Ohio State Club Football completed its first undefeated regular season since 2022 on Sunday with a dominating 60-6 performance over Cincinnati United Prep in a cold, rain-soaked affair.
The Buckeyes never punted and the defense forced multiple short fields due to the Bulls lack of a kicking game. Ohio State led 47-6 at halftime, leading to a running clock in the second half, at which point the majority of the Buckeye starters were removed from the game.
Ohio State honored 15 seniors prior to kickoff against Cincinnati United, including quarterback Niko Pappas who accounted for six touchdowns on the day, despite playing just two quarters of football. Pappas, who was granted a number of short fields by his defense, completed 10-of-16 passes for 110 yards and five touchdowns through the air and added another score on the ground. He finished with five carries for 87 yards rushing to lead all players.
Ricardo Washington, another senior playing in his final regular season home game, led the Buckeyes with five receptions for 87 yards and three touchdowns before being pulled at halftime. Desean Bonte and Joe Conklin also caught touchdown passes while tight end Tommy Delaney hauled in three passes for 30 yards and a pair of scores. The touchdown receptions by Delaney and Conklin were the first of their collegiate careers.
Playing in freezing rain, Ohio State kept the ball on the ground quite a bit against Cincinnati United, as the Buckeyes rushed for 227 yards and a pair of scores on the ground. Pappas’ 34-yard score opened the scoring while running back Milan Jackson added nine carries for 55 yards and a first quarter score while Ethan Young added nine carries for 33 yards and Lucas Fenstermaker chipped in six carries for 28 yards.
Due to the Bulls’ lack of a kicking game, Ohio State’s defense gave the Buckeyes multiple short fields as the Buckeyes started just three possessions in their own territory throughout the course of the game. Cincinnati United’s lone score came in the first quarter on a 68-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tre Pleasure to Jaleel Engleman. After a failed two-point conversion, the score was 14-6, in favor of Ohio State.
The Buckeyes led 28-6 at the end of the first quarter and 47-6 at the halftime break. Six different Buckeyes found the end zone in the win, while freshman QB Corbyn Aleshire had his first multi-touchdown game, tossing touchdown passes to Delaney and Conklin. Aleshire finished 3-of-5 passing for 36 yards, adding 12 yards rushing to his stat line.
The lone Ohio State defensive turnover of the day came from cornerback Don Hannon, who collected a third quarter interception, the first of his career. Ohio State’s defensive line also caused havoc as defensive ends Trey Jones, Elijah Lowden and Cayden Humphreys all recorded sacks on the day. The Buckeye defense surrendered just four first downs and 113 yards of total offense.
Ohio State has had nine different receivers catch a touchdown pass this season, which sets a new program record, breaking the previous record of eight which was set in 2023. The seven touchdown passes thrown against Cincinnati United on Sunday also ties the program record for touchdown passes in a single game, matching the mark set by Spencer Moore, who threw for seven scores on his own in a win over Toledo in 2023.
The Buckeye are now set for a week off before playing for the conference championship against Michigan State on Nov. 23 in Columbus. The Spartans have rattled off five-straight wins since a season opening loss to Ohio State, and clinched their spot in the conference title game with a 24-0 victory over Oakland in their regular season finale. It will be the fourth straight season the Buckeyes and Spartans have qualified for the Great Lakes Conference Championship Game. Ohio State won the 2022 matchup 59-21, and the 2023 matchup 52-0 before last season’s game was forfeited by the Spartans.
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