A miserable 2003 campaign for the Ohio football team came to an end Friday as it was shut out 28-0 at Marshall. The Bobcats (2-10 Overall, 1-7 MAC) finish having lost six in a row and 10 of their last 11. It marks the second time in three years that Brian Knorr's team finished last in the MAC East. The Thundering Herd (8-4, 6-2) kept its Bowl hopes alive with the win.

Ohio turnovers and poor special teams play led to an early Marshall lead. Ryan Hawk's fumble on the Bobcats' first possession put Marshall in business at the Ohio 40. The Herd capitalized when Graham Gochneaur scored on a 3-yard quarterback draw. Marshall made it 14-0 on Ohio's second series when Jonathan Goddard scooped up a Brad Young fumble and ran 40 yards for a TD. After an Ohio three-and-out, a 22-yard Greg DiMarino punt gave Marshall the ball at the OU 39. Seven plays later, Butchie Wallace plunged in from the one and the Herd led 21-0 with 3:56 still left in the first quarter. Marshall capped the scoring when Gochneaur hooked up with Darius Watts on a 10-yard scoring strike with 6:33 left in the first half.

Neither team would score after half as Marshall was content to run clock by keeping the ball on the ground and Ohio would have just two offensive possessions. One was a sustained possession in the third quarter. Austen Everson engineered a 16 play, 65-yard drive that fizzled when Marshall blew up an option play on a 4th-and-1 inside the Herd 5-yard line.

For the game, Marshall outrushed Ohio 290 to 101. Herd running backs Earl Charles and Butchie Wallace both went over the 100-yard mark with 115 and 108 yards respectively. John Taylor led Ohio with 28 yards on four carries. The Herd ran 58 times, attempted just 15 passes and won the time of possession battle by a 35:20 to 24:40 margin.