50 For 50: Can Riley Pettijohn Pull Off A Rarity For A Freshman?

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 12 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 end Kenyatta Jackson, offensive lineman Austin Siereveld, linebacker Riley Pettijohn, 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 38

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

TEXAS LT TREVOR GOOSBY VS. OHIO STATE DE KENYATTA JACKSON

Redshirt sophomore Trevor Goosby started two games last year for Texas — one at left tackle and one at right tackle. He is expected to be the Longhorns’ left tackle this year. His legend is also growing. Neither Goosby or Ohio State fourth-year defensive end Kenyatta Jackson are returning starters, but both have played enough at this point to be considered veterans. These game highlights will be shown for somebody come draft day. Especially if there happens to be a game-clinching scoop and score of some sort.

Most Important Games

PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS AT IOWA HAWKEYES, OCT. 18

If Penn State comes into this game undefeated, that means they’ll have a win over Oregon under their belt. They will be feeling their oatiest of oats. Nothing can stop them now. After all, nothing bad has ever happened to a Big Ten favorite in Iowa City… The Hawkeyes have won two of the last three in this series, with PSU’s last win in Iowa City coming in 2019. Iowa’s defense is going to be put to the test, but the crowd could be huge. Iowa’s toughest games before hosting Penn State are road games at Iowa State, Rutgers, and Wisconsin, along with a home game against Indiana. If they win all of those contests, the Nittany Lions better look out because this game will be huge. If, however, Iowa loses a couple of them, they’ll probably roll over for this one as well.

Things To Look Forward To

AUSTIN SIEREVELD FINDING ANOTHER HOME ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE.

A year ago at this time, a “nasty bug” was waiting in the wings to wreak havoc on the Ohio State offensive line. As it knocked lineman after lineman down, it also required healthy players to step up during fall camp. One of those players was Austin Siereveld. Siereveld practiced everywhere as a redshirt freshman and it benefited him so well that he started several games at left guard and rotated in at right guard as well. Now he is currently slated for right tackle, and head coach Ryan Day is very confident in his ability to be just what the Buckeyes need this year.

National College Football Predictions

TY SIMPSON WILL PASS FOR 3,571+ YARDS AND ACCOUNT FOR 37 TDS.

I believe we are about to see Alabama getting back to the kind of passing offense they had before Jalen Milroe took over. What the Tide lacked in the passing game, however, they made up for with Milroe’s running — at times. So how did I come up with these numbers for new Alabama starting quarterback Ty Simpson? Because last year, Milroe rushed and passed for 3,570 yards and accounted for 36 touchdowns. Simpson is going to be receiver Ryan Williams’ best friend this year. And next year.

Big Ten Football Predictions

MINNESOTA SAFETY KOI PERICH WILL HAVE AT LEAST FOUR INTERCEPTIONS.

Koi Perich led the Big Ten with five interceptions as a true freshman last year. It was one fewer than Purdue safety Dillon Thieneman had as a true freshman in 2023. Thieneman responded with zero interceptions as a sophomore. Don’t expect the same from Perich this year. No, he won’t be sneaking up on anybody this year, but he’s good enough that he doesn’t need to sneak.

Ohio State Football Predictions

RILEY PETTIJOHN WILL HAVE A TACKLE FOR LOSS.

Predicting that Ohio State freshman linebacker Riley Pettijohn will have a tackle for loss this season won’t seem like much at face value. But what if I tell you that the last true freshman linebacker with a tackle for loss for the Buckeyes was Baron Browning back in 2017? Riley Pettijohn was a third-team middle linebacker in the spring, which is where he’ll likely be in the fall. He’s not going to have a ton of opportunities, but when he’s in there, don’t be shocked when he makes things happen.

Go to discussion...