Marshall Engine Runs Hot

This time, Chad Pennington and Marshall knew what to expect from the Silverdome heat.

That made all the difference as Pennington passed for 411 yards and four touchdowns and the defense shut down Louisville in the second half for a 48-29 victory in the second Motor City Bowl on Wednesday night.

The two high-voltage teams combined for 1,012 yards, 613 by Marshall. Still, a big factor was defense as the Thundering Herd held Louisville to 160 yards in the second half.

“One thing that was a factor was being here last year,” Marshall Coach Bob Pruett said. “Last year, we were ahead at the half, but we were just dead. You don’t realize how hot it is down on that field.

“So this year we prepared by taking them inside and just ran them and ran them, getting them used to the heat.”

Last year, Pennington threw three touchdown passes in the inaugural game but Mississippi scored with 31 seconds remaining to pull out a 34-31 victory.

There was no such drama this time as Marshall (12-1) opened the second half with three touchdowns and a field goal for a 45-21 lead.

Chris Redman completed 35 of 54 passes for 336 yards and one touchdown with one interception for Louisville (7-5). But only 130 of his passing yards came in the second half.

Louisville, which finished third in Conference USA, went into the game with the nation’s No. 1 offense, averaging 40.4 points a game. But the Cardinals, who were 1-10 in 1997, also had a defense that gave up an average of 35.2 points.

Marshall, the Mid-American Conference champion, averaged 30 points during the season and held opponents to 17.3.

Pennington broke a 21-21 halftime tie with a short pass that Gerald Long turned into a 50-yard touchdown to put Marshall ahead for good with 12:19 left in the third quarter.