Previewing Cincinnati’s Week 5 Opponent: The Ohio State Buckeyes

The Cincinnati Bearcats travel to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes this Saturday at 6 pm on the Big Ten Network. Apparently we’ll have the pleasure of listening to Mr. Excitement Thom Brennamen during this game so hopefully the UC’s prolific offense shows up again this week so we don’t get monotoned to death.

Despite a pretty long history for both programs and roughly 100 miles between them, Cincinnati and Ohio State have only hooked up 15 times on the football field in the last 121 years. The Buckeyes hold a commanding 13-2 lead in the series but this might be the most even these teams have been in years. The Bearcats are two touchdown underdogs heading into Saturday night but boast as talented a UC football team as they’ve had in the last decade. Ohio State, meanwhile, is as dangerous as ever on offense but have lost senior quarterback Braxton Miller for the season. OSU is rightfully the favorite in this game however a Cincinnati upset isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

OFFENSE

J.T. Barrett looked shaky early this season but has still managed to throw for one-third of Braxton Miller’s touchdown passes in one-quarter of the time he had last year. I suppose Tommy Tuberville was on to something when he mentioned that the true freshman is a more prolific passer.

In many ways Ohio State and Cincinnati share the same mindsets in the passing game, utilizing a wide open system to spread the ball evenly to receivers. The main difference is the Buckeyes leverage the rushing attack more, especially out of the quarterback position, and seem to have a better idea of how to run the ball in general.

The Buckeyes rank 35th in the country in rushing attempts at over 44 times per game but pass it just 26 times each outing (104th nationally). The ground game is platooned by freshman Curtis Samuel (27-171-2) and sophomore Ezekiel Elliot (27-141-2). But, again, Ohio State also has a propensity to call for Barrett to tuck it and run it himself. Even though OSU’s attack leans towards the run, they have the capability of putting up points in a variety of ways, which makes the Buckeyes a very dangerous offensive team.

DEFENSE

Ohio State boasts one of the best front sevens in the country. The Buckeyes have had to make adjustments with Noah Spence piling on the suspensions this season but overall this is a talented unit. On top of that, Ohio State shows a variety of fronts and toggles between zone and man coverage on the back end regularly. As a result, the Buckeyes create mayhem for opposing passing games.

Slowing down or at least managing OSU’s front seven will be Cincinnati’s biggest challenge on Saturday.

Overall, the defense seems to be more adept at stopping the run than the pass, although they haven’t really been tested in that aspect this season. So it’s difficult to say if the secondary has improved from 2013 to this year. But most people agree that Ohio State is stingy against the run. Navy, the prolific rushing attack that they are, ate up chunks of yards on the ground to the tune of 5.9 per carry. But that isn’t unexpected. The Buckeyes are allowing just 2.7 ypc in their other games this season thanks in large part to that active and talented front seven.

FINAL THOUGHTS AND PREDICTION

OK, I know I’m being hypocritical and kind of a downer claiming Cincinnati can upset Ohio State then turning right around to shoot it down. The Buckeyes are 14-point favorites for a reason. While this particular Bearcats team is very, very good, far superior to the one that faced OSU in 2006, there are still several issues on Cincinnati’s defense that haven’t been remedied. The Buckeyes have had a week off to continue fine tuning an offense that dropped 66 against Kent State and study up on UC’s own attack. Overall, I think the Bearcats can put up a fight but will ultimately come up wanting.

Obviously I’d be ecstatic to be completely wrong with this prediction.

Ohio State: 38

Cincinnati: 31