There’s no question that most Ohio State and Cincinnati fans would rather see their respective basketball teams play each other rather than their football squads.
But after Saturday’s matchup in Paul Brown Stadium, fans may be screaming for “The Battle of Ohio” to become an annual affair.
Despite struggling in almost every facet of the game, the No. 6 Buckeyes pulled out a 23-19 victory over its in-state opponent, extending its consecutive game winning streak against in-state opponents to 60.
“We are very fortunate to leave Paul Brown with a win,” OSU coach Jim Tressel said. “I’m proud of the way the guys played and stuck together.”
While they faltered in the end, the Bearcats dominated the entire contest right from the opening kickoff. After the Cincinnati defense stopped the Bucks on three plays, the Bearcats’ offense went right to work.
Led by the right arm of quarterback Gino Guidugli, who completed six of his first seven pass attempts, the Bearcats marched down to the OSU 1-yard line.
Tailback Demarcus McCleskey capped off the drive when he took an option pitch from Guidugli to the end zone. Jonathan Ruffin missed the extra point attempt, snapping his school record of 65 consecutive conversions.
Ruffin redeemed himself on the next drive as he nailed a 44-yard field goal attempt, extending Cincinnati’s lead to 9-0. In the first quarter, Cincinnati gained 123 yards compared to OSU’s 20 yards.
The Buckeyes finally got things rolling offensively on its first drive of thesecond quarter. After starting on Cincinnati’s 39-yard line, OSU quickly found its way to the Bearcats’ 20-yard line. Facing third down, quarterback Craig Krenzel found tight end Ben Hartsock on a play-action pass in the middle of the end zone. Mike Nugent added the extra point to cut the deficit to 9-7.
But Cincinnati answered right back when Ruffin nailed a career-long 49-yard field goal to extend the Bearcat lead to 12-7.
Receiver Chris Gamble took the ensuing kickoff and scampered 94 yards for an apparent OSU touchdown. However, the play was called back due to a holding penalty and the Buckeyes punted the ball away to end the half. OSU committed eight penalties for 60 yards in the game.
“We just weren’t 100 percent focused,” Tressel said. “You really need to be 100 percent focused when you play a good Cincinnati team.”
The Buckeyes finally found a rhythm starting in the second half. After passing the ball most of the opening half, Tressel looked to sophomore tailback Lydell Ross to shoulder most of the load. Replacing the injured Maurice Clarett, Ross quickly rushed for a game-high 131 yards on 23 carries.
“I just did what I could do,” Ross said. “The offensive line gave me holes and I ran through them.”
Ross helped set up the Bucks’ second score of the game, rushing for 36 yards on OSU’s opening drive of the second half. Krenzel again found a receiver in the end zone, this time hitting Vance on the sideline from five yards out.
“You have to give credit where credit is due,” Cincinnati coach Rick Minter said. “Ohio State took it to us in the second half.”
But yet again, Guidugli was able to bring the Bearcats back. Just before the end of the third quarter, Guidugli led Cincinnati on a 11 play, 67 yard drive, highlighted by a five-yard TD pass to Tye Keith, giving Cincinnati a 19-14 lead at the end of the third quarter.
OSU’s offense again marched down the field to start the fourth quarter, but this time it wasn’t Ross who did most of the running. Krenzel showed off his mobility on a 29 yard run, setting up a first-and-goal from the Cincinnati 6-yard line. But the Bucks had to settle for a 24-yard field goal from sophomore Mike Nugent, closing the gap to 19-17.
Being down late is nothing new to Guidugli and the Bearcats. In his shortcareer, Guidugli had already engineered four fourth-quarter rallies and itlooked like he was headed for a fifth as the Bearcats drove down to the Bucks’ 18-yard line.
But after being nearly perfect in three quarters, Guidugli made his firstmistake when he tried to hit a receiver in the back of the end zone, but found instead Gamble, who was playing cornerback for the first time this season.
“I played corner in high school,” Gamble said. “I just wanted to make sure I stuck the receiver real good and made sure he didn’t get off the line.”
However, OSU’s offense couldn’t take advantage and gave the ball right back to the Bearcats.
But the Buckeyes’ defense again came up big when David Thompson picked up a Guidugli fumble. Ten plays later, Krenzel again showed his versatility on a six-yard TD run. Nugent’s extra point gave OSU the final lead.
“The couple of drives we had late in the game, we really found a rhythm,” Ross said.
Guidugli had one last chance to pull off the upset at the OSU 20-yard line, but Will Allen picked off Guiduguli’s pass in the back of the end zone.
“We have a lot of things to work on,” Tressel said. “But I’m really proud of the way we fought and came back.”
