Guidugli Is Pain for Marshall

Gino Guidugli’s swollen right hand hurt every time he threw a pass. The broken bones and bitterly cold weather combined to make for a difficult night.

It was worth every second of pain for the Cincinnati quarterback.

Guidugli, who sat out the regular-season finale because of his injury, returned to throw for 231 yards and two touchdowns in a 32-14 win over Marshall in the Fort Worth Bowl on Thursday night.

“It was my last game, so I was going to try to grit it out and drive through the pain,” Guidugli said. “You only play your last game once.”

Wearing a padded glove on his throwing hand, which he injured in a fall outside his home Nov. 20, Guidugli completed 24 of 36 passes in the first bowl win for Cincinnati (7-5) since 1997.

“Gino was putting the ball on the money,” said Hannibal Thomas, who had nine catches for 102 yards. “I was excited to have him back there. He did a really good job.”

Without Guidugli in their regular-season finale, the Bearcats lost, 70-7, to No. 7 Louisville with two quarterbacks combining for only 33 yards.

Before that, Guidugli had thrown for 1,022 yards with 12 touchdowns and no interceptions during a four-game winning streak after Cincinnati’s 2-4 start.

Marshall returned Guidugli’s only interception for a score, but he rebounded to complete 10 consecutive passes and 14 of 16 in the second quarter. He threw both touchdowns in that stretch to put the Bearcats ahead to stay.

“It was frustrating out there, it seemed like every time we got close to Guidugli, he either scrambled or got rid of the ball,” said Marshall defensive end Johnathan Goddard, unable to add to his NCAA-leading 16 sacks. “Most of his throws were on three steps, so he got rid of the ball fast.”

Cincinnati finished with a winning record for first-year Coach Mark Dantonio, the former Ohio State defensive coordinator. The bowl was their last game as a Conference USA member before moving to the Big East Conference next season.

“This is a great springboard into the Big East,” said Dantonio, hired by Cincinnati a year ago Thursday.

Marshall (6-6), moving next year to Conference USA from the Mid-American Conference, had its streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons ended.

The Thundering Herd had won five consecutive bowl games but had a season-low 134 yards. Stan Hill completed 14 of 30 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown to go with minus-three yards rushing for his team.