50 For 50: Quarterbacks Better Get Ready For Eddrick Houston

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 30 days away — with a daily sampling of what we can look forward to this upcoming college football season. Today’s edition features Ohio State defensive tackle Eddrick Houston, tight end Will Kacmarek, offensive lineman Austin Siereveld, and more.

As always, 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 RT AUSTIN SIEREVELD VS. MICHIGAN DE DERRICK MOORE

Michigan senior defensive end Derrick Moore has been a regular in the Wolverine rotation the last three years. Over the past two seasons, Moore has posted 12 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. He is likely going to play more than ever this season, which also means he’s going to be on the field a ton when the Buckeyes come to Ann Arbor in November. One of the men tasked with stopping Moore will be redshirt sophomore Austin Siereveld, who is probably going to be the Buckeyes’ starting right tackle this season. Siereveld has played all over the line and will need to be at his best to start the season (against Texas) and end the season. If Ohio State could pick one of those games for Siereveld to be at his absolute best, however, they’d pick the Michigan game.

Most Important Games

MICHIGAN WOLVERINES AT MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

Not only is this one of the best rivalries in college football, but it is also one of the funniest. Michigan has won three in a row, and they’re trying to win four in a row for the first time since they won six in a row from 2002-2007. Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith needs a signature win, and getting this game at home could be just what the doctor ordered. Sparty is at Indiana the week before this game, while UM is hosting Washington. Both teams could be trying to stop a losing streak. This game comes 10 years and eight days after the “Trouble With The Snap” game, which ended up keeping Ohio State out of the playoffs, but I’m not sure there’s a single Buckeye fan who would change the outcome of that game.

Things To Look Forward To

TIGHT END WILL KACMAREK AS A RUN-BLOCKING WEAPON.

Ohio State tight ends coach Keenan Bailey has called Will Kacmarek “the best run-blocking tight end in the nation,” so go ahead and look forward to that being on display this season in both 11 personnel and 12 personnel. The Buckeyes missed Kacmarek when he was out last year, but they will make the most of him this year. Ohio State could have the best tight end tandem in the nation. Expect the Buckeyes to capitalize on that fact.

National College Football Predictions

AUBURN WILL BEAT ALABAMA IN THE IRON BOWL.

Alabama has won five in a row in this series for the first time since 1977-1981. All that means is Auburn is due. War Due Eagle! Auburn will be well-rested for this contest. Following a road game at Vanderbilt on November 8, they have an off week and then Mercer comes to town prior to the Crimson Tide. Alabama, meanwhile, has Eastern Illinois before Auburn, but also home games against LSU and Oklahoma prior to that. The Tigers are going to put the Tide’s secondary to the test. Few teams have better receivers than Auburn.

Big Ten Football Predictions

DANTE MOORE’S FIRST INT WILL COME AGAINST PENN STATE.

Oregon at Penn State in the fifth week of the season will be one of the biggest games of the year. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dante Moore has starting experience at UCLA in 2023, but he’s never been anywhere like Penn State before. Moore will be just fine against Montana State, Oklahoma State, Northwestern, and Oregon State to open the season, but he must beware a false sense of security in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions will get after him and force some bad throws. They may even catch one of them. Moore also has to be careful not to let Penn State beat him before he even steps on the field.

Ohio State Football Predictions

EDDRICK HOUSTON WILL HAVE TWO SACKS IN A SINGLE GAME.

The last Ohio State defensive tackle to have two sacks in a game was Mike Hall against Michigan State in 2022. He played about eight snaps in that game and got to the quarterback on half of those snaps. Tyleik Williams had two sacks against Akron as a true freshman in 2021. Eddrick Houston is exactly the kind of pass-rushing defensive tackle Larry Johnson likes to employ. The Buckeyes need Eddrick Houston to be an impact player this season.

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