HUNTINGTON -- It's not bad when you can dominate a conference opponent and exit the stadium with lessons to build on.

Such was the scenario following Saturday's 31-10 Marshall University football victory at Tulane. Yes, the 21-point road win was convincing, but Sunday's defensive team meetings surely centered on fundamentals.

The Green Wave ran off 80 plays compared to Marshall's 51. Time of possession read 33:52-26:08 in favor of Tulane. Still, the Thundering Herd made the most of its opportunities, leading to a lopsided win.

Heading into this week's non-conference rivalry game at West Virginia, priorities are simple: Marshall must tackle better and force the West Virginia offense off the field on third down (Tulane converted 11-of-17 third downs).

"Our tackling has to improve," Marshall football coach Mark Snyder said. "We did not tackle well (Saturday). That's the only really disappointing thing I can say.

"They had a little momentum going on all of those (third-down) plays, but we made turnovers and that's what you have to do on the road."

Bottom line, strong-side linebacker Brandon Burns agreed that turnovers compensated for extensive Tulane drives, which included a streak of 27-straight plays. Marshall forced four turnovers, essentially deciding the Conference USA matchup.

"We really haven't been doing that much early in the season, but (defensive coordinator) coach (Rick) Minter said we needed to get more turnovers to get the ball to the offense and give them a short field," Burns said.

Burns factored in to the turnover scenario, returning an interception 65 yards to the Tulane 5-yard line. The play led to Darius Marshall's 5-yard touchdown run that put Marshall up 21-7.

Still, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound defender wasn't fully satisfied.

"I thought I was going all the way," Burns said. "I didn't see the tailback coming from behind me. Teammates were ripping me, and I'm sure I'll get more of that in the locker room.

"Still, last year, we weren't that good on the road. Now we are 2-0 on the road in conference play."

Strong safety Ashton Hall upped his teammates, returning a fumble 29 yards to the end zone, providing a 14-7 Thundering Herd halftime lead.

"It's always good to have a defensive touchdown on the other side of the ball," Burns said.

Highlighting Marshall's defensive performance was stuffing Tulane's run game twice from the 1-yard line, providing a significant momentum shift.

"You can't ask for more than that," Burns said. "The offense stepped it up today (Marshall subsequently drove 99 yards for a touchdown following the stop). Both sides stepped it up and for them to take it 99 yards was great for us."

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