50 For 50: Jeremiah Smith’s Return To The West Coast

Welcome to second edition of our daily feature that I am calling “50 for 50” where I attempt to get us to Big Ten Media Days — which are 49 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 1

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Washington CB Tacario Davis vs. Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith

The last time Jeremiah Smith played a game on the West Coast, he caught seven passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns in the Rose Bowl against Oregon. He’ll make his return out west on September 27 at Washington, and this may be the only time in Smith’s career where he’ll be able to look eye-to-eye with an opposing cornerback. Washington’s Tacario Davis is listed at 6-foot-4, so when these two face off, it should be one of the best matchups of the year. Davis transferred in from Arizona, where he was a Second-Team All-Big XII selection in 2024 and a Second-Team All-Pac 12 selection in 2023. Smith, meanwhile, is the best receiver in college football and looking to improve upon his 1,315 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns as a freshman last season.

Most Important Games

Texas Longhorns at Ohio State Buckeyes, August 30

Texas at Ohio State is the biggest non-conference game of the year, and not only does FOX want to give it to you in the first week of the season, but they don’t want to make people wait any longer than they already have. They’ve heard the outcry from the fans and they’re giving this game to you at 12:00 pm sharp! Will Arch Manning’s hype finally be justified, or will he just be the latest player to fall victim to the constant need for content. This will be the most-talented team the Buckeyes face in the regular season, which means we’ll get a good look at what Ohio State’s best looks like in August.

Things To Look Forward To

A new star in the backfield.

The Buckeyes said goodbye to running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins after the title run last year, but now Ohio State fans will be saying ‘hello’ to sophomore tailback James Peoples. Peoples only got to show a few flashes last year, but now he’ll be part of the entire Buckeye offense. He expects to put on a show this season, so you should go ahead and expect it as well.

National College Football Predictions

Toledo QB Tucker Gleason will be All-MAC over Miami QB Dequan Finn.

After spending five years at Toledo — with the last three of those being a productive starting quarterback, Dequan Finn cashed in and transferred to Baylor last year. While the uniforms and banking may have been greener, the grass was not. A shoulder injury shortened his season and he transferred back to the MAC in January. He is now at Miami University and looking to once again take over the MAC. Meanwhile, back at Toledo, Tucker Gleason returns for his second season as the Rockets’ starter. He spent his first three years as Finn’s backup, but emerged as one of the MAC’s best players last year. That will continue this year as well.

Big Ten Football Predictions

Penn State will eliminate Indiana from college football playoff contention.

Don’t expect a repeat CFP appearance from the Indiana Hoosiers this year. Despite another watered down non-conference schedule with Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, and Indiana State to start the season, business will pick up quickly for the Hoosiers as their first three Big Ten games are at home to Illinois, followed by road trips to Iowa and Oregon. They will likely be underdogs in each game. If they lose all three, they’ll only have mathematical hopes for winning the Big Ten and making the playoffs. Rest assured, however, that a November 8 trip to Happy Valley will end both the realistic and mathematical hopes for Indiana.

Ohio State Football Predictions

Sonny Styles will lead the Buckeyes in sacks.

It has been 20 years since a linebacker led the Buckeyes in sacks, so I’m kicking things off with a once-in-a-generation level of boldness. (AJ Hawk’s 9.5 sacks tied Mike Kudla for the team lead in 2005.) I’m basing this prediction off of a deeper defensive end rotation, which should keep one player from posting a large number of sacks, and combining that with defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s targeted usage of Sonny Styles in getting after the quarterback. Styles finished with 6.0 sacks last year, and 10 may be good enough to lead the team this year.

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