50 For 50: Will Jeremiah Smith Break Records As A Freshman?

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 27 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 23 |

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Michigan LB Jaishawn Barham vs. Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson

Michigan went into the portal to land Maryland linebacker Jaishawn Barham. He was one of the top linebackers available and he should be able to step right in as one of the two starters at the position this year for the Wolverines. He’s big (6-4 235) and has the versatility to play between the tackles and as an edge rusher. Barham will no doubt meet up with Ohio State senior running back TreVeyon Henderson more than a time or two when these rivals meet up in November. Henderson has more than 2,500 rushing yards in his career, but only 134 of those yards have come against Michigan. If he can reach that number in this game alone, the Buckeyes’ chances of beating the Wolverines will go way up. Jaishawn Barham’s job will be to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Most Important Games

Ohio State Buckeyes at Penn State Nittany Lions, November 2

Penn State has beaten Ohio State just once in the past 12 years, and that was mainly because of a fluke on special teams. The games are generally pretty close, however, especially the games played at Penn State. The Buckeyes needed a game-of-his-life performance from JT Tuimoloau back in 2022. Ohio State won the 2018 game in Beaver Stadium by one point and the 2014 game by seven points. While Penn State fans are praying this game ends up being a night game, FOX has first pick of contests this week so it may end up as a Big Noon kickoff. This won’t be the first tough game for either team, which means this could also be somebody’s second loss. A second loss here could eliminate somebody from a shot at the Big Ten Championship Game.

Things To Look Forward To

Seeing why Ohio State wanted Eddrick Houston so badly.

Any time a program signs a five-star defensive lineman like Eddrick Houston, fans are justified in looking forward to watching him play as early as possible. The Buckeyes’ non-conference schedule this year almost seems like it was designed in order to get as many snaps for the 2024 signing class as possible. Houston was a guy that almost didn’t end up at Ohio State, but the Buckeyes were able to hold on to him on signing day. How long will we have to wait until we get to see why the OSU coaches were fighting so hard to sign the talented defensive end?

National College Football Predictions

A three-loss team is making the College Football Playoffs.

There were times over the past few years when a two-loss team was close to making the College Football Playoffs. Two-loss teams in the playoffs will now be the norm, but you’re also going to have to get used to the stray three-loss team as well. And I’m not just talking about the top-ranked Group of Five team. In 2022, there were two three-loss teams ranked in the top nine. Both teams almost certainly would have made a 12-team playoff. And let’s also keep in mind the scenarios for those three losses. For instance, let’s say that Ole Miss and Georgia finish in second and third place in the SEC, and both teams have two losses. Ole Miss beats Georgia this year, so they have the tiebreaker and go to the SEC Championship Game against Texas. Texas then beats Ole Miss and the Rebels fall to 10-3 while Georgia remains 10-2. The Bulldogs have the better record. Should they go to the playoffs over Ole Miss, despite Ole Miss beating them head to head? Should playing in a conference championship game ever be a bad thing? Shouldn’t losing in a conference championship game be more beneficial than not making it at all?

Big Ten Football Predictions

Wisconsin will go 7-6 this season.

Wisconsin has a pretty difficult schedule this year, hosting Alabama, Penn State, and Oregon, while traveling to USC, Rutgers, Iowa, and Nebraska. They’ll be out-talented in almost all of those games. But they do still have games against Western Michigan, South Dakota, Purdue, Northwestern, and Minnesota. What will it all look like in the end? Probably the same as it’s looked every other year since Luke Fickell has gotten to Madison — a frustrating study in development and poor quarterback play and the same 7-6 record as the previous two seasons.

Ohio State Football Predictions

Jeremiah Smith will set the OSU freshman receiving yards record.

Cris Carter owns every major freshman receiving record at Ohio State. His 41 receptions, 648 yards, and eight touchdowns are all records for OSU true freshmen. At least one of those records is going to change this season — and possibly more. I’m going with true freshman Jeremiah Smith going over 648 yards this year, especially when the Buckeyes could be playing four more games than Carter’s Buckeyes did 40 years ago when he set these records. I’d go ahead and predict Smith to break all three of these records, but I might need to save a prediction or two for my stretch run.

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