The 2009 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl was an NCAA-sanctioned bowl game (previously the Motor City Bowl game) played at 1:00 PM EST on December 26, 2009, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan and aired on ESPN. The game was the 13th installment of the bowl game played in Detroit. The Marshall Thundering Herd of Conference USA defeated the Ohio Bobcats, champion of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference, 21–17, giving the Thundering Herd a seven-win season. A lack of eligible teams from the Big Ten Conference made a spot available in the game for Marshall.