this away game in the Big 12 because we've got some like this in the SEC, too. We know how to respond from here on out."

Marshall showed that ability to respond to adversity in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's clash with the Wildcats. He recorded a couple of clutch throws to leading target D'haquille Williams and helped the Tigers convert seven of their nine third downs in the final period.

He led an offense which struggled to get any momentum going to a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to open the fourth quarter. The senior quarterback gave the Tigers an important two-score lead on a picture-perfect toss to a leaping Williams.

Marshall found Williams for another clutch connection to end the game.

Facing a 3rd-and-9 with two minutes to go, the senior quarterback got the defense to bite on a double move from Williams that resulted in a 39-yard conversion.

Three kneel-downs later, Marshall was walking off the field a winner.

"He has that knack for when the game is on the line," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. "He did it all last year, and he did it tonight. He helped find a way to help our team win the game."

As Auburn's rushing game struggled all night—the Tigers were held to fewer than 200 yards on the ground for the first time since 2013's win against Mississippi State—it was up to Marshall and Auburn's developing passing game to put the nail in the coffin.

"It is kind of one of those deals if you run the football, you take away 20 seconds and give them a chance to win the game, or you can take a chance and try to win the game yourself," Malzahn said. "We just felt strong about trying to give our guys a win."

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said the staff might not have had that same confidence in Marshall last season.

But, after three games in the 2014 season, Auburn has a new level of trust in Marshall, and Marshall has a new trust in his own arm.

"My confidence level is really high right now," Marshall said. "Last year, I would've probably flushed out of the pocket on that play. But, this year, I just trust my linemen with everything in me, and I know they trust me. So I just stayed in the pocket and delivered that ball."

With Kansas State packing the box and sealing the gaps against the run, Auburn needed Marshall to come through with a big passing game.

Even though his 231 yards won't make any Heisman watch lists this weekend, it was the most yards for Marshall through the air since Auburn's last major road win—the 2013 Texas A&M game.

"With the confidence we have in him, big outcomes like this will happen," junior receiver Ricardo Louis said. "We'll win the big game and overcome any adversity."

USA TODAY Sports

And Marshall definitely went through his share of adversity in Manhattan.

He had three passes tipped by an opportunistic Kansas State defensive line, including one that resulted in the interception early in the second quarter. Three of Marshall's passes were dropped by his receivers, with Williams missing a surefire touchdown before halftime.

But he bounced back from all that in the fourth quarter and rallied his team for a victory against a ranked power-conference opponent.

To Marshall, that major W on the schedule means a lot more than any early-season Heisman hype.

"This is huge," Marshall said. "This said a lot about our team. I looked down the sidelines to see how everyone was responding, and it looked good. We just came out here and got that victory."

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports. All stats courtesy of CFBStats.com.

Justin Ferguson is Bleacher Report's lead Auburn writer. Follow him on Twitter @JFergusonAU.