COLUMBUS (AP) — No. 5 Ohio State piled up 508 yards of offense in beating Cincinnati 42-0.
Justin Fields passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more scores, and tailback J.K. Dobbins scored two touchdowns before halftime.
The Buckeyes (2-0) dismantled Cincinnati (1-1) in Luke Fickell’s return to Ohio Stadium but beating a 16-point underdog in blowout fashion probably won’t get the Buckeyes up into to the top four in the polls.
The long afternoon started when quarterback Justin Fields dashed up the middle for a 7-yard touchdown run on Ohio State’s second drive of the day. And it got worse for the Bearcats from there.
Fields, the Georgia transfer in his first year starting for the Buckeyes, was prolific the rest of the day with help from tailback J.K. Dobbins and an angry Ohio State defense in the 42-0 rout of Cincinnati, which last beat the Buckeyes in football 122 years ago.
“We got our absolute butts whipped,” said Fickell, the third-year Bearcats coach who played at Ohio State then spent years on the other sideline as an assistant, and interim coach in 2011.
The Ohio State defense held down Cincinnati and shut the door with a blocked field goal, an interception and, late in the game, a fumble for a touchback on the only occasions the Bearcats threatened. The Buckeyes sacked quarterback Desmond Ritter five times.
“I think today was another step in the journey, the right step — where we want to be,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said.