50 For 50: Buckeyes In Line To Win It All

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 two 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 48 |

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Iowa OG Connor Colby vs. Ohio State DT Tyleik Williams

Connor Colby is entering his fourth year as a starter for Iowa. He has 37 career starts and was a Third-Team All-Big Ten selection by both the media and coaches last year. Colby is going to have his hands full with Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams when these two teams meet up in early October. If Colby can win this battle, the clock will stay in favor of the Hawkeyes. If he cannot, then Iowa’s offense will be battling uphill all day long, which is something they haven’t been able to do for years. They’ll be under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester this year but Williams can send them back to the Brian Ferentz age with a dominating game.

Most Important Games

Texas Longhorns at Texas A&M Aggies, November 30

Johnny Manziel was redshirting as a true freshman in 2011 the last time these two teams played. Texas won that game in College Station 27-25. The Aggies haven’t beaten the Longhorns at home since 2007, when Johnny Manziel was probably spending hours on his relatively new PlayStation3. The Aggies are going to want to welcome Texas to the SEC in the worst possible way. The Longhorns are not interested in being introduced anywhere by Texas A&M. They will continue to act as if they do not know them and have never met them.

Things To Look Forward To

An Ohio State team good enough to win it all.

Ohio State fans expect a national championship every year, which is a much better situation to look forward to than a fanbase that is hoping their APR score can turn a five-win season into a bowl bid. This is a Buckeye team with a ton of things to look forward to this year, which in itself is something to look forward to. This Ohio State team has enough talent to win a lot of games, but for whoever wins it all, this will be the most difficult title run in the history of college football. By a lot.

National College Football Predictions

Former Buckeye Quinn Ewers will set Texas passing records.

Quinn Ewers is entering his third year as the starting quarterback at Texas, which is further proof that time is definitely not slowing down. As a redshirt sophomore last year, he threw for 3,479 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. He will improve all of those numbers this year, which will include setting the Texas football record for most passing yards in a season. Colt McCoy owns the current record with 3,859 yards passing in 2008. Ewers could set this record before the playoffs even begin, though I think he’ll need that 14th game to get it done.

Big Ten Football Predictions

Oregon will make the playoffs.

Oregon’s three toughest games this year are Ohio State at home and road games against Michigan and Wisconsin. They are currently a very slight underdog against the Buckeyes, but that may change by the time the game rolls around. Overall, the Ducks have a pretty favorable schedule, but they also have more talent than just about everybody they will play. Expectations are sky-high for Oregon this year, so it will be interesting to see how they handle it. Especially in those road games in Ann Arbor and Madison. Wisconsin comes into that game off of a bye, but Luke Fickell’s squad needs to start answering questions before they become a serious threat. Maybe this will be the Badgers’ time to start proving doubters wrong.

Ohio State Football Predictions

A Buckeye will rush or 100 yards against Michigan.

The last Buckeye to rush for 100 yards against Michigan was JK Dobbins in 2019. He went for 211 yards on 31 attempts, scoring four times. (He also caught two passes for 49 yards.) It is no coincidence that this was also the last time Ohio State beat Michigan. This year, one of Quinshon Judkins or TreVeyon Henderson will hang a hundred (yards) on the Wolverines. Judkins and Henderson will share the carries for the first half, but eventually somebody is going to be the guy who is getting the extra yards, and that’s the guy they will attempt to ride until the end.

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