Recap: Southern Miss vs. Marshall

Hattiesburg, MS (Sports Network) - Rakeem Cato threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns as the Marshall Thunder Herd routed the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 59-24 in a Conference USA contest at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

Cato completed 31-of-42 pass attempts and was also intercepted once for Marshall (3-4, 0-1 C-USA) which ended a two-game losing streak. Kevin Grooms had 119 yards and two scores on only 12 carries and Tommy Shuler caught 11 passes for 111 yards and two scores.

Anthony Alford completed only 9-of-21 pass attempts for 65 yards for Southern Miss (0-7, 0-1) which has still yet to record a win after winning the C-USA title last season. Kendrick Hardy had a team-high 50 yards rushing.

Justin Haig knocked in a 44-yard field goal midway through the first quarter to give Marshall the early lead, 3-0.

Southern Miss evened the score at 3-3 when Corey Acosta nailed a 51-yard field goal late in the first quarter.

Remi Watson scored on a three-yard rushing touchdown just before the end of the first quarter to give Marshall a 10-3 lead.

The Herd's advantage increased to 17-3 when Cato threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Antavious Wilson.

Cato was then intercepted by Kalan Reed who returned the ball for a touchdown to make it a one-score game, 17-10.

Grooms scored on a 64-yard rushing touchdown on Marshall's next possession giving the Herd a two-touchdown edge.

A 22-yard rushing touchdown by Desmond Johnson kept Southern Miss within striking distance.

Cato threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Shuler as Marshall took a 31-17 lead into the break.

Cato hooked up with Shuler again, this time for a one-yard touchdown pass to push the Marshall lead to 38-17.

Grooms scored on an 11-yard touchdown run later in the quarter as the Herd continued to pull away.

Steward Butler scored on a 54-yard touchdown run at the 10 minute mark in the fourth quarter for Marshall.

The Herd's final score of the game came on a one-yard rushing touchdown by Essray Taliaferro.

Southern Miss would get a 12-yard rushing touchdown from Arsenio Favor near the end of the fourth quarter.

Marshall piled up 629 yards of total offense while Southern Miss managed 331. The Herd scored touchdowns on five of seven road trips while the Golden Eagles had one touchdown in only two chances.