Marshall University Athletics
Annual "Battle for the Bell" Set For Saturday
10/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Annual "Battle for the Bell" Set For Saturday
10/4/2004
Marshall and Ohio will meet for the annual ?Battle for the Bell? for the last time as members of the same conference when the two teams battle at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at Peden Stadium. The Mid-American Conference game will be televised by the Ohio Sports Network (WSAZ-TV in Huntington).
Marshall enters the contest after defeating defending MAC Champion Miami, 33-25, on Wednesday night in Huntington. Senior defensive end Jonathan Goddard (The MAC East Defensive Player of the Week) led the Herd defense in that contest with four sacks and nine tackles. Offensively, Earl Charles led Marshall with 122 rushing yards.
So far this season, Marshall?s defense has set the tone and Goddard has been a big part of that success. The Marshall standout ranks among the national leaders with six quarterback sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles.
Ohio is coming off of an impressive 28-16 win at Kentucky on Saturday. The Bobcats quarterback combo of Ryan Hawk and Austen Everson combined to go 10-of-18 for 218 yards and two touchdowns against the Wildcats. Ohio receiver Scott Mayle, a Phillipi, W.Va. native, was on the receiving end of four of those passes and amassed 157 yards and two touchdowns in the win. For the season, Mayle now has 18 catches for 416 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, Ohio was led by Matt Muncy?s nine tackles. He also grabbed one of Ohio?s three interceptions in the game.
Ohio has won back-to-back games and boasts an overall record of 3-2 entering this year?s ?Battle for the Bell.? The Bobcats have dispatched of VMI (42-14), Buffalo (34-0), and Kentucky (28-16). Ohio?s two losses have both been on the road at Big East member Pittsburgh (24-3) and at MAC East rival Miami (40-20).
The Thundering Herd has won three straight meetings in the series, including a 28-0 win in Huntington last season, however Ohio has always defended its home field well. In 2002, MU edged Ohio 24-21, in 2000 Ohio scored a 38-28 win, and in 1998 Marshall again edged the Bobcats 30-23 in Athens.
