Detroit ? Martin Ward’s tackle-breaking run and powerful plunge along with a punt return gave Marshall a big lead over Ohio in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

Did Ward think it was going to be easy?

“Yeah, pretty much,” he acknowledged.

Not quite.

The Bobcats rallied to pull within four points late in the third quarter and had chances to complete the comeback in the fourth, missing a wide-open receiver on a trick play and failing to take advantage of their last two drives before losing, 21-17, to Marshall on Saturday.

DeQuan Bembry’s interception with 40 seconds left sealed the victory for the Thundering Herd (7-6).

“It was just a relief,” Bembry said.

The Bobcats (9-5) rallied with Shannon Ballard’s 75-yard return off a fumble in the second quarter, Terrence McCrae’s TD catch and Matt Weller’s field goal.

“Our players played hard throughout the course of the second half,” said Ohio coach Frank Solich, the former Nebraska coach. “But for whatever reason, we were not ready to go at the beginning of the game.”