50 For 50: A Nickel For Your Thoughts

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 36 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 14 |

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Oregon RT Ajani Cornelius vs. Ohio State DE Jack Sawyer

Ajani Cornelius transferred to Oregon last year from Rhode Island. He ended up starting all 14 games for the Ducks last year and didn’t give up a single sack. Cornelius allowed just 11 pressures in 512 pass-blocking opportunities. He will have some frequent matchups with Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer, who led the Buckeyes with 6.5 sacks last season. This will be one of the most important individual matchups for both Ohio State and Oregon this year. The NFL will also be watching.

Most Important Games

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Texas A&M Aggies, August 31 (7:30 pm ABC)

This will be just the sixth meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Texas A&M, and their first meeting since a home-and-home in 2000 and 2001. They split that series with both home teams winning. The Aggies are currently around a 1-point favorite. This is going to be a fun matchup for two former college football powers. Both fanbases believe they still hold on to that power as well. The winner of this game is going to hit the ground running when it comes to hype, so just be prepared. Will it be Notre Dame that gets the shine after this game or the Notre Dame of Texas? It probably won’t be a pretty game but it should be a good night cap to the first full Saturday of the season.

Things To Look Forward To

Jordan Hancock being an every-down player.

When Ohio State strong safety Lathan Ransom went down with an injury against Wisconsin last year and missed the rest of the season, it effectively ended the Buckeyes’ platoon of big nickel Sonny Styles and regular nickel Jordan Hancock. Styles moved to strong safety and Hancock became an every-down player who had to hold up against both the run and the pass. As it would turn out, he held up pretty darn well. Now with Styles at linebacker, Hancock is going to be on the field as much as he was down the stretch last year. He has added a bit of weight to help him in the running game, but his effectiveness in coverage will always remain key. Hancock is an underrated part of this Ohio State defense, but his coaches and teammates understand his value completely.

National College Football Predictions

Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel will win the Heisman Trophy.

Somebody’s gotta win the Heisman Trophy, so I’m putting my money on Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel. I haven’t actually put any real money on it yet, and I probably won’t, but if I did, it would go Gabriel’s way. He has arguably the deepest receiving corps in the nation and is going to put up some significant numbers, while also adding on some rushing stats as well. It takes a rare performance to keep this award from a quarterback, and it takes a rare quarterback performance to keep this award from a quarterback on a top-five team. There’s basically only four or five guys who have a realistic shot to win the award.

Big Ten Football Predictions

Michigan QB Alex Orji will not throw three interceptions in a single game.

This may not seem like much of a prediction, but if I had made the same claim about JJ McCarthy last year, I would have been proven wrong. McCarthy threw three interceptions against the mighty Bowling Green Falcons. So me saying that Michigan quarterback Alex Orji will do something that McCarthy wasn’t able to do last year actually seems pretty bold if you squint at it.

Ohio State Football Predictions

Two Buckeyes will be named Thorpe Award semifinalists.

The last time teammates were named Thorpe Award semifinalists was 2021 when Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner and Coby Bryant and Iowa’s Riley Moss and Matt Hankins were all named among the 12 semifinalists. I initially went with three Buckeyes with this prediction but after consulting with some advisors, two is plenty given it’s rarity. The good news for me is that there are five legitimate candidates to be among those dozen-or-so names. Safety Lathan Ransom was a semifinalist back in 2022. Cornerback Denzel Burke was a semifinalist last season. Safety Caleb Downs, nickel back Jordan Hancock, and cornerback Davison Igbinosun could all find themselves there this year.

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