The Bearcats visit Ohio Stadium on Saturday fresh off their upset victory over the Wisconsin Badgers a week ago, feeling confident that they can pull off their second straight shocking win after they heard how OSU struggled to a 10-10 tie at halftime against Ohio U., a team Cincinnati would most likely demolish.

The Buckeyes took Ohio lightly last Saturday, but most fans feel that won’t be the case against the Bearcats this Saturday even though they lost to Division 1AA Troy State of Alabama at home the week before they stunned Wisconsin. Ohio U. did the same thing, they lost to a Division 1AA team (N. Iowa, 36-21) the week prior to the OSU contest. All that is explaining is they were looking past those schools and concentrating more on the Big Ten schools next on their schedules.

Despite struggling to an injury-plagued 2-9 record last season, this is a Cincinnati team that always seems to have quite a bit of talent. They have a good coach, Rick Minter, who led the Bearcats to a 35-19 Humanitarian Bowl victory over Utah State in 1997.

The top offensive players for Cincinnati are QB Deontey Kenner (55% completion percentage and 2047 yards passing in 1998), TB Robert Cooper (82 carries for 419 yards and a 5.1 yards per carry average a year ago; 143 yards on 20 carries last week vs. the U.W. Badgers) and OG Ken Biggs, a top notch offensive lineman who has started 33 games in his collegiate career.



UC’s top defensive players are: FS/PR Tinker Keck (sat out most of last season with a knee injury, 73 tackles, 4 INT’s and 4 punts returned for TD’s in 1997 as a first team All-Conference USA recipient), SS Fred Smith and CB Danny Adams (both players combined for 11 starts last fall) make the secondary the strength of the defense. LB DeJuan Gossett had 78 tackles last year, second on the team. Head Coach Minter and his staff made a commitment, after the horrible season the whole squad had in 1998, to rebuild the defense. It has seemed to pay off so far with the team’s upset of Wisconsin.

OSU should be ready as there is no reason to take the Bearcats lightly now

Ohio State’s game with UC marks the first time since 1929 the Bucks have played two in-state schools in the same season.

PREDICTION: OSU should bounce back with a better showing against a determined Cincinnati team looking to show college football that last week was no fluke. Ohio State 31 Cincinnati 17. If second-string TB Jonathon Wells and first-string FB Matt Keller, both extremely important player’s on OSU’s team, return from their injuries, the score could be a little worse. is with the running game with the hope of breakimg a few long runs and ball-control offense to keep the clock moving. Every other aspect of the game, they are severely overmatched at. If they even try to pass (a weapon they have never been even close to good at), both QB’s will be wasting their time. OSU has to make a statement to one of these MAC teams.if they haven’t already- “you don’t want to play us”.