HUNTINGTON, W.Va.—There’s no love lost in the rivalry between Marshall and Ohio. You don’t have to tell fans that. But don’t tell Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato the Battle for the Bell is a rivalry.
He’ll disagree.
“Right now, as we speak, it’s not a rivalry,” insisted Cato. “They beat us three times. I don’t think that’s a rivalry, and we know what we’ve got to do.”
Cato is certainly not downplaying the intensity surrounding the game or the importance of the game to both teams but illustrating that it is Marshall, not Ohio, that has something to prove on Saturday. Ohio has won three consecutive contests with The Herd and Marshall barely escaped with a win over the Bobcats in 2010.
In the last three years, The Herd is minus-10 in turnovers and six of Cato’s 31 career interceptions have come at the hands of the Bobcats. Cato threw four first half interceptions in the 44-7 debacle in 2012 at Peden Stadium. Marshall turned the ball over six times in that game.
Antavious Wilson fumbled after a first down catch that would have give Marshall the ball on the Ohio 21-yard line in 2012.
Turnovers doomed The Herd again last year when Marshall put the ball on the turf three times including a pair of fumbles by Steward Butler.
“As a team we’ve talked about. Three individuals blew in three games. Myself in ’11, Antavious Wilson in ’09 and Steward Butler in ’13; three individuals cost the game and we know we’ve got to care of business and we know what we’ve got to do.”
Knowing that they averaged 435 yards off offense in the three losses and continually shot themselves in the foot may be part of the reason Marshall players became agitated when the subject of the Bobcats comes up.
“We’re going to prepare for them this week, we’re going to take into account everything that has happened in our recent history with them and we’re going to not let that happen again,” said offensive tackle Clint Van Horn.
“We’ve just got to approach the game as the biggest game of the season,” the senior quarterback said.
Because the Bobcats will.
“They’re going to come in here and play ball. They’re going to play a championship game,” said receiver Tommy Shuler who has 22 catches for 216 yards in the last two games against Ohio.
“They have no drop off. We’ve just got to out there and play Marshall football.”