In a wild and wacky game in front of 108,362 — an Ohio Stadium record — Ohio State racked up 710 total yards of offense and pulled out a 50-28 win over Cincinnati on Saturday night.
The Buckeyes' pass defense looked suspect again, allowing UC quarterback Gunner Kiel to throw for 352 yards and four touchdowns, but the Bearcats simply had no answer for Ohio State's offense.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CINCINNATI | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| OHIO STATE | 23 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 50 |
Redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett was 26 for 36 for 330 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for 79 yards.Running back Eziekiel Elliott was a workhorse out of the backfield, carrying the ball 28 times for 182 yards and a score. Ohio State set a new school single-game record with 45 first downs.
After jumping out to a 30-7 lead in the first half, Cincinnati responded with two second-quarter touchdowns to pull within 30-21 at halftime. The Bearcats had the lead down to 33-28 in the second half, before Ohio State pulled away with touchdowns from Dontre Wilson and Devin Smith to seal the game.
With the win, Ohio State moves to 3-1 on the season. Cincinnati falls to 2-1.
GAME NOTES
| OHIO STATE | STAT | CINCINNATI |
|---|---|---|
| 710 | TOTAL YARDS | 422 |
| 380 | RUSHING YARDS | 70 |
| 65 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 19 |
| 5.8 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 3.7 |
| 2 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 330 | PASSING YARDS | 352 |
| 26—36 | COMPLETIONS—ATTEMPTS | 21—33 |
| 12.7 | AVERAGE PER COMPLETION | 16.8 |
| 4 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 4 |
| 45 | 1st DOWNS | 15 |
| 27 | RUSHING 1st DOWNS | 5 |
| 17 | PASSING 1st DOWNS | 10 |
| 1 | PENALTY 1st DOWNS | 0 |
| 101 | TOTAL PLAYS | 52 |
| 7.0 | YARDS PER PLAY | 8.1 |
| 5-5 | RED ZONE | 1-1 |
| 9-14 | 3rd DOWNS | 4-11 |
| 1-2 | 4th DOWNS | 0-0 |
| 7-40 | PENALTIES | 6-40 |
| 41:56 | POSSESSION | 18:04 |
- Ohio State's 45 first downs broke the record of 39 against Drake set all the way back in 1935.
- Quarterback J.T. Barrett continues to impress, throwing for a career-high 330 yards. His 79 yards on the ground were also a career high. Barrett becomes the first Ohio State quarterback to have back-to-back 300-plus yard passing games since Troy Smith in 2005. Barrett's 409 yards of total offense ranks second all-time only behind Art Schlichter's 412 against Florida State in 1981.
- Joey Bosa forced a first-half fumble for the Buckeyes, his third forced fumble on the season. All three fumbles Bosa has forced this year have led to points for Ohio State.
- Ohio State's 41 minutes, 56 seconds of possession was its highest since at least 1984. It marked the first game the Buckeyes went over the 40-minute mark in time of possession since the 2010 Rose Bowl game against Oregon.
- After catching just five passes over the first three games, Dontre Wilson hauled in a career high six receptions against Cincinnati. Wilson had 71 receiving yards and scored his first touchdown of the season against the Bearcats.
- Ohio State's 710 yards of total offense ranks third all time in school history behind 718 against Mount Union in 1930 and 715 versus Utah in 1986.
