MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WCHS) — The Marshall Thundering Herd took a road trip to Middle Tennessee State University for a showdown against the Blue Raiders on MTSU's homecoming at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium.

A fourth quarter surge from Marshall lifted the Herd over MTSU, scoring 21 unanswered points to take a 42-28 victory on Saturday.

Quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson had a day, going 18/22 for 261 yards and four touchdowns, plus an additional rushing touchdown for himself.

Three different receivers hauled in passes from Wilson for touchdowns, while running back Michael Allen was responsible for a rushing touchdown. Allen held the ball 21 times for 90 yards.

MTSU quarterback Nicholas Vattiato went 19/32 for 299 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Like Del Rio-Wilson, Vattiato had a rushing touchdown of his own, but was one of three Blue Raiders to finish the day with negative rushing yards.

In fact the Thundering Herd held MTSU to a total of 74 rushing yards throughout the evening.

The game was delayed over two hours just before the halfway point of the first quarter due to lightning, just after Marshall had taken a 7-0 lead. Once the game resumed, Marshall had a 21-14 lead after the first quarter.

The Blue Raiders then scored 14 unanswered points in the second and third quarters to take a 28-21 lead, but Marshall found the endzone three times in the fourth quarter to solidify the victory.

It's Marshall's second consecutive win on the year, marking back-to-back wins for first-year head coach Tony Gibson.

"I'm just very, very proud of this football team with everything we had to overcome tonight," Gibson said in his post-game press conference. "We got down, and boy we finished the game tonight, that's what I like to see. It was 21-0 in the fourth quarter, I'm very proud of our performance in that quarter."

After starting the year 0-2, Marshall's back-to-back wins even the Thundering Herd's record to 2-2 as they begin Sun Belt play on Saturday, Sept. 27.

The Herd remain on the road open conference play against the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La. That game will kick off at approximately 8 p.m. on ESPN+

Meanwhile Middle Tennessee State falls to 1-3 on the season heading into Conference USA play. The Blue Raiders will also hit the road to begin conference play, taking on the Kennesaw State Owls in Kennesaw, Ga., with kickoff at approximately 6 p.m., also on ESPN+.