50 For 50: Ohio State And Michigan In The Rose Bowl?

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 38 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 12 |

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

Michigan DE Derrick Moore vs. Ohio State RT Josh Fryar

Michigan junior defensive end Derrick Moore (6-3 258) finished third on the team with 5.0 sacks last year and fifth with 6.0 tackles for loss. He was second among UM’s defensive ends with 34 tackles. The Wolverines will take a depth hit at the position this year as last year’s starters Jaylen Harrell and Braiden McGregor are both gone. Moore will likely have to play more than he did last year, which means he will have to hold up later in games and later in the season. Ohio State right tackle Josh Fryar (6-5 320) was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection by the media last year and Third-Team selection by the conference coaches. Every matchup on the line of scrimmage is going to be huge in this game.

Most Important Games

Clemson Tigers vs. Georgia Bulldogs (Atlanta), August 31 (12:00 pm ABC)

The last time these two teams opened the season against each other at a neutral site, the nation witnessed the glory of a 10-3 Georgia win back in 2021. This game should feature more scoring than that one, but I don’t want to make any promises that I can’t keep. Despite everybody saying “Natty or Bust” for Ohio State, it is actually Georgia who is the favorite to win it all. Their championship run starts in the same place it might end — Atlanta. If Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney wants to announce that the Tigers have returned to prominence, then a win over the Dawgs would be an emphatic way to do it.

Something To Look Forward To

The possibility of Ohio State and Michigan playing in the Rose Bowl.

Just picture it in your mind — the Buckeyes and the Wolverines lining up against each other in the Rose Bowl on January 1. The sun setting on the San Gabriel Mountains. The winners advance to the semifinals and keep their national title hopes alive. The losers go home. Their season is over. Championship dreams ended by their sworn enemy. It would be the deepest cut of all. And the celebration? It would be one for the ages.

National College Football Predictions

Vanderbilt is going winless in the SEC again.

Look, sometimes I need to pad my stats. Vanderbilt has gone winless in the SEC in three of the last four seasons. They have won just three of their 38 conference games since 2019. In each of their three victories they were at least a two-touchdown underdog. The last time they were favored in a conference game was in 2018 at home against Tennessee. They will finish the 2024 season at home against the Vols as well, but don’t expect Vandy to be favored in that one.

Big Ten Football Predictions

Penn State will trail West Virginia in the fourth quarter.

This could be one of the sneaky-good games of the opening week slate. After playing on an annual basis for over 40 years, the two rivals took a break when Penn State joined the Big Ten. The rivalry started back up last year with the Nittany Lions coming away with a 38-15 opening-season win. Penn State is currently favored by 10.5 points, but playing on the road should be a bit more difficult. The Nittany Lions have covered in their last seven games as road favorites. Under head coach James Franklin, Penn State is 2-2 in true road openers. They have been outscored 104-91 in those games, mostly due to a 27-10 loss at Temple in 2015. This likely won’t be a high-scoring game, which will make it much easier for the Mountaineers to keep it close for all four quarters.

Ohio State Football Predictions

The Buckeyes will outscore their first four opponents by at least 138 points.

Seems like a random number, doesn’t it? Well, 138 points is the total number of points scored by the Buckeyes against their first four opponents last year. The Ohio State offense should be better this year — and the schedule will certainly be easier. This projects out to four scores that all average out to about 42-7 or 45-10. As I type this out and look at a four-game schedule that consists of Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall, and Michigan State, I’m starting to feel like this is an even bigger stat padder than the Vanderbilt prediction above. Although, to be fair to me, the Buckeyes have only outscored their first four opponents by at least 138 points three times over the past 10 seasons (2019 – 177 pts; 2018 – 150 pts; 2016 – 191 pts).

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