50 For 50: Arvell Reese Goes To Washington

Welcome to of our daily feature that I am calling “50 for 50” where I attempt to get us to Big Ten Media Days — which are 48 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.

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Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Ohio State LB Arvell Reese vs. Washington QB Demond Williams

Washington sophomore quarterback Demond Williams is going to be one of the most dynamic playmakers in the Big Ten this year, and the Buckeyes will see him up close and personal in Seattle on September 27. The former high school track star played in every game last year for the Huskies, starting the final two (at Oregon and against Louisville in the Sun Bowl). He completed a combined 43 of 52 passes (82.7%) for 575 yards with five touchdowns and one interception in those games — both losses. Williams is very capable of breaking contain or being part of the designed running game. When he inevitably does this against the Buckeyes, Ohio State junior middle linebacker Arvell Reese will need to be successful in bringing him down when he has the opportunity. And whenever Reese is blitzing, if he doesn’t get a hand on Williams or slow him down, very bad things could happen for the Buckeyes.

Most Important Games

Florida State at Clemson, November 8

This is more of a hopeful wish than a realistic expectation, but it would be good if Florida State is relevant — and adequate — again. Playing on the road at Clemson is a pretty bad deal, but if the Noles want to continue to prove that they are back, here’s a great opportunity. They will have already had a similar opportunity in the season opener against Alabama and an October game against Miami, but this one would be a heck of a statement against what is expected to be the best team in the ACC. On the flip side, Clemson is going to be favored in every regular season game they play this year, so they must avoid getting complacent in their quest to return to the playoffs.

Things To Look Forward To

Kenyatta Jackson in heavy rotation.

Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson has spoken highly of Kenyatta Jackson’s pass rushing for about three years now, but this season will be the first time Jackson finds himself as an every-down player. What will that look like for the fourth-year junior? We don’t really know, but that’s why we look forward to finding out.

National College Football Predictions

Carson Beck will throw multiple INTs against Notre Dame.

Miami begins defense of their Pop-Tarts Bowl runner-up season by opening at home against Notre Dame. Quarterback Carson Beck transferred in from Georgia and is being paid to lead the Hurricanes back to the land of sprinkles and frosting. The game is a Sunday night kick, which means everybody will be watching. That’s rarely a great sign for either Notre Dame or Miami. The good news for the Hurricanes, however, is that a loss here won’t impact their ooey, gooey goals.

Big Ten Football Predictions

Penn State will lead Oregon by two TDs in the second half.

Everybody knows that Penn State is next in line to win a Big Ten Championship. Their first opportunity to assert their dominance in conference play this season will come on September 27 when Oregon comes to Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions will be looking for a little bit of revenge from last season’s loss in the Big Ten Championship Game, but more importantly, they’ll be looking to strike the first big blow in the war for Big Ten supremacy. They will be going all out in this game, and that effort will take them to a two-touchdown lead in the second half. I do not know, however, if that will be enough of a lead for James Franklin to come away with the win.

Ohio State Football Predictions

Matt Patricia will be a Broyles Award semifinalist.

Jim Knowles spent three years at Ohio State and each of those three years he was a Broyles Award semifinalist. The award goes to the best assistant coach in college football, but you only need to be among the top 15 to be a semifinalist. New Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia should be able to reach the top 15, you’d think. The last Buckeye assistant to win the award was offensive coordinator Tom Herman in 2014.

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