Marshall vs. Ohio NCAA Football Betting Rivalry Battle Preview

Posted by Alex Murphy on Saturday,June 6, 2015 7:18, EDT in

If you’re a college football odds aficionado that wants a break from the rigors of trying to cash in consistently, then you’re in for a treat thanks to this insightful look with odds  at the annual Battle for the Bell matchup between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Ohio Bobcats.

Let’s Take A Closer Look at the Marshall vs. Ohio NCAA Football Betting Rivalry

The Beginning

With Ohio and Marshall just 80 miles apart, the annual Battle for the Bell showdown is a regional matchup between two nearby rivals that began in 1905. After Marshall beat Ohio 6-5 in their inaugural meeting back in 1905, the teams didn’t meet again until three years later and only four times in the first 10 years. This is also a serried that has seen it share of breaks with the teams not playing for five years from 1915-1920 and then, another 13 years from 1920-1933. The Battle of the Bell also had a hiatus from 1938-1949. Ohio and Marshall then met every year until the 1970 meeting was canceled due to the crash of Southern Airways Flight 932, which killed nearly the entire Marshall team.

After resuming in 1971, then series then took a five-year break from 1980-1985 and again, from 1988-1997. The two rivals then played up until 2009 when Marshall bolted from the MAC to join Conference USA. The series was resumed again after the longtime rivals met in the 2009 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl and the schools agreed to resume their long-standing rivalry by signing a six-year contract. While the Ohio Bobcats currently leads the Battle for the Bell Series, 32–20–6, it is the Marshall Thundering Herd that has ruled their rivals in recent years. Marshall laid an emphatic 44-14 beat-down on Ohio to cash in as a 209.5-point home favorite and snap a three-game losing streak against the Bobcats.

The Battle for the Bell Now a days

Over the course of the series, both teams have recorded highs of six consecutive wins while combining for a high of 76 points in their 1977 meetings.  Ohio has recorded 11 shutouts in the series with Marshall racking up just three. The teams will meet on Sat, Sept 12 on Ohio’s home field in Athens. The Marshall Thundering Herd has won seven of the last 10 meetings but is just 4-6 ATS over the span. Marshall has managed to go 2-1 ATS over the last three meetings and a solid 3-3 ATS over the last half-dozen battles overall.