Week Two: Ohio State vs. Central Florida—History Lesson And Prediction

By HD Handshoe — BlockONation.com Founder

Ohio State/UCF—A Few Opening Thoughts...

Last week after an unexpected slow start which saw Ohio State trail Miami-Ohio 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, Devin Smith ignited the home crowd and the offense with the catch of the year, and the Buckeyes never looked back en route to a 56-10 blowout.

This week, Ohio State faces a much stiffer test as they host the UCF Knights. UCF also scored 56 points and opened the season with a win in the state of Ohio with their week one victory over the Akron Zips.



Given that my schedule did not permit me to post a full preview this week, you can get a full game preview via ESPN by clicking here.

Ohio State—UCF History Lesson And Trends

• This is the first-ever football meeting between Ohio State and UCF.

• Ohio State is 58-7 in Ohio Stadium since the start of the 2002 season.

• Ohio State's defense has allowed just nine 100-yard rushers in their last 50 games.

• Ohio State's defense has held opponents to fewer than 10 points 31 times since 2006.

• Ohio State has held 68 opponents to 21 points or less since the start of the 2005 season.

• Ohio State has won 58 consecutive regular season non-conference home games vs. unranked opponents.

• UCF is 0-6 all-time vs. Big Ten opponents.

• UCF has never beaten a ranked, non-conference opponent.

• UCF is 6-7 in games played in Ohio and 13-14 overall vs. teams from Ohio.

Final Thoughts and Score Prediction

Ohio State is the better team on paper and that should be obvious on the field late in the first half or early in the second. That being said, UCF is a good team capable of hanging with the Buckeyes in this game if they start like they did last week.

They say teams make the biggest leap from game one to game two. Assuming that holds true, we should see Ohio State come out firing on all cylinders early and often on Saturday.

I respect where the UCF program is after only 34 years of existence and I won't be shocked at all if they finish the season with 10 wins. To be honest, I fully expect 10 wins from them this season. Unfortunately, one of those 10 wins I foresee won't come Saturday in Columbus.

Ohio State 38
UCF 13

"To be a champion, you have to believe in yourself when no one else will" - Sugar Ray Robinson

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