Battle for the Bell
Marshall Thundering Herd
Ohio Bobcats
SportFootball
First meetingNovember 11, 1905
Marshall, 6–5
Latest meetingSeptember 14, 2019
Marshall, 33–31
Next meetingSeptember 11, 2027
TrophyThe Bell
Statistics
Meetings total60
All-time seriesOhio leads, 33–21–6[1]
Largest victoryOhio, 59–0 (1908)
Longest win streakOhio, 6 (1958–1963)
Ohio, 6 (1973–1980)
Marshall, 6 (2001–2010)
Longest unbeaten streakOhio, 10 (1908–1938)
Current win streakMarshall, 1 (2019–present)
Map
75km
50miles
none
Marshall
.
Ohio
  
Locations of Marshall and Ohio

The Battle for the Bell is an American college football rivalry game played by the Marshall Thundering Herd football team of Marshall University and the Ohio Bobcats football team of Ohio University.[2][3] It is a regional rivalry, with the universities' campuses located about 80 miles (130 km) from each other, with a bell awarded as the trophy for the winner of the game. While Marshall and Ohio first played in 1905, they did not start playing for "The Bell" until 1997 when Marshall rejoined the Mid-American Conference.[4] With Marshall's move from the MAC to Conference USA in 2005, the rivalry game was on hiatus for several years. The series unexpectedly resumed in 2009 when the Herd and Bobcats faced off in the 2009 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, which Marshall won 21–17. A six-year contract between the schools began in 2010. The six-year series contract between the two schools was not renewed following the 2015 season. The rivalry resumed in the 2019 season, with additional games scheduled for the 2027, 2028, and 2029 seasons.[5] Ohio leads the all-time series over Marshall 33–21–6.

Series overview

Statistic Marshall Ohio
Games played 60
Wins 21 33
Ties 6
Home wins 14 22
Road wins 6 11
Neutral site wins 1 0
Total points scored in the series 950 1299
Most points scored in a game by one team 44 (2014) 59 (1908)
Most points scored in a game by both teams 76 (1977 – OU 49, MU 27)
Fewest points scored in a game by both teams 0 (1933)
Fewest points scored in a game by one team in a win 6 (1905) 8 (1934)
Most points scored in a game by one team in a loss 35 (1969) 31 (2019)
Largest margin of victory 31 (1999) 59 (1908)
Smallest margin of victory 1 (twice) 1 (1954)
Shut-outs of opposing team 4 12

Game results

Marshall victoriesOhio victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1 November 11, 1905 Huntington, WV Marshall 6–5
2 October 3, 1908 Athens, OH Ohio 59–0
3 October 21, 1911 Athens Tie5–5
4 October 20, 1915 Huntington Ohio 21–7
5 October 16, 1920 Athens Ohio 55–0
6 November 11, 1933 Huntington Tie0–0
7 October 27, 1934 Athens Ohio 8–0
8 October 19, 1935 Athens Ohio 20–13
9 October 10, 1936 Athens Tie13–13
10 October 30, 1937 Huntington Tie13–13
11 November 19, 1938 Athens Ohio 14–7
12 October 29, 1949 Huntington Marshall 14–6
13 November 23, 1950 Athens Ohio 14–6
14 November 22, 1951 Huntington Tie13–13
15 November 22, 1952 Athens Tie21–21
16 November 21, 1953 Huntington Marshall 9–6
17 November 20, 1954 Athens Ohio 26–25
18 September 24, 1955 Athens Ohio 13–6
19 November 17, 1956 Athens Ohio 16–0
20 October 26, 1957 Huntington Marshall 34–28
21 October 25, 1958 Athens Ohio 22–0
22 November 7, 1959 Huntington Ohio 21–14
23 November 5, 1960 Athens Ohio 19–0
24 November 4, 1961 Huntington Ohio 14–7
25 November 3, 1962 Athens Ohio 35–0
26 November 23, 1963 Huntington Ohio 17–0
27 November 21, 1964 Athens Marshall 10–0
28 November 20, 1965 Huntington Marshall 29–14
29 November 19, 1966 Athens Ohio 28–6
30 September 23, 1967 Huntington Ohio 48–14
31 September 21, 1968 Athens Ohio 48–8
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
32 November 22, 1969 Huntington Ohio 38–35
33 November 20, 1971 Huntington Ohio 30–0
34 November 18, 1972 Athens Marshall 31–14
35 November 18, 1973 Huntington Ohio 35–21
36 November 23, 1974 Athens Ohio 35–0
37 November 22, 1975 Huntington Ohio 38–21
38 September 10, 1977 Huntington Ohio 49–27
39 September 22, 1979 Athens Ohio 35–0
40 November 8, 1980 Athens Ohio 28–20
41 September 14, 1985 Huntington Marshall 31–7
42 September 13, 1986 Athens Marshall 21–7
43 September 12, 1987 Athens Ohio 23–15
44 September 10, 1988 Huntington Marshall 31–14
45 November 15, 1997 Huntington Marshall 27–0
46 October 10, 1998 Athens Marshall 30–23
47 October 30, 1999 Huntington #12 Marshall 34–3
48 November 18, 2000 Athens Ohio 38–28
49 November 17, 2001 Huntington #24 Marshall 42–18
50 November 23, 2002 Athens Marshall 24–21
51 November 28, 2003 Huntington Marshall 28–0
52 October 9, 2004 Athens Marshall 16–13
53 December 26, 2009 Detroit, MI Marshall 21–17
54 September 25, 2010 Huntington Marshall 24–23
55 September 17, 2011 Athens Ohio 44–7
56 September 15, 2012 Huntington Ohio 27–24
57 September 14, 2013 Athens Ohio 34–31
58 September 13, 2014 Huntington Marshall 44–14
59 September 12, 2015 Athens Ohio 21–10
60 September 14, 2019 Huntington Marshall 33–31
Series: Ohio leads 33–21–6[1]
The 1970 meeting was canceled due to the crash of Southern Airways Flight 932.[6][7]
The 2020 meeting was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Winsipedia – Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Ohio Bobcats football series history". Winsipedia.
  2. ^ "Battle for the Bell: By losing the bell Herd realized how special it is". West Virginia MetroNews. September 12, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  3. ^ "MARSHALL FOOTBALL: Herd hammers Ohio, 44–14, to win "Battle for the Bell"". Charleston Daily Mail. September 13, 2014. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  4. ^ "Football: A phone call, a lunch at Pigskin and riverboats: How the Battle for the Bell was born". The Post. September 13, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  5. ^ Kelley, Kevin (September 21, 2023). "Ohio reschedules football games against Marshall, Texas State". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  6. ^ "Marshall vs Ohio". Special Collections.
  7. ^ "Memories of Marshall; ex-player says shock of crash never ends". The Blade.
  8. ^ "MAC Cancels Football Season. What Does It Mean For The Rest Of College Football?". College Football News. August 8, 2020.
Sources

External links

Marshall Thundering Herd football
Ohio Bobcats football
Mid-American Conference football rivalries
Sun Belt Conference football rivalries
Categories