:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/38641558/20140913_ajw_ab8_117.JPG.0.jpg)
After a dominant win over an in-state opponent, Kent State, the Buckeyes have a week to regroup and prepare for another in-state opponent, the Cincinnati Bearcats.
These teams have met 15 times previously with the Buckeyes holding a commanding series lead of 13-2. The Bearcats haven't won against the Buckeyes since the 1800s. That's not hyperbole. Cincinnati last bested Ohio State in football in 1897 with a 24-0 victory. The previous year, 1896, Cincinnati walked away with a narrow 8-7 victory--their only other win over the Buckeyes in program history.
That's not much of a rivalry, right? Well, basketball has been another story. In 1961 and 1962, the Buckeyes and Bearcats met in back-to-back NCAA basketball championship games, the only time in history that the same two teams have made it to the championship game in consecutive seasons. Cincinnati walked away with wins both times. As a matter of fact, Ohio State's record over those two seasons was 53-3, with two of their three losses coming from the Bearcats.
Of course, the basketball Buckeyes and Bearcats have met just twice since that time. In 2006, Ohio State dominated Cincinnati on the court in a 72-50 win, and the Bearcats suffered a tournament loss to the Buckeyes in regional semifinal play in 2012, losing 81-66.
That doesn't mean that Bearcats fans aren't chomping at the bit to have the opportunity to perhaps add another win over the Buckeyes to the history books. A few weeks after the 2014 Ohio State football schedule was announced, an intrepid University of Cincinnati fan snuck into Ohio Stadium and left the Buckeyes a message.
Either a Cincinnati fan broke into Ohio stadium last night, or someone who only likes 3/4ths of squares... pic.twitter.com/M2qYtqQJ2G
— Jordan Vidra (@JordanVidra) February 13, 2014
While the Bearcats are also coming off of a commanding in-state victory following last week's 58-34 win over Toledo, and Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville boasts a 2-0 record all-time over Urban Meyer, It's very possible the Bearcats fan who defaced the snow inside the Horseshoe is going to be extremely sad next Saturday.