Marietta will not play well. They are D-III. Ohio can name the score. I can say with certainty that there is virtually no local chatter from MC fans this time around. MC is a nice little school that only charges its athletes around 100K+ in order to continue playing sports for four more years.
A guy in my office was the starting QB at Marietta. He had to quit the team at the end of his junior year after his 8th concussion. He also had $120,000 in student loans and a Business Administration degree. He admits that he was caught up in the sales process of "playing college football" as a high school senior and regrets that decision every month when he makes that loan payment. A large percentage of the less than 1400 student population are varsity athletes. I think D-III schools unfairly target kids to continue their glory days and keep playing sports.
Maybe there was a place for these small, private colleges decades ago, but I can't believe people would spend $40,000/yr to get a business or education degree. I understand there are specialty programs, such as Marietta's Petroleum Engineering Dept, that are worth every penny. I just don't agree with the overpriced general diploma.
Personally, I don't think too much of the quality of basketball at the D-III level. Marietta College recruited me as a high school senior, which is enough to convince me it's not that good.
My final decision when deciding on colleges was between Ohio and Marietta. When I got both financial aid packages back from both schools, Marietta ended up being the cheaper school to attend. I'm not one to toot my own horn much but I had a pretty good academic profile and one school recognized it and one did not. Marietta also gave me the opportunity to play sports at the collegiate level that I would not have had in Athens.
Now I say this as an avid Ohio supporter, I was in Athens every home Saturday for football games and made the short trip down Route 7 for many basketball games and still do when I can. I do however not regret choosing Marietta for my education and it is possible to attend the school at a reasonable price if you do your due diligence academically and put in the work.