UConn faced Marshall, who finished their regular season with a 9–3 record and for the first time since 2012 did not qualify for the Conference USA championship game.
After a running play by running back Hyleck Foster gained a single yard, Marshall achieved the first first down of the game on a 21-yard pass play from quarterback Chase Litton to wide receiver Deandre Reaves, moving the ball onto the UConn side of the field.
The Herd drive stalled at that point; after two further running plays and an incomplete pass they punted, pinning the Huskies at their own 9-yard line.
Reaves, serving as the punt returner, advanced the ball to the UConn 20-yard line, giving Marshall excellent field position.
The Thundering Herd capitalized on their second play from scrimmage, a 16-yard play-action pass from Litton to tight end Ryan Yurachek for a touchdown.
Starting from the 25-yard line after a touchback on the kickoff, UConn earned five first downs in twelve plays, with Shirreffs converting all five off three runs and two passes.
A fourth third down play, an attempted pass from Birdsong to Yurachek, fell incomplete, bringing up 4th-and-2 from the UConn 17-yard line.
Taking over from their own 44-yard line, Marshall converted two more third downs on passes from Litton to Reaves and to wide receiver Josh Knight.
After a false start penalty moved them back five yards, Marshall opted this time to kick the 43-yard field goal.
[8] Sherriffs responded to the missed kick with a first-down 15-yard run; the next play, he completed a pass to Newsome for ten yards.
The Huskies were unable to move the ball further, after a 2-yard run by Newsome, a sack on Shirreffs by defensive lineman Ryan Bee that gave back those two yards, and an incomplete pass intended for wide receiver Noel Thomas.
After a false start penalty on first down, the Huskies were stopped again at midfield, forcing a punt that was fair-caught by Reaves at the Herd 5-yard line.
[8] UConn received the next kickoff with 1:44 left in the game, needing a touchdown to tie the score and an extra-point conversion to take the lead.
Beginning at the 25-yard line after the touchback, on the first play from scrimmage Shirreffs completed a pass to Mayala for fifteen years and a first down.