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The Ohio Bobcats open up their season at home this Saturday against the Marshall Thundering Herd in the latest edition of the 'Battle for the Bell'. This game, however, marks the last time that these two rivals will play until 2019. To increase the drama even further, the teams are 3-3 in the last six meetings and the winner of Saturday's game will hold onto the bell for at least four years.
The Bobcats will also look to undo last year's 44-14 loss in Huntington and start off the season 2-0. It's still really early in the season, but when it's all said and done, this may be the most important game for Ohio all season.
Quick Game Info
Game time, date: The game will be played on Saturday, September 12. Kick off is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.
Location: Athens, Ohio. This is the Bobcats' home opener at Peden Stadium.
Radio: All Ohio football games are on the IMG Radio Network. Click here for info or listen to the game via ohiobobcats.com
Online streaming: The game will be playing on ESPN 3. Click here to watch.
Players to Watch
Daz'mond Patterson (RB, Ohio) - Patterson was key for Ohio last week and Frank Solich has a habit of rewording players who play well. Expect Patterson to get a lot of carries for the Bobcats this week.
Quentin Poling (LB, Ohio) - Poling has a career-high 12 tackles against the Idaho Vandals and was named the MAC Defense Player of the Week for his efforts. With Jovon Johnson coming into this game with an ankle injury, Poling is going to have be everywhere on the field for the Bobcats' defense to succeed. It's a good thing Poling is good enough to have 12 tackle games week after week.
Ian Wells (CB, Ohio) - Wells was only targeted twice last week against Idaho, but Marshall probably won't have any problem going after wells. Last year, Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato threw for over 400 yards and had four touchdowns. M
Matt Birdsong (QB, Marshall) - Birdsong isn't Cato, but he's got the potential to be a good starting quarterback. A key for Ohio will be rattling Birdsong before he can get comfortable in the pocket and how Birdsong plays will likely dictate how well Marshall's offense plays.
Tiquan Lang (S, Idaho) - Lang has 17 tackles and returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the Thundering Herd's week one win against the Purdue Boilermakers. He's might be the best player on the field this Saturday.