HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — For the first time in 12 years, Marshall University ended a football season ranked in the Top 25 of two major polls.

On Tuesday, The Associated Press released that Marshall finished No. 23 while the Amway Coaches Poll had the Herd pegged No. 22 at season’s end.

It was the final exclamation point on a season full of them as Marshall won its second consecutive Conference USA East Division title before securing its first-ever conference championship. Marshall then went to Boca Raton, Fla., for the first-ever Boca Raton Bowl and waxed Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois, 52-23, to finish with a 13-1 record.

It was the first time since the 2002 season with quarterback Byron Leftwich at the helm that the Herd finished the season ranked in both major polls. In that season, the Herd finished No. 19 in the Amway Coaches Poll (then the USA Today Coaches Poll) while ending at No. 24 in The Associated Press poll.

The 13 wins equal the most ever by a Marshall team at the FBS level, matching the 13-win season of the 1999 undefeated team, led by Chad Pennington, that finished 13-0 and ranked No. 10 nationally…