Ohio State hasn't lost to another school in Ohio since 1921, so one might think Cincinnati will have some added incentive to pull the upset when it visits Ohio Stadium on Saturday night.
But make no mistake about it, the game between the two in-state schools separated by just more than 100 miles means just as much to the Buckeyes as it does the Bearcats.
“I feel like it’s a big game for us. It’s a statement game for us," Ohio State H-back Jalin Marshall said Wednesday. "We have to come out there and play hard, play fast and play together and I feel like we’ll come out there and get a win. Cincinnati’s definitely not gonna give it to us, so like I said we’ve gotta come play hard, play fast.”
It may seem like all of the pressure is on the Buckeyes to win the game, but head coach Urban Meyer isn't concerned with that right now.
“I think there’s some good schools in Ohio, there’s some good teams — the Bowling Green team the year after I left came down and gave Ohio State and Cincinnati one time, they were on the red zone to win the game," Meyer said. "I’m not worried about all that, I just gotta make sure our team’s ready to go. I got a lot of respect for Ohio schools, because they’re mostly Ohio high school football players.”
Marshall is an Ohio product himself. A Middletown native, he was a high school quarterback who was actually recruited by Cincinnati to play that position. The Bearcats were his very first scholarship offer.
Meyer had previously hinted at an expanded role for Marshall in Ohio State's offense, and the redshirt freshman suggested Wednesday he could see some time at his old position in a wildcat role.
“We’ve done a little bit of it," Marshall said. "We’ve walked through it a lot so hopefully on Saturday we can start some of it.”
Whether or not the Buckeyes actually use the package remains to be seen, but Marshall said if he's called upon, he'll be ready.
"I just do what they ask me to do and when my number’s called hopefully I can make a play," he said.
