50 For 50: Ohio State Quarterbacks On The Run

Welcome to a new feature that I am calling “50 for 50” where I attempt to get us to Big Ten Media Days — which are 49 days away — with a daily sampling of what we can look forward to this upcoming college football season.

We will do this via the following categories: the 50 biggest individual matchups for the Buckeyes this season, the 50 most important college football games this season, 50 Buckeye things to look forward to this season, 50 national predictions, 50 Big Ten predictions, and 50 predictions involving the Buckeyes.

Previous: Day One |

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Ohio State DE JT Tuimoloau vs. Penn State QB Drew Allar

Generally when you talk about matchups involving a defensive end, you’re gonna pair them against an offensive tackle. But when it comes to Penn State and Ohio State defensive ends, it’s best to just cut out the middle men. Whether it has been Joey Bosa, Sam Hubbard, or JT Tuimoloau, Buckeye defensive ends have a history of putting Penn State quarterbacks so far underground that CBGB wouldn’t even know who they are. Tuimoloau had an unbelievable game against Penn State the last time he was in Happy Valley, coming up with two interceptions — including a pick six, three tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble. Being a road game, this will be one of the Buckeyes’ toughest matchups of the season. Tuimoloau successfully getting after quarterback Drew Allar will have a huge impact on the outcome.

Most Important Games

Notre Dame at USC, November 30

This future Big Ten matchup is one of the nation’s best rivalries. Or at least it can be when both programs are humming, which isn’t often. Nobody is really expecting USC to contend for the playoffs this season, but just about everybody is expecting Notre Dame to be firmly entrenched in the playoff hunt. A loss at USC to end the season would be a terrible way for the Irish to make their final argument for inclusion. And who knows, maybe this will be the win that puts the Trojans into the mix as well. Or maybe it will simply be a game between a pair of 8-3 teams. No matter what, it’s still a fun rivalry.

Something To Look Forward To

A Buckeye quarterback actually pulling the ball back on a hand-off.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly have both said the quarterback run is going to be part of the Buckeye offense this season. This means that now when a defensive end crashes down on a hand-off, you just might see the quarterback pull it back and go pick up a first down instead of TreVeyon Henderson getting tackled behind the line of scrimmage with no hope of going anywhere. The QB run is back on the menu, folks. Get excited.

National College Football Predictions

Dequan Finn and Shedeur Sanders are going to put on a show.

Former Toledo quarterback Dequan Finn transferred to Baylor, and even though he hasn’t been named the starting quarterback for the Bears just yet, it’s hard to imagine that Baylor brought him in to back up fourth-year junior Sawyer Robertson. Finn had some great moments at Toledo and poses a passing and running threat against any defense. Baylor heads to Boulder on September 21 and will face Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders and a fast-paced Colorado offense. This should be an up-and-down offensive affair, which — I predict — will feature Finn and Sanders accumulating for a combined 10 touchdowns on the day.

Big Ten Predictions

USC receiver Zachariah Branch will score two different ways against LSU.

Zachariah Branch had some explosive moments as a true freshman last season, particularly in the season opener where he returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, returned three punts for 66 yards, carried the ball once for 12 yards, and caught four passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. I’m not saying he’s going to repeat that entire feat in the season opener this year against LSU, but he will again score two different ways. He scored four different ways last year — kick return, punt return, reception, and rush. Expect the same thing this season as well, with half of those knocked out against Brian Kelly and the Tigers.

Ohio State Predictions

Four different quarterbacks will account for a touchdown this season.

If this doesn’t sound like much of prediction to you, I will advise you that it has never happened in Ohio State football history. Three quarterbacks have thrown, rushed for, or caught a touchdown many times in a season — most recently in 2019. But having gone back through 70+ years of OSU history, it has never been done by four quarterbacks. I went as far back as I could before I got to the part of college football where the Buckeyes had 7-10 guys (see 1957 below) throwing the ball every year. And as the old saying goes, if you’ve got eight quarterbacks, you don’t have one.