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With so much history and tradition, The Ohio State University football team has always been far and away the best team in Ohio.  Seven Heisman trophy winners and multiple national titles have granted Ohio State that distinction.  The Buckeyes have made a living out of beating up on the smaller teams from around the state and without question OSU has produced more talent than all the other Ohio colleges combined.  With that being said, a new giant from southwest Ohio has emerged.  Whether they are here to stay remains to be seen, but, one thing is certain for unbiased college football fans; the 2009 Cincinnati Bearcats are the best team in Ohio.  

While many Ohio State loyalists fail to even consider the Bearcats as a National Championship contender, taking the time to learn a little bit about them will certainly open some eyes.  Cincinnati is 27-6 with a trip to the Orange Bowl on their resume since the arrival of head coach Brian Kelly in '07.  Kelly who has been the Big East Coach of the Year each of the past two seasons is one of the fastest rising coaches in all of college football and is considered an offensive genius.  Speaking of offense, the Bearcats possess one of the most potent in the land averaging 42.0 points a game, third in the nation.  Led by senior quarterback and Heisman trophy candidate Tony Pike, the four wide shotgun formation has been shredding opposing defenses all season. On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati is almost as talented.  After replacing ten starters (four of which are playing on Sundays) from one of the best defenses in the nation, Cincinnati has improved statistically this year and is ranked tenth in the nation giving up only 13.8 points per game.   

Big Ten loyalists also tend to question the strength of the Big East and the nonconference opponents on Cincinnati's schedule to explain why they are off to such a fast start. The fact of the matter is Cincinnati has beaten better teams this year than Ohio State has and the schedule proves it.  The 47-15 blowout of Rutgers on the road in the season opener most assuredly opened some eyes, but most of those eyes in a negative way.  That game proved to some how overrated Rutgers was.  A favorite at home in the season opener loses by 32 to Cincinnati, they can't be any good.  But they can and they are.  Since that thrashing the Scarlet Knights have rolled over their opponents including a 21-point win at Maryland.  But back to the Bearcats.  A double-digit win in week three on the road over No. 24 Oregon State had to turn a few heads.  I mean the Beavers hadn't lost a non-conference home game in 13 years. Ohio State fans can continue to brag about how good Navy is and consider that a good win and while Navy is a decent football team, two weeks after they scared the Buckeyes out of their shoes, they were defeated handily 27-14 by Pitt out of the Big East.

It is certainly possible that if Ohio State and Cincinnati played today the Buckeyes would come out on top.  They are a talented team, but to say a Buckeye victory is certain or even likely is flat out wrong.  I am not the only one who believes this.  Numerous national websites have posed the same question and many have suggested that Cincinnati is the better football team.  The Bearcats players themselves believe it too.  

"If we ever have to strap it on with them we're going to win, said running back Isaiah Pead when asked how his teams would fair against the Buckeyes.  Pead, a Columbus native who broke all of Archie Griffin's career rushing marks at Columbus Eastmoor Academy, chose Cincinnati over Ohio State because he liked Brian Kelly's spread offense.  That spread offense continues to become more and more popular around the nation and is one of the selling points for recruits coming to Cincinnati.

The debate as to who has the better team will undoubtedly continue in the coming months, especially if Cincinnati remains undefeated.  If Cincinnati were a Big Ten team Buckeye fans everywhere would be exclaiming Cincinnati's greatness and central Ohioans would recognize names like Mardy Gilyard and Jacob Ramsey.  Until then I hope Ohio residents get a chance to watch and truly appreciate how good this season's Bearcats team is. I challenge Buckeye fans tune in one time and watch this team before suggesting they are not the best team in Ohio.  Watch them for 60 minutes and then ask yourself who is the best college football team in Ohio?  The answer may surprise you.  

Tags: brian kelly, cincinnati bearcats, college football, tony pike