Week one is officially in the books and the Bearcats are a perfect 1-0, that’s all you can ask for to start a season. Up next is in state giant Ohio State, the Buckeyes also scored a fairly easy victory in week one and this matchup will be both squads first real tests of the season.
What could this matchup look like for Fickell and the Bearcats during their trip to Columbus? It could look a lot like what UCLA was trying to do last week, they just lacked the talent and execution to pull it off, it is not a stretch to say that OSU will find more success than UCLA did, after all the early line currently has the Bearcats as 16-17 point underdogs.
So what did week one tell us about the Buckeyes? Well the defense looked to be much improved, now playing a zone scheme as opposed to the man to man coverage Urban Meyer used to run, and that defense is led by defensive end Chase Young. Chase Young looks poised to continue the trend of Buckeye defensive ends to be taken in the top five of the NFL draft next April. Last week against FAU Young had 5 tackles and 1.5 sacks while also knocking a few balls down at the line. Basically he is a walking offensive gameplay disruptor and the Bearcats success is really going to hinge on how well they are able to slow down and minimize Young’s impact on the game.
On the offensive side of the ball is where questions still remain. If you turned off the OSU game after the first ten minutes, which saw the Buckeyes steamroll to a 28 point lead, it would be easy to believe they beat FAU by 100, however, they still only finished with a final score of 45-21. It was Justin Fields first career start and it was filled with wow moments, like the 51 yard touchdown run on the opening drive, but it was also filled with a lot of moments where the ball was held on longer than it should have been and he left himself vulnerable to sacks and unnecessary hits. That will be something the Bearcats hope to capitalize on and get to Fields early.
The main issue facing the Buckeyes offense has been the struggle with the running game, a struggle that has been hampering the offense since last season. It’s easy to look at box score numbers and think all is well, but anyone who has watched this team recently knows what a struggle it has been in that area of the game. Just looking at last Saturday’s game if you remove the big plays, Fields 51 yard carry and J.K. Dobbins 17 yard carry, then Fields finished with 11 attempts for 10 yards and Dobbins finished with 20 attempts for 74 yards, and the UC defense is a lot stronger than the FAU defense. What this means is that UC can crowd the box and force Fields to beat them through the air, which brings us to the games most important position group battle of the day!
The offensive and defensive lines.
Ohio State and Ohio State product turned UC coach, Luke Fickell, both pride themselves on controlling the line on offense and defense, and this Saturday it is the most important part of the game. Both teams offenses struggled to play a full four quarters last week, and both defenses have tremendous defensive lines, whether or not this game is going to remain closer than the experts think will come down to two very simple questions. Can UC’s offensive line slow down Chase Young and the talented Buckeye D-Line and can UC generate enough pressure to make Justin Fields as uncomfortable as possible and force him into game changing mistakes?
For what its worth I think UC has the ability to do both of those things and I expect this game to be great and much closer than the experts in Vegas. I’m thinking something like 31-24 and you can decide which team is which.
