COLUMBUS – Ohio State remained at No. 5 in the latest AP Top 25 College Football Poll after an unsurprising win over Florida Atlantic in the season opener last Saturday.
(5) Ohio State (1-0) vs. Cincinnati (1-0): Sat., Sept. 7 at Ohio Stadium (Noon/ABC)
But Game 2 brings a step up in competition this week as Cincinnati visits Ohio Stadium.
“I think it’s a very strong program, in great shape. So we know they are going to come in here hungry,” Buckeye head coach Ryan Day told reporters Tuesday. “Being in the same state we know that means a lot.”
The Bearcats are coached by Luke Fickell, who spent 21 years at Ohio State as a player and a coach, including one season as head coach after the firing of Jim Tressel. He is 16-10 in his third year at UC.
Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Marcus Freeman played for the Buckeyes, and Fickell, from 2004 to 2008.
New Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields faces a tougher challenge against the Cincinnati defense this week. The Bearcats, who boasted the 11th best defense in college football last season, allowed just 218 total yards in its week one victory over UCLA.
Day gave Fields generally high marks for his debut win over Florida Atlantic last Saturday but says there is plenty for the Georgia transfer to work on.
“He played well in terms of game management. Didn’t try to do stuff that wasn’t there,” Day said. “You know, a few things, reads, a few protection things we’ve got to clean up, but again the more experience he has, the better he’s going to be.”
The Top 25 went 23-0 against unranked teams to open the season, leaving the rankings mostly unchanged: No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama are at the top of the poll, followed by Georgia, Oklahoma and Ohio State.