Tron Martinez's 1-yard run in overtime lifted Marshall to a 34-27 win against East Carolina on Saturday.
Marshall (6-6, 5-3 Conference USA) became bowl eligible for the first time under second-year coach Doc Holliday.
Dominique Davis was intercepted on East Carolina's overtime possession, keeping the Pirates (5-7, 4-4) out of a bowl for the first time in six years.
Marshall had a chance to advance to the C-USA championship game with a win and a Southern Mississippi loss, but Southern Miss defeated Memphis 44-7 Saturday.
Travon Van's 33-yard touchdown run with 4:49 left in the fourth quarter helped Marshall to a 27-20 lead.
Davis threw three touchdown passes to Justin Jones, including a 6-yarder with 14 seconds left in regulation to help force overtime. Davis finished 32 of 48 for 285 yards.
Marshall got the ball first in overtime. Freshman Rakeem Cato threw a 24-yard pass to Van on first down to set up Martinez's short scoring run.
Marshall then stopped Torrance Hunt on two straight rushing plays, and Reese Wiggins dropped a pass from Davis. On fourth-and-12 at the 27, Marshall's Darryl Roberts intercepted a Davis pass at the 10 to end the game.
Marshall's Rashad Jackson intercepted two passes. One led to a Thundering Herd touchdown drive and the other came at the Herd 23 to thwart a Pirates' threat.
Cato, making his second straight start in place of the injured A.J. Graham, finished 23 of 29 for 341 yards and two touchdowns.
East Carolina's Mike Barbour tied a school record with a 58-yard field goal as the clock ran out at halftime. That tied the mark set by Jeff Heath against Texas-Arlington in 1982. Barbour also hit a 57-yarder midway through the second quarter.
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