The top-ranked, 2-0 Ohio State Buckeyes with coach Jim Tressel opened defense of their Belt with a battle with the 1-1 Cincinnati Bearcats coached by Mark Dantonio.  After a very slow start that saw the 29.5-point favorite Buckeyes ahead only 13-7 at the half, Ohio State settled down long enough to outscore the Bearcats 24-0 in the 2^nd half & claim a 37-7 victory to retain The Belt.  The Buckeyes got 2 touchdown passes from Heisman Trophy winning, All-American QB Troy Smith to All-Big Ten WR Ted Ginn, Jr. while the defense held Cincinnati to -4 yards rushing & sacked Bearcats' QB Dustin Grutza 7 times.  Ohio State stopped the first Cincinnati drive after only 4 plays & the offense moved to the Bearcats' 30-yard line before Buckeyes' PK Aaron Pettrey hit a 47-yard field goal giving Ohio State a 3-0 lead.  Cincinnati responded with a 5-play, 80-yard drive that seemed to catch the Buckeyes on their heels.  Grutza's 22-yard pass to WR Jared Martin gave the Bearcats a 7-3 advantage midway through the 1^st quarter.  Dantonio, a former defensive coordinator at Ohio State, kept the Buckeyes offense off-balance with a mix of blitzes & line stunts.  Another field from Pettrey, this one from 43 yards, left Ohio State trailing by a point at 7-6 early in the 2^nd quarter.  The Buckeyes next drive seemed to settle the offense as they drove 80 yards in 9 play with Smith throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Ginn, Jr. for the 13-7 halftime lead.  The 2^nd half was all Buckeyes at the defense continued to pressure Grutza & shutdown the Cincinnati rushing attack.  Midway through the 3^rd quarter, Smith threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ginn, Jr. giving Ohio State a 20-7 lead.  Early in the 4^th quarter, the Buckeyes drove 85 yards in 5 plays with RB Antonio Pittman taking a handoff around left end & running 48 yards for the touchdown.  The Bearcats tried a trick-play to get back in the game when Grutza threw to WR Bill Poland who tried to complete a pass downfield but his throw was intercepted by Ohio State's S Anderson Russell.  The reserves took over for the Buckeyes & QB Justin Zwick led a 5-play, 72-yard drive capped by RB Maurice Wells' 9-yard touchdown run.  Ohio State's final points came on a 52-yard field goal by PK Ryan Pretorius.  Smith finished with 203 yards passing with 2 touchdowns while Pittman added 155 yards rushing to his touchdown.  For Cincinnati, Grutza threw for 202 yards with a touchdown  but 2 interceptions as well as being sacked 7 times.  The Bearcats finished the season 8-5 while the Buckeyes finished 12-1, Big Ten Champions & ranked 2^nd nationally.  Cincinnati has not played for the Belt again.