50 For 50: A Familiar Foe For Denzel Burke

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 43 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.

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Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Penn State WR Julian Fleming vs. Ohio State CB Denzel Burke

When Ohio State takes the field at Penn State on November 2 this season, the Buckeyes will see a familiar face on the other side of the field. Former OSU starting wide receiver Julian Fleming transferred to Penn State for his fifth year and is expected to become the Nittany Lions’ top target this year. This, of course, means that Fleming will get to do something he’s done for the past three years — battle with Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke for hours on end. Even though the Buckeyes have had plenty of success in Happy Valley, every game there is a toss-up in its own right. The winner of this matchup will help skew the results of this game.

Most Important Games

Army vs. Navy (Landover, MD), Dec. 14 (3:00 pm, CBS)

One week before the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoffs get underway, Army and Navy will take the field for their 125th meeting all time. Army has won six of the past eight — including two in a row by a combined nine points. This will be just the second time this game has been played at FedEx Field, the home of the NFL’s Washington Commanders in Landover, Maryland. Navy won the first matchup in the stadium 27-21 in 2011. As America gazes into the future of college football and the playoffs that awaits just six days from this kickoff, why not take a few hours to appreciate the way it used to be — and still is for the majority of the sport.

Something To Look Forward To

Sophomore cornerback Jermaine Mathews, Jr. playing like a starter.

Last year, Jermaine Mathews joined the short list of Ohio State cornerbacks who started at least one game as a true freshman. He never really played like a true freshman, however. He finished last year with 13 tackles, three passes broken up, and one interception — which he returned 58 yards for a touchdown. Had Denzel Burke not returned for his senior season, Mathews would be the guy stepping in for him. That doesn’t mean he won’t play a considerable number of snaps this year, however. And he also spent the spring playing the nickel. He will see the field this year and will live up to the standard when he’s out there.

National College Football Predictions

Micah Hudson will finish top three nationally in TD catches for freshmen.

Texas Tech wide receiver Micah Hudson is the highest-ranked receiver the Red Raiders have ever signed (No. 25 overall). Everybody wanted him, but Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire was able to keep the Texas native home. The first iteration of this prediction had Hudson leading all true freshmen in touchdown catches, but with Hudson not having spring ball this year due to injury, I thought it better to dial it back some. Plus, Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Auburn’s Cam Coleman spent the spring producing some ridiculous practice highlights.

Big Ten Football Predictions

Penn State’s Abdul Carter will lead the Big Ten in sacks.

Abdul Carter was a First-Team All-Big Ten linebacker last year as a sophomore and a Second-Team selection as a freshman. He has produced 16 tackles for loss and 11 sacks over those two years, which is one of the reasons why he has moved to defensive end full time for the Nittany Lions. Checking in at 6-foot-3 and 262 pounds and maintaining speed and quickness that he utilized at linebacker is already making draftniks start to bubble. Carter has gotten into the backfield better than most in his two years, and now he’s going to be closer to the line of scrimmage than ever before.

Ohio State Football Predictions

Jeremiah Smith will have a two-touchdown game in the regular season.

This may not seem like much of a prediction given what everyone has seen from Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith in the spring, but keep in mind that only six true freshmen wide receivers in the past 40 seasons of Buckeye football (and probably much, much longer) have caught two touchdown passes in a regular season game. The list is Cris Carter, Dino Dawson, Michael Wiley (he was a receiver as a freshman), David Boston, Devin Smith, and Chris Olave. Not bad company.

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