50 For 50: Is Caleb Downs Ready For Penn State Passing Attack?

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 13 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 Caden Curry, safety Caleb Downs, the Styles Brothers, 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 QB DREW ALLAR VS. OHIO STATE SAF CALEB DOWNS

Drew Allar only threw 20 passes against the Buckeyes last year, completing 12 for 146 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. That’s not going to be good enough this year. Allar will take the field with a better receiving corps than he had a year ago, which will make the job more difficult for Caleb Downs this time around. Allar is being begged by national pundits to become a true star this year. How he does in Ohio Stadium against Caleb Downs will go a long way towards reaching those expectations or convincing the haters that they were right all along.

Most Important Games

LSU TIGERS AT ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE, NOV. 8

Both teams have an open week before this game. Alabama will have already had games at Florida State, Georgia, Missouri, and South Carolina before they host LSU. The Tigers, meanwhile, will have had road games at Clemson and Ole Miss, along with home games against Florida, South Carolina, and Texas A&M. Nobody is going to come into this game undefeated — and if they do, they’re going to be a lot better than we think, so don’t expect them to lose this one.

Things To Look Forward To

EXTENDED PLAYING TIME FOR DEFENSIVE END CADEN CURRY.

Caden Curry has been waiting four years for the kind of role that he could see this season. He has been a rotational piece the last couple of years, but only saw double-digit snaps against Tennessee (17) and Oregon (10) over the Buckeyes’ last five games in 2024. Those numbers will presumably go up this year, but there will be four other veteran pass rushers contending for playing time. Curry has amassed 45 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks in his career. For a starting-level defensive end at Ohio State, those look a little like season totals.

National College Football Predictions

THE MAC WILL GET A WIN OVER THE SEC.

Oklahoma hosts Kent State, Auburn hosts Ball State, Mississippi State hosts Northern Illinois, and Kentucky hosts both Toledo and Eastern Michigan. These are not the best of the best among the SEC, so somebody’s going to drop a game. My first thought is to keep an eye on Kentucky’s season opener against Toledo. The Rockets are one of the favorites in the MAC this year. They’ll be keyed up for this one. Mississippi State will want to watch out as well. Northern Illinois has beaten better teams than the Bulldogs. After thinking about it, maybe one MAC win isn’t enough.

Big Ten Football Predictions

UCLA AND NEBRASKA WILL COMBINE FOR 600 YARDS PASSING.

If you’re gonna pay for quarterbacks, it would be foolish not to use them. When Nebraska and UCLA get together in the Rose Bowl on November 8, Dylan Raiola and Nico Iamaleava are going to sling it around. Conditions should be perfect, both in terms of the weather and the opposing pass defense. Ironically, however, the team that establishes the run will win this one (but that’s under the assumption that somebody can establish the run).

Ohio State Football Predictions

THE STYLES BROTHERS WILL HAVE TFLS IN THE SAME GAME.

I’m just going to assume that brothers have never had tackles for loss in the same game for the Buckeyes. I definitely know the Borens didn’t do it. Lorenzo Styles, Jr. is making the step up to be the No. 1 nickel back this season, while Sonny Styles is rounding into form in his second season as OSU’s starting Will linebacker. Styles did have a tackle for loss against Purdue last year, joining 2024’s starting nickel Jordan Hancock in the accomplishment. Doing it this year, however, will have a little more meaning — and rarity.