When Ohio triumphantly rang “The Bell” after defeating Marshall 34-31 on Saturday, it was clear the Bobcats were celebrating more than that day’s victory.
The team retained the trophy for the third consecutive season, which it had not done since 1978-80.
While the final score didn’t indicate how the Bobcats played, Ohio (2-1) capitalized on early Marshall miscues. The team showed stellar special-teams play and also spread the ball well offensively.
Ohio forced a pair of Marshall (2-1) fumbles during the first two possessions and recovered a muffed kickoff return for a touchdown during the second quarter.
Bobcat redshirt senior quarterback Tyler Tettleton was 25-38 with 266 yards and a touchdown, while throwing the ball to eight different targets.
Redshirt senior tight end Troy Hill finished the game with 44 yards and a touchdown, saying he was proud of the team’s effort in the rivalry game.
“It means a lot to the university, the coaching staff, players and the campus as a whole,” Hill said. “We put in effort and hard work. People thought the streak was going to end tonight, but it didn’t. It shows that we were the underdog once again and it felt good to prove everybody wrong.”
Ohio coach Frank Solich said retaining The Bell in Athens for a third consecutive season is an accomplishment.
“I think it’s huge,” Solich said. “It is a great rivalry and both teams played tremendously hard. I’ve gained a lot of respect for this rivalry in terms of the kind of football games that have been played since we’ve been here.”
Ohio’s defense held Marshall’s junior quarterback Rakeem Cato — a 4,000-yard passer last season — in check, as he finished the game 30-45 with 366 yards and one touchdown. The Bobcat defense also put pressure on Cato, as he was sacked two times and intercepted once.
Ohio held a plus four advantage in the turnover department, with the help of sophomore cornerback Devin Bass, who made 11 total tackles and intercepted Cato during the fourth quarter.
The secondary tandem of redshirt seniors Xavier Hughes and Travis Carrie held the Thundering Herd in check, with their first touchdown coming with 10:44 remaining in the game.
Despite the Herd outgaining the Bobcats 482-335 in total yardage, Ohio’s defensive stands were key in the contest because Marshall is one of the fastest teams in college football in terms of number of plays run each game.
The Thundering Herd entered Saturday with the ninth-most plays run this season. Ohio fired on all cylinders, despite playing against Marshall without seven of its week one starters.
“It honestly did not feel like anybody was missing,” Tettleton said. “We had guys step in. They are guys that have gotten a lot of reps and without those guys we wouldn’t be putting up points and yards. They have done a tremendous job of stepping in and filling that void and making plays for us.”
Tettleton led his team to victory in the second half, going 19-of-23 passes for 191 yards. The Bobcats scored 17 points in the second half and survived a late comeback by the Thundering Herd.
“It just came down to just feeling more comfortable about what they were doing,” Tettleton said. “We kind of had an idea about what they were doing in the second half and it just started clicking. A lot of guys stepped up tonight. It just felt good to win three years in a row.”
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