8 Notre Dame[6] before losing the next two games against Bowling Green in overtime[7] and to eventual Sun Belt Conference champions Troy.
[17] UConn began the season on the road in a loss to Utah State[18] before winning their home opener against Central Connecticut.
[17] The Myrtle Beach Bowl was televised on ESPN, with a commentary team of Mike Morgan, Eric Mac Lain, and Tera Talmadge.
[30] The game's officiating crew, representing the Mid-American Conference, was led by referee Ron Hudson and umpire John Hanneke.
Scheduled for a start time of 2:30 p.m. EST, the Myrtle Beach Bowl began at 2:34 p.m. with Noe Ruelas's opening kickoff, which was returned to the Marshall 31-yard-line for the Thundering Herd's first possession.
The Huskies offense was unable to capitalize: they fumbled the ball right back on their first play as Zion Turner lost it and Isaiah Norman recovered it for Marshall, returning it to the UConn 16-yard-line.
After an 5-yard rush by Rahseen Ali on their first play, they faced 3rd & 5, but a holding penalty on third down put them behind the sticks and John McConnell was brought on for Marshall's first punt of the day, which went out-of-bounds at the UConn 25-yard-line.
UConn earned a first down for the first time on their second play of the ensuing series, with a 13-yard Devontae Houston rush, though the Huskies offense stalled from there and they were forced to punt.
Marshall gained nine yards on their first two plays combined and converted third down with a 4-yard rush by Laborn, but they were unable to pick up another one and had to punt again.
This momentum halted quickly, though; a loss of 4 yards and another for no gain brought up third-and-long, and an incomplete pass prompted a field goal attempt.
A face mask penalty against UConn on Marshall's first play advanced the ball to the Herd 47-yard-line, and they moved into the red zone with a 38-yard rush by Ali.
The Huskies moved the ball into Marshall territory with a 37-yard pass from Turner to Keelan Marion, and Victor Rosa rushed for 9 yards several plays later to earn his team another first down.
Another Turner pass, this one for 12 yards to Justin Joly, moved the ball inside the Marshall red zone, but the Huskies faced 3rd & 6 soon thereafter.
Facing 3rd & 5 early in their series, Payne rushed for 6 yards and the Herd were aided by a personal foul that advanced the ball to the Marshall 47-yard-line.
After a 10-yard rush by Ali on a later third-and-long, the Herd advanced inside the red zone as the result of a pass interference penalty called against the Huskies.
They spent two timeouts and later gained 32 yards on a pass from Turner to Marion; on the next play, UConn scored for the first time on a 14-yard rush by Rosa.
A 33-yard pass followed, putting them inside the Marshall 10-yard-line, though they would soon be behind the sticks due to a holding penalty and ultimately Turner threw an interception in the end zone on 3rd & Goal from the 20-yard-line.