Dec. 24--Northern Illinois dropped its third straight bowl game because it had no answer for Marshall's quarterback-receiver tandem of Rakeem Cato and Tommy Shuler. What figured to be an entertaining shootout Tuesday night saw the Huskies stumble repeatedly in the red zone en route to a 52-23 loss in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Offense: C
Quarterback Drew Hare lacked the usual superb protection he has received and was sacked three times. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown to Juwan Brescacin. Joel Bouagnon rushed for 82 yards and Cameron Stingily picked up 76 yards and a touchdown.
Defense: D
The Thundering Herd amassed 505 total yards as Cato completed 25 of 37 passes for 281 yards and three TDs. He threw a touchdown pass for an NCAA-record 46th straight game. Shuler caught 18 passes for 185 yards and a TD. Devon Johnson rushed for 131 yards and a score. NIU's Sean Folliard managed seven tackles and two sacks.
Special teams: C+
Freshman Christian Hagan made three of four field-goal attempts. Marshall's Deandre Reaves returned Tyler Wedel's first-quarter kickoff 93 yards for a score. Wedel also executed an onside kick to start the second half that was recovered by Jamaal Payton.
Coaching: C
Rod Carey is now 0-for-3 in bowl games. The Huskies performed much better during the regular season, but Marshall certainly had something to do with that.
