Monday night against Tennessee, he set an ACC record and multiple school records with 249 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Saturday, what Georgia Tech quarterback TaQuon Marshall did throwing the ball in the 37-10 win over Jacksonville State wasn’t quite a record, but it was quite remarkable. With the run game playing inconsistently, Marshall gave the Yellow Jackets a spark with big plays in the passing game, including three touchdown passes.
The first, a 27-yard jump ball to wide receiver Ricky Jeune, gave Tech the lead at 10-7 late in the second quarter. The second cashed in an interception and converted a third-and-17 from the Jacksonville State 23-yard line, again to Jeune on a hitch route. The third perhaps showed off his arm the most, an across-the-body dart to A-back J.J. Green in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass to cash in the Gamecocks’ third turnover in as many possessions.
Marshall threw just seven passes the whole game, finishing 5-for-7 for 112 yards with no interceptions. Here's the statistically remarkable part. The website sports-reference.com has a log of every FBS game played since 2000. In those thousands of games, only twice has a player thrown three touchdowns in fewer attempts than Marshall's seven.
Though he actually threw fewer times than he did against the Volunteers (seven to nine), Marshall was appreciative of the opportunities to pass against Jacksonville State.
“It felt great,” Marshall said. “After the first game, I kind of wanted to sit in the pocket more and show my arm ability. Ricky and all the other guys, they made great plays, the line blocked for me, so I had a lot of time to get the ball out of my hands.”
In two games, Marshall has scored six touchdowns, thrown for three more, run for 274 yards and has a passing efficiency rating of 246.2. He is averaging 14.5 yards per attempt.
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