| Wide: | yes |
| Battle for the Bell | |
| Team1: | Marshall Thundering Herd |
| Team1logo: | Marshall Thundering Herd logo.svg |
| Team2: | Ohio Bobcats |
| Team2logo: | Ohio Bobcats wordmark.svg |
| Sport: | Football |
| Firstmeeting: | November 11, 1905 Marshall, 6–5 |
| Mostrecent: | September 14, 2019 Marshall, 33–31 |
| Nextmeeting: | September 11, 2027 |
| Total: | 60 |
| Series: | Ohio leads, 33–21–6 |
| Largestvictory: | Ohio, 59–0 (1908) |
| Longeststreak: | Ohio, 6 (1958–1963) Ohio, 6 (1973–1980) Marshall, 6 (2001–2010) |
| Longestunbeatenstreak: | Ohio, 10 (1908–1938) |
| Currentstreak: | Marshall, 1 (2019–present) |
| Trophy: | The Bell |
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.[1] [2] 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.[3] 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.[4] Ohio leads the all-time series over Marshall 33–21–6.
| 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 | ||