No. 5 Ohio State quickly put away FAU last week with a flurry of points in the first quarter. Now Cincinnati comes to town in what will be their first test.
Justin Fields burst onto the scene in his long-awaited Buckeye debut last week, accounting for five touchdowns on the day, the most ever by a Buckeye quarterback in their debut.
But now Fields has a much tougher task in week 2 as he faces a Luke Fickell-led defense in Cincinnati that was the No. 9 defense in the whole country last season. It’s a defense that loses three of four upfront on the line but returns two linebackers, and its entire secondary. So don’t expect Fields to be hitting wide-open receivers as he did in the first quarter against FAU.
J.K. Dobbins was slated to be one of the better running backs in the Big Ten for the Buckeyes this season and with the Bearcats being inexperienced up front, expect his carries to go up against Cincinnati.
Cincinnati also got off to a good start in week 1 as they defeated UCLA 24-14. Now tasked with their second power-five opponent in as many weeks, the Bearcats are looking to get off to a big start in non-conference play.
Sophomore Desmond Ridder is back behind center for the Bearcats for the second straight season. He got off to a relatively good start last week against the Bruins throwing for 242 yards and two touchdowns along with an interception. Michael Warren is the star of the offense though.
Warren was a breakout star for Cincinnati in their 11-win season as he rushed for 1,329 yards and 19 touchdowns. His start to the season could have been better as he carried the ball 26 times for 92 yards and a score, but make no mistake, Warren is one of the better running backs in the country.
Date: Saturday, Sept. 7
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Stadium: Ohio Stadium
TV Channel: ABC
Odds: Ohio State -16.5 (Bovada)
Over/Under: 53.5 (Bovada)
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Prediction: This one figures to be relatively low scoring with both teams showing some offensive flaws in week one. With Cincinnati’s stout defense I find it hard for the Buckeyes to be able to pull away by a large margin, especially early. The Buckeyes are going to have to earn every yard they get on Saturday, something that they didn’t have to do last week at times. Both teams will struggle to move the ball overall, but Ohio State’s talent should put them over the edge. I’ll take the Buckeyes to win but the Bearcats to cover and the under as well.
Prediction: Ohio State 27, Cincinnati 17