Cincinnati was bailed out by its defense against UCLA last week as its offense repeatedly missed opportunities to put the game away. The Buckeyes put up some decent numbers in their opener but were also sloppy at times. Look for the Bearcats to have a bit of a letdown while Ohio State takes a step forward.

This is a lot of points, but my model is all over Ohio State at home against Cincinnati. Justin Fields, J.K. Dobbins and K.J. Hill are going to be too much for the Cincinnati defense. I make Ohio State -18 at home. Lay it.

Ohio State's first game with Ryan Day as coach and Justin Fields at quarterback was a smashing success. The Buckeyes jumped on Florida Atlantic, 28-0, and only gave up two meaningless fourth quarter scores. Meanwhile Cincinnati beat a bad UCLA team. My model says Ohio State covers almost 60 percent of the time. Take the Buckeyes.