Roster Graham Gochneaur won a matchup of backup quarterbacks to give Marshall its first victory over a ranked BCS opponent.

But Gochneaur, who threw the winning 3-yard touchdown pass to Jason Rader and added a 2-point conversion with just over 3 minutes left, had plenty of help from his teammates.

The Thundering Herd, known more for passing than for running or defense, rushed for 210 yards, forced four turnovers and made two goal-line stands in breaking Kansas State's 41-game home nonconference winning streak.

Kansas State had one last chance to force overtime, when Schwinn's 33-yard pass to Darren Sproles gave the Wildcats a first down at the Marshall 3 with 25 seconds left.

The Wildcats were unable to get past the 2, though, and Schwinn's throw to Davin Dennis fell incomplete in the end zone as time ran out.

Sproles scored on a 12-yard run with 8:22 left to put Kansas State up 20–19, after Marshall punter Klint Rose muffed a snap and Kevin Huntley recovered at the Herd 44.

After Ben Lewis missed the conversion, Martin recovered Meier's fumble at Kansas State 40 and Kelly's field goal put Marshall up 16–10 at the half.