When the Cincinnati Bearcats come to town the second game of the season it will be a battle between two Ohio State head coaches.
Some have said the Ohio State Buckeyes have it relatively easy with their non-conference schedule. I couldn’t disagree more. They will have to face a former Ohio State head coach who is used to winning in ‘The Shoe’.
Luke Fickell will be bringing his Cincinnati Bearcats to Columbus the second game of the season. It will be a battle between teams coached by the last head coach of the Ohio State football team before Urban Meyer took the helm and the one who succeeded him.
Fickell was a terrific player for the Buckeyes and even a better coach. He was an assistant on two national championship teams. And I didn’t even bother to check out the number of players he sent to the NFL as a linebackers / defensive coordinator.
You know coach Fickell will get his team motivated to battle the Buckeyes. And he may be prepared to do so.
Not surprisingly he had a strong defense last year. Cincinnati was No 11 in the country in total defense.
On the other hand, coach Ryan Day’s offense was one of the best in the country. Ohio State finished 2nd in total offense and had the No. 8 scoring offense.
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Anybody who thinks this will be an easy victory for the Buckeyes is mistaken. The Bearcats are coming off an 11-2 season and coach Fickell is at the helm. You can bet his players will battle, and if a couple of breaks goes Cincinnati’s way, who knows?
In any event, it will be an interesting matchup between the Ohio State head coach who held things together until Urban Meyer took the helm and the one who took over after he left.
Buckeye fans will applaud Luke Fickell when he walks into the Shoe for his many years of service as a Buckeye. And I’m sure they will pull for him and his Bearcats in nearly every game during the 2019 season.
But not on September 7th. They will be pulling for the new Ohio State head coach.