Instant Analysis: Ohio State beats Cincinnati 50-28

osuHelmetDon’t lie — when you saw Gunner Kiel go deep to Chris Moore you thought to yourself “oh no, here we go again.”

Then Ohio State ripped off 30 unanswered points and it looked like the rout was on.

But as was pointed out repeatedly by the commentators (inadvertently, mind you), there is no such thing as momentum. Cincinnati would go on a run of their own, outscoring the Buckeyes 21-3, and suddenly it was a game.

A game of runs.

Looking at a 28-33 score, Ohio State would drive down and get a field goal to go up by 8. Then a questionable offensive pass interference call put Cincinnati in a big hole, unable to get another first down. Ohio State would then go on to pound the ball on the way to a couple more scores to put the game out of reach.

There’s plenty more to discuss (there are still some defensive deficiencies) but for now, let’s enjoy the huge offensive explosion.

Offensive player of the game: Ezekiel Elliot. This was easy, this was pure man-ball from Elliot. 233 total yards, a touchdown and just straight up beastmode.

Defensive player of the game: I thought about not awarding anyone this one, seeing how they gave up three HUGE touchdown passes, but I can’t overlook how good Joey Bosa played, especially in the first half. His sack/forced fumble that resulted in a safety looked like it might turn the game ugly. The Big Bear played lights-out.

Dan Fouts foot-in-mouth award: I don’t remember if it was Glen Mason or not (I think it was) who said, speaking of Curtis Samuel, that he “learned a valuable lesson tonight, to hold on to the ball.” Sorry, but I’m pretty sure Curtis learned that “valuable lesson” in the fourth grade, Glen.

After an up and down non-conference run, it’s time for Ohio State’s B1G play to start, beginning with Maryland in a week.

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