College Football Schedule 2012: Ohio State, Cincinnati face challenges on the road

The Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0) are playing for pride as they open up Big Ten conference play on the road against the Michigan State Spartans (3-1) on Saturday afternoon.

The Buckeyes are focused on earning the top spot in the Leaders Division for the regular season after going undefeated against four non-conference opponents to open the season. Michigan State remains a favorite in the Legends Division despite looking less-than-dominant in their last two outings, a home loss to Notre Dame and a win over Eastern Michigan.

Other big games on the schedule this week include the Cincinnati Bearcats (2-0) traveling to the Washington D.C. area to play the Virginia Tech Hokies (3-1) at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. Cincinnati has played just two games including an impressive 34-10 win over Pittsburgh to open the season. Pittsburgh bounced back the next week to stun Virginia Tech and hand the Hokies a 35-17 loss.

In the Mid-American Conference, West Division leader Ball State travels to face Kent State after both teams opened MAC play with a win.

Here is the schedule of key games in the area:

Ball State at Kent State (12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN 3/Game Plan)

Miami (OH) at Akron (2:00 p.m. ET, ESPN3)

Ohio State at Michigan State (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech (Landover, MD) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU)