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Opening their season with back-to-back losses to the Ohio State Buckeyes and UCF Knights, Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic Owls got into the win column on September 14 with a 41-31 victory over the Ball State Cardinals.
With Ohio State (No. 6) and UCF (No. 15) both being in the top-15 of the AP Poll, Kiffin was asked about how the two teams stack up.
Here is his response, via UCF alumnus Hany Girgis:
Lane Kiffin continues on UCF:
Kiffin’s Owls also played Ohio State earlier this year, and he said that the talent level was “close,” with Ohio State being “a little bit bigger” on the lines. “I thought Ohio State was as good looking as you can look,” Kiffin said.
— Hany Girgis (@SanDiegoKnight) September 19, 2019
Kiffin was very complimentary of the Buckeyes, and it is easy to see why. Falling 45-21, Kiffin’s Owls have actually given Ohio State their closest test this year. In their other two games, the Buckeyes routed Cincinnati, 42-0, and Indiana, 51-10.
Sophomore quarterback Justin Fields has completed over 70% of his passes (52-74) for 657 yards, nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. The team’s third-leading rusher, Fields has also added 114 yards and four scores on the ground.
Junior J.K. Dobbins leads the Buckeyes’ explosive backfield with 425 yards and four touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Master Teague III ranks second on the team with 215 rushing yards.
Continuing his breakout from last November’s win over Michigan, sophomore wide receiver Chris Olave has caught 10 balls for 198 yards and two scores.
Ohio State hosts Miami (Ohio) (1-2) on Saturday (3:30PM ET, BTN).
A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Rydquist has been contributing to Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition since 2019. He can be found on Twitter @TeddyRydquist.