50 For 50: Eddrick Houston Is A Problem For Ohio State Opponents

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 46 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, quarterback Tavien St. Clair, 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

Penn State LG Vega Ioane vs. Ohio State DT Eddrick Houston

Olaivavega Ioane was a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection at left guard as a redshirt sophomore last year for Penn State. The 334-pounder was also an Honorable Mention selection as a redshirt freshman. He has 21 career starts under his belt. Ohio State sophomore defensive tackle Eddrick Houston, meanwhile, did earn a start last year when Tyleik Williams was out, but he is nowhere as experienced (or big) as Ioane. What Houston lacks in size and strength, however, he makes up for in everything else. Or at least that’s the expectation. This is going to be a huge test for Houston, but it will be the eighth game of the season, so he’ll no longer be the inexperienced player he is now. Given Penn State’s running game, this is a battle that Houston is going to need to win.

Most Important Games

Oklahoma Sooners at South Carolina Gamecocks, October 18

South Carolina went into Norman last year and handed Oklahoma a 35-9 loss. This year, the Sooners will be more equipped to handle powerhouses like the four-loss Gamecocks and possibly not be blown out by as many points. Both teams have College Football Playoff hopes. This is a midseason game, so a loss is going to put somebody one step closer to a Citrus Bowl. Though for Oklahoma, that would be a nice step up from last year.

Things To Look Forward To

seeing tavien st. clair’s first flashes.

Ohio State freshman quarterback Tavien St. Clair will be the Buckeyes’ third-team quarterback this season, but he will have some opportunities to show what he can do. He has a considerable amount of talent, and at some point this season — probably week two against Grambling — he’s going to show something that will get Buckeye fans excited about his future. Even more than they already were.

National College Football Predictions

Beau Pribula will throw for more yards than Drew Allar.

Will Levis left Penn State because he wanted to go somewhere and throw the ball like a real boy. He ended up at Kentucky and received the customary SEC hype. He still didn’t throw the ball as much as PSU quarterback Sean Clifford, but at least he was no longer known as “the running quarterback.” This year, former PSU quarterback Beau Pribula is in the same situation. A season ago, he was Penn State’s “running quarterback,” and now he is at Missouri battling for the starting job. I expect him to not only win it, but to throw for more yards per game than Penn State starter Drew Allar. Allar threw for a career-best 207.9 yards per game last year. Surely Pribula can hit at least 230 this year.

Big Ten Football Predictions

Aidan Chiles will lead MSU to a win at USC.

We know that USC is going to lose a game that people think they shouldn’t, which is basically Michigan State’s theme song. The Trojans host the Spartans in week four, which should see MSU come in undefeated and believing in themselves. Just me typing that last part out now has me doubting my own prediction, but I’m paragraph-committed now. Sparty quarterback Aidan Chiles has a ton of potential and should be a more consistent player this year. This game will be USC’s first real test of the year. If you want to call it that.

Ohio State Football Predictions

Max Klare will score against Texas.

Texas held Jeremiah Smith to one catch for three yards in last season’s Cotton Bowl, but the Buckeye tight ends were free to catch seven passes in that same game. If the Longhorns want to load up on Smith again, then don’t be shocked when transfer tight end Max Klare goes right down the middle of the defense just like he did back in April’s spring game.

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