START YOUR BUCKEYEGROVE.COM PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP TODAY!
On the surface, this game is going to revolve around the Luke Fickell storyline as he returns to Ohio Stadium for the first time since branching out and taking control of his first program. For some old-timers, it feels like just yesterday that Fickell was lining up on the defensive line alongside the likes of Mike Vrabel and Matt Finkes.
The calendar says otherwise however, that was 23 years ago.
Time flies by.
Fickell is now in his third season with UC and saw steady improvement from a 4-8 first season to an 11-2 second season with a win in the Military Bowl over Virginia Tech.
2019 got off to a very similar start as 2018 for UC, a win over UCLA. This year the win was at home where the win last season was on the road.
It was not the most impressive of wins as neither team looked very sharp in their Thursday night match-up but it did not matter as UC came away with the win.
This is a roster with more than 70 players listed from the state of Ohio. The Buckeyes either lightly recruited, did not recruit or even cast off many members of this team by way of transfer.
You better believe there are going to be a lot of motivated players on this roster looking for the upset of the only college team in the state that ever seems to be talked about.
As for Ohio State? The Buckeyes just have to play their game against an opponent that will be significantly more talented and more motivated than week one foe, Florida Atlantic.
The Buckeyes are better than a two-touchdown favorite according to the opening line in this game. Is that warranted? We go to the Tale of the Tape to take a close look at this matchup.
Ohio State QB/WR/TE vs. Cincinnati Defensive Backs
So early in the season, we are working with such small sample sizes that it is hard to really do any meaningful analysis. What is easy to do however is use the eye test and Justin Fields passed the eye test, especially early in the game. A 51-yard touchdown scamper to open up the scoring and really leave the first lasting impact of Fields to Buckeye Nation will go a long way. Follow that up with three great touchdown strikes in that first nine-minute blitz and Ohio State fans have seen what the future looks like, or at least the next two seasons. Chris Olave still may be a name that some fans are not completely familiar with but that is on them because Olave has been producing at a high level since he stepped in for an injured Austin Mack in 2018. KJ Hill did not have a very Hill-type of game in the opener but he has always proven to be a tremendous bounce-back type of player and it would be a safe bet to expect to see him in the end zone at least once against the Bearcats. And what about the tight ends? We have not seen as much action to that position group at Ohio State since Rickey Dudley and John Lumpkin were out there on the field. Jeremy Ruckert had a pair of touchdowns in this game and Ohio State employed some three tight end sets. It's a different world we live in these days.
Last season the Bearcats allowed just around 1.5 passing touchdowns per game as they ranked in the top-15 in pass efficiency defense nationally. That was not bad when you consider that the Bearcats are in a conference that had five passing offenses in the top-45 nationally. The Bearcats were supposed to have three starters back in the secondary this year but that all changed when James Wiggins went down with injury, the super-talented safety. Coby Bryant and Derrick Forrest are still back but the loss of Wiggins is a big deal. Last week, UCLA only threw for 156 yards and that was on just eight completions. Some of that has to be chalked up to a bad night for Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback, some of that was pressure from the defense but a lot of that was just lockdown coverage from the secondary. Perry Young and Ja'Von Hicks each had picks and while Hicks was the only defensive back with a pick, this pass defense is a lot better than people give the Bearcats credit for. People see their head coach, a coach who played on the line and coached linebackers and think that everything will be focused on the front-seven but the Bearcats can play a complete defense. Granted, UCLA is nowhere nearly as talented as Ohio State and the stakes will be much higher this weekend.
