Marshall makes long-awaited return to bowl game

By BRIAN WOODSON

DETROIT — It’s been a while, but Marshall is back in the postseason.

For the first time since 2004, the Thundering Herd will play in a bowl game, traveling to Detroit to take on long-time rival Ohio in the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl on Saturday at Ford Field.

Formerly known as the Motor City Bowl, the Herd and Bobcats will kick it off at 1 p.m. It will be televised by ESPN.

Marshall (6-6) will play its first game without Mark Snyder since he resigned following the regular season finale to Texas E-Paso.

Snyder posted a 22-37 mark in five years for the Herd, but never got to coach his alma mater in a bowl game.

The Herd reached the magic six wins needed to qualify for a bowl trip with a 34-31 win over Southern Methodist last month, but then got drubbed at UTEP 52-21 in the season finale.

Snyder resigned the following day, and Rick Minter will serve as the interim coach for Marshall. His tenure will be brief, with former West Virginia assistant John “Doc” Holliday slated to take over once this game ends.

This will be Marshall’s five appearance in this bowl game, having played four straight years from 1997-2000 in what was then known as the Motor City Bowl.

The Herd lost 34-31 in 1997 to Mississippi, but won the next three against Louisville (’98, 48-29), Brigham Young (’99, 21-3) and Cincinnati (25-14).

“We’re excited to play in a bowl that we participated in many times, during its years at the Pontiac Silverdome,” said Hamrick, in a press release soon after this matchup was announced in early December. “Our team and our fans have had a great experience in the past.

“And this year, getting to compete against one of our traditional rivals in Ford Field, one of the premier sports facilities in the country on national TV . . . it is a great Christmas gift for our program.”

Marshall’s opponent, Ohio, is a familiar one. In fact, the Herd has faced the Bobcats 52 times — the most by a Marshall opponent in program history. Ohio holds a 29-17-6 advantage, but the Herd has won the last four meetings, and 10 of the last 12 since 1985.

Their last meeting came in 2004 when Marshall stopped the Bobcats 16-13 in its final season in the MAC.

While Marshall’s record of 6-6 isn’t overly impressive, Ohio is 9-4, having won the MAC East Division title before losing to Central Michigan 20-10 in the conference title game that was also played at Ford Field.

The Bobcats are coached by Frank Solich, who previously had replaced Tom Osborne at Nebraska. Solich is 32-30 in five years at Ohio.

Three of Ohio’s defeats have come to bowl teams, including Tennessee, Connecticut, and Central Michigan. Only Kent State didn’t qualify for a bowl game.

Marshall enters having played seven bowl-eligible teams this season, including nationally-ranked Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Their lone wins over those squads were against SMU and Bowling Green (17-10), another school that plays in the MAC.

Meanwhile, the Bobcats played six bowl-eligible squads, including losses to Tennessee (34-23) and Connecticut (23-16). Ohio defeated Bowling Green (44-37), Northern Illinois (38-31) and Temple (35-17), all MAC clubs that earned postseason berths.

Marshall and Ohio have had a long rivalry, first meeting in 1905. The clubs have signed an agreement to resume their series next season. This will be their first matchup in five years, the longest stretch that they haven’t played since 1980-85.

Ohio is looking for its first bowl win in school history, having gone 0-3 in their three previous appearances. Marshall is 5-2, losing in their last bowl game, the Fort Worth Bowl, to Cincinnati 32-14 in ‘04.

Both athletic directors are excited about a game that brings together two schools located just 85 miles apart.

“We’re couldn’t be more ecstatic about coming back to Detroit, and getting to play a longtime rival — Marshall, in the bowl that we most wanted to play in,” said Ohio University Director of Athletics Jim Schaus, in a press release. “It’s very close to our base, with more than 120,000 Ohio alumni within a five-hour drive of Detroit.

“Our fans have missed this rivalry, which is why we have a six-year run of games scheduled with them beginning next year. I can’t think of a better way to kick it off than in Ford Field at the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl.”

Marshall has been led all season by junior running back Darius Marshall, who was among the nation’s leaders in rushing for most of the season. He missed the last two games with ankle injuries, and is currently 13th in the country, running for 117.1 yards a contest.

He will be back, along with a few members of the offensive line that’s been beat up often during the season.

All-America tight end candidate Cody Slate won’t return, having suffered a season-ending knee injury against SMU, while Brian Anderson has been erratic at quarterback, throwing for 2,561 yards and 14 touchdowns, but he’s also been picked off 13 times.

Turnovers have been the downfall often this season for Marshall, ranking 86th nationally and 10th in Conference USA in turnover ratio. Ohio is sixth in the country, forcing 36 turnovers, while committing just 22.

Marshall is 94th in scoring offense (21.8) and 99th against the pass, allowing 247.4 yards per game. The Herd, which started the season with a 4-2 mark, finished 2-4, including the loss at UTEP that saw Miners’ quarterback Trevor Vittatoe throw for 517 yards and five touchdowns.

While Marshall struggled with a 2-4 mark over its final six games, the Bobcats finished 4-1, led by quarterback Theo Scott, who threw for 1,082 yards and seven scores in those games, while Taylor Price and Lavon Brazill combined for 102 catches and 11 touchdowns this season.

For the season, Scott has thrown for 2,258 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Ohio is paced on defense by linebacker Noah Keller, who set a MAC title game record with 16 tackles, while safety Patrick Tafua has recorded 68 tackles, four fumble recoveries and three interceptions.

Mario Harvey leads Marshall in sacks and tackles, while John Jacobs and Albert McClellan have been able to record the most tackles for negative yardage for the Herd.

The Bobcats have scored 25.4 points, while allowing 21.3 points a game, while the Herd has surrendered 24.9, while tallying just 21.8 a contest.

Ohio has been installed as a 2 1/2 point favorite in the game.

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com

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