UConn vs. Marshall: Score and Reaction for 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl

The Marshall Thundering Herd rode a stout defensive effort and opportunistic offense to knock off the Connecticut Huskies 16-10 in the 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl. 

Marshall's victory secured the program its third straight season with at least 10 wins, as well as its third straight bowl victory after the 2013 Military Bowl and 2014 Boca Raton Bowl. It's the second time in program history with a three-season streak of at least 10 wins (1997-99). 

According to ESPN's Brett McMurphy, Marshall's victory also gives it the best winning percentage in bowl games among FBS programs:

Quarterback Chase Litton led the Thundering Herd's offensive attack, throwing for 218 yards and one touchdown in the victory. His touchdown pass gave him 23 on the season, which Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times said was most among true freshmen.

The most impressive part of Litton's game—and entire 2015 season, really—is that he's just a freshman. He wasn't always asked to carry the entire load, but he proved his capability in throwing for 486 yards in a 34-10 win over Charlotte on Oct. 31. 

Eric Galko of Optimum Scouting was impressed by some of the tools Litton showed and how they could end up translating to the next level when he's draft-eligible:

There is still a long way to go before that happens, but Litton showed a lot in his debut season and is deserving of the buzz he's getting. He wasn't perfect in the game, trying to force a deep throw to Davonte Allen early in the fourth quarter that was intercepted. 

Grant Taylor of the Herald-Dispatch also praised Litton's ability to avoid getting rattled by the Connecticut defense:

Keion Davis provided Marshall's biggest play in the fourth quarter, breaking off a 41-yard run that gave the Thundering Herd a first down at Connecticut's 42-yard line with less than seven minutes to play. 

Chris Lemus of the Tampa Bay Times noted that Davis' run was also one of the best in St. Petersburg Bowl history:

"

#Marshall's @keion_davis 41-yard run is the third-best rush effort on 1 play of @StPeteBowl's history. @HerdNation

— Chris Lemus (@ChrisJLemus) December 26, 2015"

Bill Connelly of Football Outsiders did note that Marshall left a lot of points on the board to make this game closer than it had any right to be:

That does speak to the power of Marshall's defense. The only weak spot came when the Huskies managed a 13-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game at seven in the first quarter. 

The Thundering Herd held their own the rest of the way and allowed just one field goal in the final three quarters, a 52-yarder that required help from the crossbar. 

Marshall defensive back Rodney Allen made the biggest play of the game late in the third quarter, described by Taylor:

Connecticut quarterback Bryant Shirreffs did everything he could to keep the Huskies offense rolling. He didn't have much success through the air with just 86 yards, but he did have 75 yards on the ground to give his team a chance to win in the fourth quarter before coming up just short. 

Shirreffs essentially was the Huskies offense, as he accounted for 161 of the team's 213 yards. The rest of Connecticut's rushing attack combined for 52 yards on 14 carries. 

Defense has been Marshall's calling card all year. The unit ranked 12th in the nation with 17 points per game allowed coming into the St. Petersburg Bowl and held up its end of the bargain once again to secure the victory. 

Marshall head coach Doc Holliday has done an outstanding job of rebuilding the program, going from five wins in 2010 to its current three-year run that shows no signs of slowing down with a strong foundation on defense and a young, improving quarterback.   

Post-Game Reaction

After the game, senior running back Devon Johnson took to Twitter to express his gratitude for everything Marshall has done for him:

Johnson hadn't played since Oct. 17 against Florida Atlantic due to injuries, so for him to get 10 carries in his final college game was a nice way to end things. 

Junior tight end Emanuel Byrd posted an emotional message on Twitter with a picture of him holding the St. Petersburg Bowl trophy:

Speaking on the ESPN telecast after the win, per ESPN.com, Litton gave all the credit to his defense for the job it did on Connecticut. 

"We didn't finish drives," Litton said, "and the defense came up and finished for us. It was fun." 

Litton also added that "Keion came in late and played well for us and won the game" when discussing Davis' huge presence in the fourth quarter on that final drive to set up Marshall's final field goal that gave the team a six-point advantage. 

Holliday told reporters, per ESPN.com, that winning 10 games is an accomplishment that his team set out to do when the season started. 

"It's a credit to these guys and to this program and coaching staff," Holliday said. "That's hard to do. It was one of our goals."

On the subject of his young quarterback, per the same ESPN.com report, Holliday had nothing but praise for his young quarterback. 

"He's had some growing pains, but he'll tell you that," Holliday said. "He's not even close to where he's going to be."