Marshall's offense got into an early 12-2 hole on the road against No. 25 James Madison, but was able to come back to gut out a 26-12 victory over the Dukes behind one of the more balanced attacks that the Thundering Herd put together all season. The Herd, behind star running back Khalan Laborn, ran for 167 yards on the ground while Cam Fancher threw for 159 yards in his first start at QB.
Full grade breakdowns, by position, are below:
QUARTERBACKS:
In his first start, Cam Fancher ultimately succeeded in guiding Marshall to a critical road win, posting 181 yards of total offense in the victory.
While Fancher threw two picks and only posted a passing grade of 53.5 PFF, the freshman actually posted the team's best overall run grade at 76.9 PFF, ultimately notching a 63.4 mark overall at the QB position, and his lone touchdown pass was critical as his 57-yard strike to Corey Gammage gave Marshall a lead it would never relinquish.
RUNNING BACKS
On 68 snaps, Khalan Laborn continued to be critical to the Thundering Herd's success as the Florida State transfer packed the mail successfully once again, totaling 151 yards on the ground on 30 carries to go along with touchdown runs of 61 and 18 yards. Laborn ultimately graded out at just a 63.3 on the PFF scale, but his grade was dropped down as a result of catching a pass for -2 yards (38.8 PFF pass grade) and notching a 48.3 mark in pass blocking.
Ethan Payne, who caught two passes for 11 yards and ran one time for one yard, posted a slightly higher overall PFF grade of 64, notching a 74.9 PFF grade in the passing game and a 75.2 pass blocking grade.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Corey Gammage's 107 yards on five catches led all receivers as did his overall PFF grade of 66.7, which ranked fourth among all players on the offense and the highest among all skill position players for Marshall.
Behind Gammage, Shadeed Ahmed's 64.6 PFF mark was next. Ahmed only played 17 snaps but had two catches for 17 yards in the contest.
Talik Keaton (61.1 PFF), Stone Scarcelle (59.8 PFF), Charles Montgomery (58.8 PFF), Jayden Harrison (55.5 PFF), and Caleb Coombs (44.2 PFF) rounded out the receiving core's efforts, with Keaton posting an 82.9 run-blocking grade and Montgomery catching an 18-yard pass to lead the remaining efforts from the receivers.
TIGHT ENDS
The tight end combination of Devin Miller and Stacey Marshall, Jr. were not utilized much again, with Miller's six-yard reception representing the only catch by the tight ends through the air.
Marshall and Miller graded out at 51.7 and 48.7 PFF, respectively, with both players having very low pass blocking grades of 23.3 and 37.6, respectively.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Of all of the offensive units, the offensive line easily performed the best, posting the three highest individual PFF grades and five of the top six PFF grades overall.
Kendrick Sartor (72.9 PFF) played all 78 snaps and graded out well in every category, posting a very good pass blocking rating of 79.6 and an above-average 67.8 run blocking mark. Dalton Tucker and Trent Holler added in marks of 70.5 and 70.4 overall via strong pass blocking marks of 84.3 and 76.3 and run blocking tallies of 68.1 and 69.5, respectively.
Logan Osburn's 64.9 PFF and Cedrice Paillant's 64.6 mark were next on the list, with Osburn posting a 62.2 pass blocking grade as well as a 63.5 run blocking mark. Paillant, meanwhile, added in a run blocking grade of 67.2.
Starting left tackle Ethan Driskell (54.1 PFF) was the only offensive lineman to grade under 60 PFF, but he notched an average run blocking mark of 64.3 which was enough for Marshall to control the game on that front.
| Offense | Passing | Pass Blocking | Receiving | Running | Run Blocking |
| 63.6 | 53.0 | 56.7 | 56.0 | 67.9 | 69.9 |
| Player | Offense | Passing | Pass Blocking | Running Grade | Run Blocking |
|---|
| Kendrick Sartor | 72.9 | No Grade | 79.6 | No Grade | 67.8 |
| Dalton Tucker | 70.5 | No Grade | 84.3 | No Grade | 68.1 |
| Trent Holler | 70.4 | No Grade | 76.3 | No Grade | 69.5 |
| Corey Gammage | 66.7 | 66.1 | No Grade | No Grade | 62.5 |
| Logan Osburn | 64.9 | No Grade | 62.2 | No Grade | 63.5 |
| Cedrice Paillant | 64.6 | No Grade | 36.7 | No Grade | 67.2 |
| Shadeed Ahmed | 64.6 | 64.2 | No Grade | No Grade | 59.2 |
| Ethan Payne | 64.0 | 74.9 | 75.2 | 59.5 | 60.0 |
| Khalan Laborn | 63.8 | 38.8 | 48.3 | 67.4 | 59.1 |
| Cam Fancher | 63.4 | 53.0 | No Grade | 76.9 | 60.2 |
| Talik Keaton | 61.1 | 57.2 | No Grade | No Grade | 82.9 |
| Stone Scarcelle | 59.8 | No Grade | No Grade | No Grade | 59.4 |
| Charles Montgomery | 58.8 | 58.9 | No Grade | 60.6 | 55.6 |
| Jayden Harrison | 55.5 | 55.5 | No Grade | No Grade | 61.2 |
| Ethan Driskell | 54.1 | No Grade | 35.1 | No Grade | 64.3 |
| Stacey Marshall, Jr. | 51.7 | 57.1 | 23.3 | No Grade | 57.6 |
| Devin Miller | 48.7 | 50.4 | 37.6 | No Grade | 54.8 |
| Caleb Coombs | 44.2 | 46.2 | No Grade | No Grade | 58.5 |
