50 For 50: Predicting A Dominating Season For The Buckeyes

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 22 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 28 |

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Iowa SAF Quinn Schulte vs. Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith

It might be a little strange to discuss a matchup between a true freshman wide receiver and a fifth-year senior free safety, but Jeremiah Smith is no ordinary freshman and Quinn Schulte will be well aware of that. The Hawkeyes will once again have a strong defense this year. They gave up just two pass plays of 50 yards last year and Schulte was a big reason why. The Ohio State quarterbacks became reliant upon Smith in the spring and it’s unlikely that reliance will have dissipated much when these two teams meet up in Columbus on October 5. Getting big chunks of yards against Iowa makes life much easier for an offense, which is why the Buckeyes will keep trying to make them happen.

Most Important Games

Oklahoma State Cowboys at Kansas State Wildcats, September 28

Oklahoma State and Kansas State are two of the nine favorites in the Big XII this year. The home team is 5-1 in this game over the last six years and 6-0 against the spread. The Wildcats have put all of their eggs in quarterback Avery Johnson’s basket, but this is an offense that has lost a lot from last year. The Pokes, meanwhile, return 19 starters, including Heisman candidate running back Ollie Gordon. There won’t be anything pretty about this game. It’s going to resemble a used mobile home ransacked by a thousand rabid chickens.

Things To Look Forward To

TreVeyon Henderson hitting the seam.

There are few things more enjoyable to watch than a running back getting outside the tackle, hitting the seam, and then splitting the rest of the defense untouched for a long touchdown run. (Provided it’s not happening against your favorite defense, of course.) TreVeyon Henderson is capable of making this happen on any given Saturday and it would be a surprise if it doesn’t happen at least once this season. He is never very far from a big play.

National College Football Predictions

North Carolina State will win 10 games for just the second time ever.

North Carolina State and head coach Dave Doeren have been flirting with double-digit wins several times over the last decade — winning nine games four times since 2017. The Wolfpack haven’t hit the 10-win mark since Chuck Amato sold his soul to win 11 games in 2002. This year, however, Coastal Carolina transfer quarterback Grayson McCall is going to lead them to the promised land…of 10 wins. McCall was fantastic at Coastal for three years until quarterback anti-whisperer Tim Beck took over as head coach. McCall’s numbers all dropped thanks to Beck’s special brand of quarterback kryptonite. Now that McCall is free and can once again absorb the power of a yellow sun, look for him to get back to being an efficient dual-threat quarterback. And look out for former Ohio State receiver Noah Rogers helping him out quite a bit along the way.

Big Ten Football Predictions

Indiana is going to a bowl game.

The Indiana Hoosiers have not been to a bowl game since the 2020 when Michael Penix was at quarterback. Since then, they have gone2-10, 4-8, and 3-9. This year, however, thanks to a non-conference schedule that features home games against Florida International, Western Illinois, and Charlotte, the Hoosiers only need to go 3-6 in the Big Ten to make a bowl game. They have Maryland, Nebraska, Washington, Michigan, and Purdue at home, and UCLA, Northwestern, Michigan State, and Ohio State on the road. There have to be three wins in there somewhere, right? Indiana has all kinds of players with starting experience, but several of them have transferred in from lower levels. But still, outside of Ohio State and Michigan, is there anybody on their schedule they can’t beat?

Ohio State Football Predictions

The Buckeyes will outscore opponents by 28+ points per game.

Per my admittedly iffy research, only twice in modern Ohio State football history have the Buckeyes averaged at least 28 points per game more than their opponents over the course of an entire season. The 1969 team outscored opponents by 32.3 points per game and the 2019 team outscored opponents by 33.2 points per game. With the Ohio State offense — with a massive assumption about the quarterback — and the Buckeye defense Voltronning it up, this OSU football team should be able to outscore opponents by at least four touchdowns per game. Especially if they can pad their stats in the non-conference.

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