50 For 50: Quinshon Judkins Will Be Must See TV

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 17 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 33 |

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Western Michigan RB Jalen Buckley vs. Ohio State LB Gabe Powers

You may not have had this matchup on your bingo card, but Jalen Buckley was the MAC Freshman of the Year last season after rushing for 1,003 yards in 11 games, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He will be a workhorse for Western Michigan this season. Against Ohio State, however, he may see more of backup middle linebacker Gabe Powers than starter Cody Simon. This will be a good opportunity for Powers to get some experience against a talented running back without any fear of losing the game.

Most Important Games

Georgia Bulldogs at Texas Longhorns, October 19

The SEC is welcoming Texas into the conference by making them play Georgia the week after they play in the Red River Rivalry. At least they get the Bulldogs at home. Texas and Georgia are projected to be the top two teams in the SEC, which makes this one of the games of the year. These two teams haven’t played in the regular season since 1958. They’ve played just five times ever, with Texas holding a 4-1 mark. Georgia’s lone win came in the 1984 Cotton Bowl. The Bulldogs have not been a road underdog since 2020. That may change this year. This could be the first of multiple matchups between these two teams this year.

Things To Look Forward To

Quinshon Judkins breaking tackles and making people miss.

No player in the Power 5 has forced more missed tackles the past two seasons than Quinshon Judkins (154). He rushed for 2,275 yards in his first two seasons at Ole Miss, with 1,800 of those yards coming after contact. Now with the Buckeyes, Ohio State fans are going to get a very good look at the power, balance, and agility that Judkins possesses. Ankle tackles aren’t generally a thing with him. Neither are arm tackles. It will be interesting to see how Judkins performs now that he’s sharing more of the load and expected to be fresher throughout a game and throughout the season.

National College Football Predictions

Alabama will lose three conference games this year.

Alabama hasn’t lost three conference games since 2010. All three losses were to ranked opponents and only one was by more than three points. This year their schedule features home games against Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina, and Auburn. Would anybody be shocked if Mizzou or Auburn gets them this year? Add in road games at Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma, and three losses might not actually be enough.

Big Ten Football Predictions

Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton will both rush for 1,000 yards.

Penn State’s junior running back duo of Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton is one of the nation’s best tandems. This year they will do something they’ve never done before — they’ll both rush for 1,000 yards on the season. Singleton did it as a true freshman in 2022 when he went for 1,061 yards on 6.8 yards per carry. Allen rushed for 867 yards as a freshman and then 902 yards last year. He’s averaged 13 carries per game in each of his first two seasons. Singleton has been right at that same mark. The passing game should be more dangerous this season, which means the running game should be more effective and explosive. They’ll probably both still be around 13 carries per game this season, but that might be enough if they’re as efficient as I think they’ll be.

Ohio State Football Predictions

The Buckeyes will have at least five games with multiple interceptions.

Ohio State is expected to have one of the best secondaries in the nation this year, which means they should be able to force their share of interceptions. They had just seven total last year, coming away with an interception in just five games. This year, I’m predicting at least five games of multiple interceptions. It’s a mark the Buckeyes haven’t hit since 2018. It would help if they picked off multiple passes in all three non-conference games, but it shouldn’t be necessary. It is time for BIA to start creating turnovers again.

Go to discussion...