50 For 50: Ethan Onianwa Must Hit Ground Running In Opener

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 26 days away — with a daily sampling of what we can look forward to this upcoming college football season. Today’s edition features Ohio State left tackle Ethan Onianwa, cornerback Aaron Scott, 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.

Previous | Day 24

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

TEXAS DE COLIN SIMMONS VS. OHIO STATE LT ETHAN ONIANWA

Colin Simons was named the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year last year following a season where he posted 48 tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, and 9.0 sacks. None of those sacks or TFLs came against the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff last year. If Ohio State wants to contain Simmons this year, new left tackle Ethan Onianwa will own a good portion of that responsibility. Onianwa’s first game as a Buckeye will be arguably his biggest test of the season. Fortunately for him, he’s played against the Longhorns before (2023). Still, there is going to be a lot on the line the first time Onianwa plays a real game in Ohio Stadium.

Most Important Games

USC TROJANS AT NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH, OCT. 18

According to Notre Dame fans, this is the best rivalry in college football. Also according to Notre Dame fans, the Irish would’ve won the last 35 national championships if they weren’t so classy and focused on academics. USC hosts Michigan and then plays in South Bend in back-to-back weeks. That kind of schedule is going to be fantastic (or terrible) for USC fans. I tend to think the Trojans are going to struggle on offense this season, which means they’ll definitely struggle offensively against the Irish. Notre Dame’s schedule gets considerably easier after this game, so don’t be shocked if there’s some premature letup against the Trojans.

Things To Look Forward To

SOPHOMORE CORNERBACK AARON SCOTT IN THE ROTATION.

Aaron Scott expected to play as a true freshman last year, but the cornerback depth ahead of him just didn’t allow for it. An injury against Purdue also cost him some time over the second half of the season. This year, however, Scott is in the two-deep with an opportunity to help split reps with starters Jermaine Mathews and Davison Igbinosun. Scott is an aggressive, confident defender, which is what you can expect to see from him this season. The more consistently he plays early on, the more time he’ll see later in the season. Mathews was a great example of that last year.

National College Football Predictions

zachariah branch will have at least 824 yards receiving.

It feels like Zachariah Branch was underutilized — or at least poorly utilized — at USC the past two seasons. He opened his career with a bang, but has been pretty quiet since. In his two years with the Trojans, Branch caught 78 passes for 823 yards with three touchdowns. That almost feels like a good season for him this year now that he’s at Georgia. Branch does need to show that he’s not just a gadget player or a slot receiver who only exists behind the line of scrimmage. It would be nice if he could get back to being the playmaker who wowed us in his first game as a true freshman.

Big Ten Football Predictions

MICHIGAN STATE WILL BEAT MICHIGAN.

This kind of thing used to happen all the time, so this isn’t really all that bold. Michigan has won the last three matchups, which followed a nine-year stretch where the Spartans won six times. The last 20 meetings have been split evenly. This will be the eighth game of the season for both teams, so there will be no surprises. This is just going to be a fistfight before, during, and possibly after the game. Fortunately, this game is in East Lansing, which means everybody gets to avoid Michigan Stadium’s infamous murdertunnel. If MSU head coach Jonathan Smith and quarterback Aidan Charles want to be taken seriously, a win here would be one small step for man, one giant leap for Spartykind.

Ohio State Football Predictions

NO BUCKEYE DEFENSIVE LINEMAN WILL BE NAMED FIRST-TEAM ALL-BIG TEN.

From 2010 to last season, only once has Ohio State not had a defensive lineman named First-Team All-Big Ten. The year was 2020, and while the Buckeyes didn’t have any first-team linemen, each of the four starters up front were named to the second team or third team. The Buckeyes have put together a defensive line with five relatively unproven defensive ends and just as many unproven defensive tackles. Defensive linemen need name recognition and stats to earn all-conference recognition. I think the rotation will keep the stats on the lower end individually. Either of OSU’s defensive tackle starters could throw a wrench in this, however.

Go to discussion...