HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- The solid defense Rice relied upon during a six-game winning streak wasn't there against No. 21 Marshall.
Rice allowed 581 yards Saturday and fell to the Thundering Herd 41-14.
"They are explosive offensively and we couldn't stop them," Rice coach David Bailiff said. "Really, we can here thinking we would win this football game."
Rakeem Cato threw four touchdown passes and Devon Johnson rushed for 199 yards and a score as Marshall improved to 10-0 for the first time since it went 13-0 in 1999. The Thundering Herd (6-0 Conference USA) limited Rice to 180 total yards.
Rice (6-4, 4-2) entered the game allowing an average of only 135 yards on the ground, but Johnson and Marshall had that by halftime.
"They had an energy that it seemed that we couldn't match today," Rice linebacker Alex Lyons said.
The Thundering Herd got a convincing victory against one of only two teams on their schedule with winning records entering Saturday's play.
Marshall isn't in the College Football Playoff rankings, but is trying to show the CFP committee that it's worthy of one of the guaranteed prominent bowl berths given to the Group of Five conferences. Marshall is the only FBS team to score at least 35 points in every game.
"There's always been the gripe all season that we don't have the strength of schedule," Marshall tight end Eric Frohnapfel said. "This is a good win for us. Eventually we're going to get the attention we deserve."
Count Bailiff among those who believe Marshall deserves some consideration. Earlier this season Rice lost to Texas A&M and Notre Dame, two teams in the CFP rankings.
"Marshall is right up there with those guys," Bailiff said.
Cato had scoring tosses of 2, 25, 30 and 7 yards to give him 117 for his career, eclipsing Chad Pennington's school career mark of 115 set from 1995-99. Cato also extended his FBS-record of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 42.
"People probably won't appreciate what he's done until he's gone," Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. "The kid deserves everything he gets. He's the most competitive quarterback I've ever coached."
Pennington and Cato exchanged a hug during a timeout when Pennington was introduced to the crowd and it was announced the school's athletic hall of fame was being named after him.
Earlier this season, Cato broke Pennington's career marks for completions, attempts and total offense. Pennington's record of 13,143 yards passing also is within reach.
"That's like my big brother," said Cato, who went 23 of 37 for 297 yards. "We talk all the time. We have a great relationship. Not only do we talk about football, but I have two kids of my own. He has kids. I'm learning from him how to be a father."
A year ago Rice limited Marshall's running game in the conference championship game and beat the Thundering Herd 41-24. This year, Marshall has Johnson, who converted from tight end to running back before the season.
Rice (6-4, 4-2) entered the game allowing an average of only 135 yards on the ground, but Johnson and Marshall had that matched by halftime.
Johnson went over 100 yards for the eighth time this season. He sat out last week's win at Southern Miss with a sore left knee and was coming off a school-record 272 yards against Florida Atlantic.
"He, in my opinion, is the difference," Bailiff said. "Cato was great last year, but now they have the rushing that they can depend on. When he touched the ball, he is a full head of steam, great vision on the field, and hard to bring down."