In the 35-10 season-opening victory over Illinois State, Marshall rushed 20 times for 115 yards and a touchdown. The game marked the sophomore's first career 100-yard rushing game. In the 51-14 loss to the #11 Wisconsin Badgers, Marshall totaled 50 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. In the 17-16 victory over Memphis, Marshall rushed for a career-high 140 yards on 27 carries with a touchdown. In the following 34-27 victory over Southern Miss, he recorded 112 yards on 30 carries for a touchdown. The game marked the first back-to-back 100-yard rushing games by Marshall in his career. In the 27-3 loss to West Virginia in the Friends of Coal Bowl, Marshall totaled 45 yards on 16 carries and a career-high 203 return yards on only 4 kick returns, including a 75-yard return. Marshall finished the rivalry game with a career-high 262 total yards of offense. In the 33-10 loss to Cincinnati, Marshall rushed 14 times for 19 yards, a reception for 10 yards, and 5 kick returns for 92 yards. In the following 23-21 loss to UAB, Marshall rushed 9 times for 35 yards, had two receptions for 14 yards, and had 3 kick returns for 80 yards. Marshall bounced back in the following 37-23 win over Houston, totaling 15 rushes for 102 yards and a touchdown and 63 yards on three kick returns - 165 total yards. He then totaled 123 yards on 20 carries and 88 yards on two kick returns for a total of 201 yards in the next loss to ECU. Marshall then had a season-high 142 yards rushing on 16 carries, to go along with 63 yards on 3 kick returns, in the 30-14 loss to Central Florida. The game marked his second straight 200-yard all-purpose game and his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game. Marshall's 100-yard rushing streak continued in the loss to Rice, in which he gained 118 yards rushing on 24 carries. He also recorded 62 yards on 4 kick returns for a total of 180 yards all-purpose yards. His 100-yard rushing game streak ended at four games against Tulsa - finishing with 94 yards rushing on 18 carries. Darius Marshall finished his sophomore campaign with 224 rushes for 1,099 yards and 5 touchdowns, 16 receptions for 98 yards, and 30 kick returns for 790 yards - a total of 1,987 all-purpose yards (165.2 yards per game). On January 11, 2010, ESPN college football writer Joe Schad reported that Marshall would forgo his senior season and declare himself eligible for the 2010 NFL Draft.