For all the good things the Marshall Thundering Herd did over the course of 11 games this season, one play undid all of that. Now the Herd must prepare for the upcoming Conference USA Championship game knowing that any chance of an appearance in one of the big six bowls on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day is gone. Instead, Marshall will face Louisiana Tech at noon Saturday in the conference final. That result will determine what bowl Marshall will go to from there.

Marshall lost, 67-66, in overtime to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Friday, losing the game when WKU scored a touchdown to pull within one point in the extra period, then decided against further overtimes and ended the slugfest with a two-point conversion to win the memorable game. Marshall (11-1) had to stay unbeaten and win the conference to have any chance at gaining one of the “Little Five” berths into a top-tier bowl.

Saturday’s game against Louisiana Tech might be one similar in style to that Marshall saw against Western Kentucky. Louisiana Tech destroyed Rice on Saturday, 76-31, as the Bulldogs scored 48 points in the second half. Should Marshall be successful and get past Louisiana Tech, a 12-1 Thundering Herd team would likely head to the Bahamas Bowl (not a bad consolation prize, based on the destination), to face an opponent from the MAC. But as champion, Marshall would have the option of several bowls to attend, and with Conference USA participating in bowls in Boca Raton, Fla., Hawaii, and in traditional bowls like the Independence Bowl, the Thundering Herd would have nice choices.

Should Marshall lose to Louisiana Tech, however, the Thundering Herd would be at the mercy of the Bulldogs’ choice of bowl. Once again, Marshall wouldn’t control its own destiny. Before that two-point conversion by Western Kentucky, the Thundering Herd pretty much had their destiny in their hands. Now, Marshall will have to beat Louisiana Tech if it wants to control what bowl game it goes to.

Ed Morgans is an ACC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @writered21 and add him to your network on Google.