50 For 50: The Biggest Matchup For Sonny Styles In 2024?

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 31 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 19 |

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Michigan TE Colston Loveland vs. Ohio State LB Sonny Styles

Ohio State will likely play a base defense with three linebackers against Michigan this year. This should mean that Sonny Styles ends up as the Sam linebacker, which also means that he could find himself in coverage against Michigan tight end Colston Loveland. Loveland may end up being Michigan’s top receiving target this season, so if Styles can slow him down, good things will happen for the Buckeyes. Few defensive players are as physically capable as Styles of dealing with Loveland, but he still has to execute.

Most Important Games

Alabama Crimson Tide at Oklahoma Sooners, November 23

Imagine Alabama and Oklahoma’s surprise when the 2024 SEC schedule was released and they were matched up against each other on what used to be known as “Chicken**** Saturday.” This was the week formerly reserved for FCS opponents so that teams wouldn’t overextend themselves prior to rivalry week. Instead, this is the game that happens the week before Oklahoma closes the season at LSU and Alabama closes the season at home in the Iron Bowl. Whoever loses this game could be in desperate need of a win the following week.

Things To Look Forward To

Defensive tackle Tyleik Williams disrupting the backfield.

There are few things more entertaining about college football than watching a defensive tackle dominate an entire game, snap after snap. The Buckeyes have a defensive tackle who can do that. Tyleik Williams was a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection last year and is showing up on various preseason lists this year. He can be a disruptive force at the line of scrimmage, ruining running plays and passing plays with equal prejudice. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson doesn’t want to have to play Williams as many snaps as he did last year, which means Williams will have more to give for all four quarters.

National College Football Predictions

Dallan Hayden will have a 100-yard rushing game this year.

Predicting Colorado running back Dallan Hayden to have a 100-yard rushing game this year may not seem like much of a prediction, especially considering Hayden had three such games in 2022 as a true freshman at Ohio State. However, Buffs head coach Deion Sanders has yet to have a 100-yard rusher since taking over at Colorado. Part of that is a lack of patience. Part of that is a lack of an offensive line. A third part may simply be a desire to watch his son throw the football 45 times instead. Regardless, this is a new year, which means it’s almost an entirely new team at Colorado. As such, Dallan Hayden is gonna hit the century mark against somebody this season.

Big Ten Football Predictions

Illinois will lead Kansas in the fourth quarter and lose.

Illinois trailed 21-0 in this game last year before fighting back for a 34-23 loss. This year, however, they will play much better and actually lead the Jayhawks in the fourth quarter. That lead will not last, unfortunately. Illinois was 5-3 last year in one-score games, which was a big step up from a 1-4 mark the year before. This being a home game, the Illini should win it. Will they continue their improvement in one-score games this year as well? Perhaps, just not in this one. (And besides, just because they’ll be leading in the fourth quarter doesn’t mean it will still end up a one-score game.)

Ohio State Football Predictions

A defensive player will score multiple touchdowns this season.

The last Buckeye defensive player to score multiple touchdowns in a season was defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones in 2018. Somebody is going to match — but probably not exceed — that number this year. The Ohio State cornerbacks are going to be able to gamble a bit more than normal this year because they know they have Caleb Downs behind them. This increased aggression could lead to some pick sixes for cornerbacks like Denzel Burke or Davison Igbinosun. But don’t sleep on the guys who are closest to the football like defensive tackle Tyleik Williams. I’ll also count this if Caleb Downs returns two punts for touchdowns. Or rushes for a pair of scores.

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