Ohio State Football: Buckeyes Have Plenty to Prove in Showdown with Cincinnati

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jalin Marshall is just a redshirt freshman, a second-year player who has only seen the field for three games in his college career.

So it's telling that even as one of the youngest players on the Ohio State roster, he is well aware of what's at stake for the Buckeyes in this weekend's showdown with Cincinnati.

"It’s a big game for us. It’s a statement game for us," Marshall said on Wednesday. "We have to come out there and play hard, play fast and play together, and I feel like we’ll come out there and get a win. Cincinnati’s definitely not gonna give it to us."

The same couldn't have been said about Ohio State's opponent two weeks ago, Kent State, which rolled over and watched the Buckeyes head into their bye week with a 66-0 blowout victory.

OSU's thrashing of the Golden Flashes gave it some much-needed confidence following a Sept. 6 loss to Virginia Tech, but the Buckeyes know that the Bearcats will bring much more talent to Columbus than KSU did before their bye.

The challenge of facing UC, however, will be a welcome one for an Ohio State squad still unsure of where it stands after having already completed one-quarter of the 2014 season.

With arguably the best quarterback they will see all season and and one of the most talented teams on their schedule coming to town for a final tune-up before the start of Big Ten play, there will be no shortage of points for the Buckeyes to prove this Saturday.

Exactly what does Ohio State hope to make a statement about?

Can the Buckeyes Beat the Bear?

Not the Bearcats, just the Bear—although doing the former will likely include accomplishing the latter.

During the Hokies' win in Columbus three weeks ago, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer laid out what at the time appeared to be a blueprint of sorts for beating the Buckeyes.

Employing a 46 Bear defense that loaded the box and forced freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett to make plays through the air, the Hokies stifled the Ohio State offense, which was unable to make enough big plays to walk away with a win.

Unsurprisingly, a week later, Kent State came out with a similar look, although that quickly changed when the Buckeyes' talent advantage proved to be too much for any Golden Flash scheme to handle.

Cincinnati, on the other hand, could potentially hold its own with a similar approach, which is why Urban Meyer is fully expecting to see the Bearcats attempt to run the Bear on Saturday.

"There's no question," Meyer answered on his radio show when asked if he anticipates UC emulating Virginia Tech's defensive approach. "The good thing is that you can do some things to take them out of it."

As the Buckeyes learned against the Hokies, saying and doing are two different challenges.

But with two weeks to prepare for Cincinnati, Ohio State players insist that they're better prepared now to handle the 46 Bear than they were back then, which is something that they'll likely have to prove against the Bearcats.

"If they bring more than we can handle, we just gotta get the ball out quick to our playmakers and make plays," said junior tight end Nick Vannett. "Whatever they show us, we're confident that we're going to do well against their look."

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

What Is Ohio State's Offensive Identity?

Speaking of the Ohio State offense, with one game to go until the start of conference play, the Buckeyes are still unsure of what their bread and butter will be when they're in possession of the ball.

Two years ago, it was Braxton Miller's big-play ability with his legs. Last season, it was Carlos Hyde and a power run game behind Ohio State's equally experienced and talented offensive line. Now? The Buckeyes have plenty of options, but not a lot of answers.

Ideally, Meyer would like to blend together a balanced approach that mixes Barrett's ability as a distributor with a talented running back stable consisting of Ezekiel Elliott, Curtis Samuel and Rod Smith.

While such identity has yet to manifest itself for Ohio State, Meyer has seen positive signs that it could be on its way.

"I get confidence from what I see, not what I hope," Meyer said. "I see it on the practice field, I see it in the games. I see the maturity of a quarterback happening and most importantly, the offensive line's starting to get a little savvy to them too."

It also appears as though the Buckeyes experimented with wrinkles to add to their offense during the bye week, as evidenced by Marshall's revelation that he's spent time practicing as a quarterback in the Wildcat formation.

A signal-caller during his high school career in Middleton, Ohio, Marshall was offered scholarships by the likes of Tennessee and Cincinnati to play quarterback at the college level, and could soon again find himself behind center.

"We've done a little bit of it," Marshall said when asked if he's practiced as a situational quarterback. "We walked through it a lot, so hopefully on Saturday we can start some of it."

Whether or not the offense will use this look remains to be seen, but one way or another, this weekend could go a long way toward telling us what the OSU offense will pride itself on moving forward.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Where Does the Buckeyes Defense Stand?

By now, you already know the numbers: Out of 125 teams a season ago, Ohio State ranked 118th in the nation in pass defense, allowing an average of 286.3 yards per game through the air.

After being largely untested in that facet through the first three games of the season, the Buckeyes will now take on a Cincinnati passing offense that ranks ninth in the nation with an average of 353.5 yards per game through its first two contests of the year.

The storyline being beaten into the ground—can Ohio State's revamped pass defense withstand the Bearcats' aerial assault?—doesn't make it any less important.

After all, it was just a year ago that the Buckeyes had their national championship aspirations dashed when Connor Cook and Michigan State's passing attack proved to be too much for Ohio State to handle.

In Gunner Kiel, Cincinnati possesses what could very well be the best quarterback that the Buckeyes will face all season, which is why Ohio State won't be caught off guard by the Bearcats' game plan on Saturday.

"They're one of the top throwing teams in America," Meyer said. "There's not a mystery to this one at all."

But just because the Buckeyes know what's coming doesn't mean that they'll be able to stop it. Although the Ohio State secondary remains a question mark at this point, sophomore safety Vonn Bell insists that it's no longer the Achilles' heel for the Buckeyes that it was a season ago.

"We're all on the same page," Bell said of the OSU defensive backs. "You just gotta keep communicating. We're the back end and everyone knows who it is who gave up that touchdown, but we just stay on the same page and stay as one."

As for the rest of the Buckeyes defense, there will be plenty for it to prove this Saturday as well—especially with All-Big Ten defensive end Noah Spence out indefinitely following a second failed drug test.

Meyer has mentioned freshmen Tyquan Lewis and Jalyn Holmes as well as linebacker turned tight end turned defensive end Sam Hubbard—who had the best practice of his young college career on Wednesday—as players who could step up in Spence's absence.

"We're playing a back-and-forth game with him just because we're down with numbers," Meyer said of the 6'5", 244-pound Hubbard, a former 4-star prospect.

Like Marshall, seeing will be believing when it comes to Hubbard's new role taking shape on Saturday. But for a unit—and team—looking to prove itself, the Buckeyes will use all the help that they can get in one of the most pivotal games of the 2014 season.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.