By @MarkW2112
That was fun, right? The Buckeyes, behind a massive offensive outbreak, beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 50-28 in a predicted shoot out that nonetheless went to the faster and more talented Buckeyes team. The offense almost broke a school record, with 710 yards of total offense (the record is 718 but was lost due to a 20 yard loss on one of the last plays of game). J.T. Barrett had another solid game, going 26-of-36 for 330 yards and 4 touchdowns to along with 79 inspiring rushing yards. Ezekiel Elliot lead the running backs with 28 carries for 182 yards and a touchdown. The most impressive thing about the Buckeyes offense was the offensive line, who gave plenty of time for Barrett to find his targets and open up huge holes for the running backs to shoot through.
For the Bearcats, Gunner Kiel was as advertised, going 21-of-32 for 352 yards and 4 touchdowns. Receiver Chris Moore was extremely impressive, with 221 receivers and 3 touchdowns on 3 catches. His 3 catches went for 60, 83 and 78 yard bombs from Kiel. The Bearcats were able to get as close as 36-28 before the defense was finally able to hold down their high powered offense down.
My take: J.T. Barrett is continuing to grow as the leader of the Buckeyes offense. He has grown by leaps and bounds since the Navy game. It appears Urban Meyer has opened up the offensive playbook as his confidence in Barrett grows. While the defense gave up 28 points to Kiel and the Bearcats offense, they were able to make the holds at the end of the game when they needed to which was huge.
Next week, the Buckeyes start their Big 10 season against Maryland. Wait, did I actually type that?
