MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Kevin Marks scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 1 minute, 9 seconds left, and Buffalo made a final defensive stop to beat Marshall, 17-10, in the Camellia Bowl on Friday.
Subbing for the national leader in rushing yards per game, Jaret Patterson, Marks carried 35 times for 138 yards for the Bulls (6-1) against one of the nation’s top run defenses.
Grant Wells took Marshall (7-3), which had rallied from a 10-0 deficit, to the Buffalo 20 with no timeouts. Kadofi Wright’s sack helped force a fourth-and-11, and Eric Black added his second sack to end the threat.
Buffalo improved to 2-3 in bowls, also beating Charlotte in the 2019 Bahamas Bowl.
The matchup between the nation’s top rushing team and the No. 2 run defense lost some of its luster before kickoff.
Patterson, who had 1,072 yards and 19 touchdowns in six games, didn’t dress out after sustaining a right knee injury in the Mid-American Conference championship game.
Marks had 23 carries for 117 yards by halftime, though he was mostly shut down in the second half by a defense giving up just 88.9 rushing yards per game.
The Thundering Herd still held Buffalo to 155 rushing yards, half of its own average.
Marshall tied it on Shane Ciucci’s 21-yard field goal with 8:48 left in the third quarter, and that’s where the score stood until Marks’ touchdown.
Like Buffalo, Marshall wasn’t at full strength. Leading rusher Brenden Knox, C-USA defensive player of the year Tavante Beckett and starting right tackle Josh Ball opted out of the game. Beckett was one of three defensive starters missing.
It was the first NCAA bowl game played on Christmas Day since 2003.
