50 For 50: Tests And Expectations Ahead For Quinshon Judkins

Welcome to our daily feature that I am calling “50 for 50” where I attempt to get us to Big Ten Media Days — which are 46 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 Four |

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Iowa LB Nick Jackson vs. Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins

Iowa sixth-year senior linebacker Nick Jackson is looking his fifth-consecutive year with at least 100 tackles. He is 113 tackles shy of tying the NCAA career record for tackles. When the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes get together in Columbus on October 5, Jackson is going to have his sights set on the Ohio State running backs. Buckeye running back Quinshon Judkins is a punishing runner, and this will probably be his first real introduction to Big Ten football. Coming from the SEC West, it’s going to be a considerable step up but he should be able to handle it.

Most Important Games

Clemson Tigers at Florida State Seminoles, Oct. 5

There are a number of interesting angles for this game. For one, people are killing off Clemson like a television star in the middle of a contract dispute. Just because Dabo Swinney doesn’t want to use the transfer portal doesn’t mean he won’t be able to keep Clemson relevant. (It doesn’t help, though.) This game is an opportunity for the Tigers to reassert their dominance in the ACC, and to do it on the road would even be more of a power move. This is the biggest game in the ACC, between the two biggest programs in the conference — and the two programs who are trying desperately to find a way out of said conference. Who knows, they may already have closed on a new home by the time this game rolls around.

Something To Look Forward To

Jeremiah Smith mossing somebody for the first time.

At some point this season, a pass is going to be thrown in the direction of Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. The throw is going to be a little high, and the defender is going to be there to knock the pass away. The ball will be out of the reach of the leaping defender, but not out of the reach of Smith, who will catch the pass over the defender like a dad dominating on a Nerf hoop. Smith will bring the ball in, the defender will look on in disbelief, the opposing sideline will just look at each other silently, and an unnamed cornerback on the Ohio State sideline will say to nobody in particular, “It’s about time that $&*# happens to somebody else.” It’s just too bad Brent Musburger won’t be there to call the action.

National College Football Predictions

Alabama will have a .500 record at some point this season.

Alabama was only ever .500 at any point during a season just twice in Nick Saban’s tenure. It happened in his first year with the Tide back in 2007 and then his last year when Alabama opened up the season with a win over Middle Tennessee and then lost to Texas. Barring a complete collapse, in order for it to happen this year, Alabama will have to lose two games against their first four opponents of Western Kentucky, South Florida, Wisconsin on the road, and Georgia. You can decide for yourself which two you think are most likely to be losses. By the way, the last time Alabama had back-to-back seasons where they were .500 at some point were 2006 and 2007. Or, as they teach the calendar in the Alabama school system, 1 BS (before Saban) and 1 AS (Anno Sabani).

Big Ten Predictions

Minnesota freshman safety Koi Perich will eventually start this year.

On a field full of standout players in January’s All-American Bowl, no defensive player was more consistently around the football than Minnesota-native Koi Perich. There’s a reason why the Buckeyes and other blue bloods were trying to flip the Gopher commit. Perich showcased his ability to find the football against some of the nation’s top high school players. The Gophers lost their best defensive player — safety Tyler Nubin — to the NFL Draft. There’s a void to fill. That may not happen immediately for Perich, but it’s difficult to imagine he doesn’t have an impact on the Gopher defense this year. Eventually, he will work his way into the starting lineup as a true freshman. This might be a lock if not for the fact that he didn’t enroll early and just showed up to campus this week.

Ohio State Predictions

Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson will have multiple 50-yard carries.

It has been a decade since the Buckeyes have had two players with at least two rushes of 50+ yards. The last time it was done was in 2014 by Ezekiel Elliott (5) and JT Barrett (2). Braxton Miller (2) and Carlos Hyde (2) did it the year before. No pair of OSU running backs have done it in at least 15 years. That will change this year when both TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins break free multiple times each for at least a 50-yard gain. Henderson has six such carries in his career, by the way. Judkins has just two, and both came as a true freshman in 2022.

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