50 For 50: Max Klare Brings Texas-Sized Impact Against The Horns

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 31 days away — with a daily sampling of what we can look forward to this upcoming college football season. Today’s edition features Ohio State tight end Max Klare, new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, 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

TEXAS SAF MICHAEL TAAFE VS. OHIO STATE TE MAX KLARE

Texas may have held Jeremiah Smith to just one catch for three yards in last season’s Cotton Bowl, but the Ohio State tight ends combined for seven catches against the Longhorns. Expect a similar kind of approach from Texas in this year’s season opener, which means new Buckeye tight end Max Klare could be in for a big game. One of the pieces trying to keep that from happening will be Texas safety Michael Taaffe. When Taaffe isn’t bracketing Smith, he could have his hands full with Max Klare.

Most Important Games

CLEMSON TIGERS AT SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS, NOV. 29

South Carolina has won two of the last three games in this series, but hasn’t won in Columbia since 2013. Unless the Gamecocks are challenging for the SEC, they can’t afford to lose this game. Clemson will likely still be okay with a loss because it wouldn’t impact their standings in the ACC race. But it sure would knock the Tigers down a peg. Right now they are one of the favorites nationally, but they’re still fighting for in-state supremacy.

Things To Look Forward To

MATT PATRICIA’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE OHIO STATE DEFENSE.

Every new defensive coordinator brings along some defensive growing pains. The Buckeyes had the best defense in the nation last year, so there’s nowhere to go but down this year. New Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will be tasked with trying to keep that from happening. He had plenty of success in the NFL as a coordinator, and he’s been very hands-on in his first six months at Ohio State. Despite the defensive losses from the 2024 team, there is still a lot to work with. Patricia is known for making use of individual skill sets, so it’s going to be interesting to see him put OSU’s talented individuals in play throughout each game.

National College Football Predictions

NOTRE DAME IS MAKING THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF.

You might not think this is a bold prediction, but Notre Dame does open on the road at Miami and then they play Texas A&M two weeks later. They could open the season 0-2, which admittedly would be hilarious, but would also be disastrous to my prediction reputation. The Irish also have road games against Arkansas, Boston College, Pittsburgh, and Stanford, which could be slightly challenging but that’s about it. Home games against Purdue, Boise State, NC State, USC, Navy, and Syracuse will all see Notre Dame as favorites. In fact, they will probably be favored in every game this season. Okay, so maybe this isn’t the boldest prediction you’ve ever seen. It’s the weekend, leave me alone.

Big Ten Football Predictions

WASHINGTON QB DEMOND WILLIAMS WILL HAVE A 300/100 GAME.

I am looking forward to watching Demond Williams this year. He’s an explosive runner and a good enough passer to make life miserable for a defense. That is why I am predicting he will have a game where he throws for 300 yards and also rushes for 100 yards. His season-high in rushing last year was 48 yards against Louisville in the bowl game, which is also where he threw for a season-high 374 yards. It makes sense that Williams will go 300/100 because that’s kind of what Washington QBs are famous for. Marques Tuiasasopo was the first QB in NCAA history to go for 300/200 in 1999 (302/207). Jake Locker went 336/157 in 2007. Williams is going to join the list.

Ohio State Football Predictions

OHIO STATE WILL SHUT OUT THE PURDUE BOILERMAKERS.

Again, you may scoff at this prediction partly because Ohio State shut out Purdue 45-0 last year, but scoff at your own risk. Besides, that was last year and this is this year. And maybe Purdue will be better than grossly terrible this year. It should be noted that the average score of OSU’s last two trips to West Lafayette is Ohio State 31 – Purdue 28. I do feel like the Buckeye defense will be playing its best by this point in the season, while the Boilers will be banged up and disconnected enough that they’ll just be going through the (loco)motions.

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