50 For 50: The Man In The Middle Against Michigan

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 47 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 Three |

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Michigan quarterback Alex Orji vs. Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon

Redshirt sophomore Alex Orji is Michigan’s expected starting quarterback this season. The last pass he threw in a game was in September of 2022, and it was a swing pass four yards behind the line of scrimmage. It is the only pass thrown in his career. Despite the lack of passing, he still had an impact in last year’s win over Ohio State, rushing for 22 yards on two attempts. Orji is definitely a running threat, which means Buckeye middle linebacker Cody Simon is going to have to be ready for the quarterback run when these two teams meet in late November. If Simon can win this matchup on the ground, he can let his teammates worry about winning the other matchup threw the air.

Most Important Games

Oregon Ducks at Oregon State Beavers, Sept. 14 (3:30 pm FOX)

Just because Oregon and Oregon State are no longer in the same conference doesn’t mean that they won’t have the opportunity to ruin each other’s seasons any longer — at least for the next two years, as that was the most-recent deal struck between the two programs back in December. Oregon has conference and national title hopes. Oregon State, meanwhile, simply has hopes of one day being in a football conference again. The Beavers have a new head coach and a vastly different lineup than last year, but this is going to be an emotional game for the home team and the home crowd.

Something To Look Forward To

Chip Kelly’s influence on the Ohio State running game.

In case you weren’t aware, wherever Chip Kelly has gone, he’s been able to field a very productive running game. Kelly’s Oregon teams led the Pac 12 in rushing every year he was there. Even when he took over UCLA, he eventually built them into a running force. After finishing eighth and sixth in the conference in rushing his first two years, the Bruins finished second the next two years, and then first the past two years. Combine Kelly’s ability to build a productive running game with two of the most productive running backs in the nation in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, and now you’ve got the kind of combination puts fear in the hearts of men.

National College Football Predictions

Kansas and Kansas State will be undefeated when they play.

Okay, so some of these predictions may be a bit bolder than the rest, but who can’t go undefeated for at least a reasonable stretch in the Big XII? Kansas opens the season against Lindenwood — which is a college and not a country club apparently, at Illinois, UNLV, at West Virginia, TCU, at Arizona State, off, then they host Houston before heading to Manhattan to face the Wildcats. Kansas State, meanwhile, has UT-Martin, at Tulane for some reason, Arizona (this one could ruin it all), at BYU, Oklahoma State, off, at Colorado, then at West Virginia before they host Kansas. Now that I look at it, I think the Jayhawks are much more likely to be undefeated, but I’ve come too far to back out now.

Big Ten Predictions

Wisconsin and Alabama will be a four-quarter game.

Alabama got a bit of a break in that this game is a noon kickoff on FOX, so they won’t get the night game crowd at Camp Randall that has doomed many a Big Ten team over the years (or at least doomed the Buckeyes a couple of times). Of course, one could also argue that Wisconsin is getting a break by making this an early game and perhaps catching Alabama a bit sleepy-eyed. Regardless, I am predicting that this will be a one-score game at some point in the fourth quarter — and I don’t care if it’s because Wisconsin scored a couple of fluke touchdowns in the final minute to make it an eight-point game, it still counts. If Luke Fickell has an offense this year, the Badgers could be a problem. They scored 23.5 points per game last year and lost their six games by an average margin of nine points. If they can find another touchdown and field goal per game this year, they’re going to beat somebody they’re not supposed to.

Ohio State Predictions

Somebody other than a quarterback will throw a touchdown.

It has been 10 years since a non-quarterback has thrown a touchdown pass for the Buckeyes. You may remember it — it was receiver Evan Spencer to Michael Thomas against Alabama in the inaugural College Football Playoffs. It was a pretty big play. I’m surprised you don’t remember it. The way I see it, 10 years is too long to go between non-QB touchdown passes. Heck, the Buckeyes did it in back-to-back years in 2009 and 2010. As an FBS coach, Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has never had a non-quarterback throw a touchdown. So he’s due too. For bonus points, let’s go ahead and call it Emeka Egbuka to Jeremiah Smith.

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