Saturday will mark the 17th time that the Buckeyes and Bearcats have ever played despite only being separated by less than 110 miles down Interstate 71 in the state of Ohio. This will be the fifth time since the year 2000 that the two teams have played and the first since former Ohio State coach and player Luke Fickell has taken over as head man with Cincinnati.
Fickell was part of the Ohio State staff in 2002 when the Bearcats came so very close to upsetting the Buckeyes and derailing what would be a National Championship run. UC led the game in the opening moments of the 4th quarter and Ohio State would have to withstand a furious fury at the end of the game where UC receivers would drop two touchdowns in the final minute of the game before Ohio State would eventually win 23-19 after a Will Allen interception.
What does any of that have to do with Saturday's game? Nothing. But it does show that Cincinnati has had its moments in this series, at least since its last win in 1897, a 24-0 shutout of the Buckeyes and the second game in a two-game winning streak against Ohio State.
The history lesson is over and now it is time to learn about the team that will be on the field this year, and we turn to Jason Stamm of BearcatReport.com to learn a little bit more about Ohio State's next foe.
BuckeyeGrove: Offensively everyone knows about how dangerous Michael Warren is but what is the real offensive DNA of the Bearcats? Can UC win a game where the Buckeyes minimize the run?
Jason Stamm: That's where having a quarterback like Desmond Ridder is where Cincinnati hopes it can overcome that situation. And even if that happens, Warren is too talented to completely shut down. The Bearcats will get him involved with some screens and short passes, to try to create some space for him. But you've hit the nail on the head, when you say the Cincinnati offense is really predicated on getting Warren going. Ridder has been poised more often than not and when he does, the Bearcats have been tough to stop. The two times he was rattled (see: first half against Temple, at UCF) last season both resulted in losses. So really, the Buckeyes would do well to get him rattled and if you can do that, plus shut down Warren, you've pretty much shut down the offense. Still, that's been a tall task that not many have been able to accomplish. And this offense can put up some points.
