Cincinnati v. Ohio State Isn’t A Rivalry, So Let’s Stop Pretending It Is

The Cincinnati Bearcats travel to Columbus this weekend to take on the #22/#20 Ohio State Buckeyes at 6 pm EST on the Big Ten Network. In the days leading up to this game you’ll hear a lot of buzz words relating to this matchup; “monumental”, “paramount”. But “rivalry” shouldn’t be among them.

It’s easy to say that Cincinnati and Ohio State are rivals but just because they happen to reside within the boundaries of the same state doesn’t make them so. The Bearcats and Buckeyes are no more rivals than UC and Akron. Cincinnati and Ohio State have played all of 15 times in the last 121 years, their sixteenth coming up in a few days. Plus the Bucks hold a dominating 13-2 record in the series with UC last winning in 1897.

The fact is, the two don’t play each other very often and when they do it’s typically on Ohio State’s terms with the Buckeyes historically coming out ahead.

So where’s the rivalry?

At most it’s in the minds of Cincinnati and Ohio State fans. Bearcats and Buckeyes share the same offices and campuses in the Cincinnati area. They rub shoulders with one another in more than a few ways and have been jawing at each other for years. But when comes to the actual rivalry on the football field? Outside of a handful of players? Not so much.

That doesn’t mean this isn’t an important game for Cincinnati. Beating the big, bad land grant Goliath on their own turf would be cool. But we need to maintain the perspective that in a more grander scheme of things, the Bearcats need this win to keep pace in the Access Bowl race. That’s the carrot for Cincinnati this season as the highest ranked team among the Group of 5 schools will be selected.

Unfortunately, currently that team is East Carolina. The Pirates, with crucial victories over Virginia Tech and North Carolina, have jolted themselves into the top-25. The Bearcats sit at 36th. Taking down a ranked Ohio State team this weekend could move UC up the polls quickly.

So while a win for the Bearcats might make for good bulletin board material in the workplace and classroom, Cincinnati needs to beat OSU this weekend to keep the bigger dreams of this 2014 football season season alive.