This Week in College Football History - December 19 - East Carolina vs. Marshall

December 19, 2001 – No. 25 Marshall and East Carolina staged perhaps the wildest bowl game in college football history in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. East Carolina jumped to a 38-8 halftime lead by turning four Marshall turnovers into touchdowns. The tables turned in the third quarter, however, as the Thundering Herd took advantage of three Pirates turnovers to pull within 41-36 after three quarters. After a 32-yard Kevin Miller field goal for East Carolina, Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich hit Denero Marriott on a 30-yard strike to make the score 44-42. Pirates tailback Leonard Henry (29 carries for 195 yards) notched his second score of the day from 55 yards out to put East Carolina up 51-40 with five minutes to play, but again Marshall rallied. A 27-yard Curtis Head field goal made the score 51-45, and when Leftwich hit Darius Watts with a seven-yard score with seven seconds to play the comeback appeared complete, but Head’s extra point sailed wide right and the game headed to overtime. The squads traded touchdowns in the first frame, but East Carolina could only muster a field goal in the second session. An eight-yard pass from Leftwich to Josh Davis sealed the 64-61, double-overtime victory for Marshall in the highest-scoring bowl game in college football history. The teams combined to tie or set seven NCAA bowl game records including most points (125), most touchdowns (16) and most first downs (36), while Miller set the record for most points by a kicker with 17, and Leftwich’s 576 passing yards tied an all-time bowl game record.