Barrett, Elliott lead No. 22 Ohio State past Cincinnati
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - J.T. Barrett threw four touchdown passes, Ezekiel Elliott had an impressive rushing performance and No. 22 Ohio State pulled away for a 50-28 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday.
Barrett was 26-of-36 for 330 yards and added 79 yards on the ground, while Elliott ran for 182 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
Ohio State (3-1), which finished with 710 yards of offense and a program- record 45 first downs, hasn't lost to an in-state school since a 7-6 defeat against Oberlin in 1921. The Buckeyes haven't lost in 45 consecutive games against other Ohio-based teams.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chris Moore caught touchdown passes of 60, 83 and 78 yards from Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel. Those were Moore's only three receptions in the game.
Kiel also threw a touchdown pass to Johnny Holton and ended with 352 yards on 21-of-32 passing for the Bearcats (2-1), who were down only five in the third quarter before Ohio State scored the game's final 17 points.
"They had a good plan and they changed some things on us and we were too slow to adapt," said Cincinnati head coach Tommy Tuberville.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ohio State scored touchdowns on each of its first four drives and was poised to build on its 30-7 lead when running back Curtis Samuel fumbled in Cincinnati territory.
The complexion of the game changed from that point on.
The Bearcats capitalized on the turnover as Holton caught a screen pass and ran 19 yards to the end zone.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A dropped pass by wideout Devin Smith then forced an Ohio State punt that was downed at the 3-yard line.
After getting a first down, Moore got behind the Buckeyes secondary with 26 seconds remaining before halftime.
Ohio State looked to take back the momentum by marching inside the 10-yard line to begin the third quarter, but the Cincinnati defense forced the Buckeyes to settle for a 25-yard Sean Nuernberger field goal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Moore was inexplicably left uncovered on the second play of the ensuing Cincinnati possession. He caught Kiel's short toss on a slant and darted for the touchdown, trimming the deficit to 33-28.
A questionable offensive pass interference penalty hindered the Bearcats' next drive, resulting in a punt.
Cincinnati didn't reach Ohio State territory the rest of the game.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Barrett put the game away with touchdown passes of 24 and 34 yards to Dontre Wilson and Smith, respectively.
"J.T. played well. Other than a dropped third down and a fumble, I was very pleased for the night, offensively," said Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer. "Defensively, we're back to the drawing board. And pass coverage, the corner, a couple corners got beat and we gave up big plays. You can say other than that, but we've got to get that fixed."
Kiel hit Moore downfield for a touchdown on the opening series of the game, but the Buckeyes seized the lead with 3-yard touchdown runs by Rod Smith and Elliott.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On the first play of the next Cincinnati drive, Kiel fumbled when he was hit by Joey Bosa. Offensive lineman Eric Lefeld batted the ball out of the end zone for a safety.
Barrett then threw 19-yard touchdown passes to Devin Smith and Evan Spencer, the latter coming with 12:34 remaining in the second quarter.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ohio State has won the last 11 games between the teams and leads the all-time series 14-2. Cincinnati's victories came in back-to-back home games in 1896-97 ... Nuernberger also kicked a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter ... Wilson had 71 yards on six catches.