50 For 50: Can Julian Sayin Handle Arch Madness?

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 4 days away — with a daily sampling of what we can look forward to this upcoming college football season. Today’s edition features Ohio State running back CJ Donaldson, quarterback Julian Sayin, a prediction for the Buckeyes, 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

OHIO STATE RB CJ DONALDSON VS. WISCONSIN LB CHRISTIAN ALLIEGRO

Christian Alliegro finished second on the Badgers last year with 66 tackles and 5.0 tackles for loss despite being a rotational linebacker and only starting the final three games of the year. Alliegro is a big (6-4 245) hitter who will need to stand tall when trying to bring down the 6-foot-1, 230-pound CJ Donaldson. Donaldson rushed for 2,058 yards in his three-year career at West Virginia. Now that he’s a Buckeye, he’s going to have to ramp up his physicality. Based on his strong spring, it doesn’t seem like this will be a problem.

Most Important Games

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS AT LSU TIGERS, OCT. 11

This is LSU’s heauxmecoming game, and it features the top two quarterbacks in the SEC. Garrett Nussmeier got the 36-33 win last year, throwing for 285 yards and a pair of scores. LaNorris Sellers wasn’t his fully realized self when these two teams played last year. It was only the third game of the season and Sellers was just 9-of-16 passing. This year’s game should be just as wild, but expect a better performance from the South Carolina offense.

Things To Look Forward To

JULIAN SAYIN BATTLING ARCH MANNING.

Almost all of the quarterback attention in this game has been directed at Texas’ Arch Manning. Which means that Julian Sayin could come out of the blue and take the college football world by storm with a stellar performance against the Longhorns. While all of the talk going into this game will be about Manning, the talk coming out of the game could be much different. Regardless of what happens, don’t be shocked if this isn’t the last game these two play against each other this year — and next.

National College Football Predictions

RYAN WILLIAMS WILL CATCH HALF OF HIS TDS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY.

Alabama receiver Ryan Williams exploded out of the gate last year as a true freshman, posting 16 catches for 462 yards and five touchdowns in his first four games. Over the final nine games, however, he was limited to 403 yards and three touchdowns. Six of his 10 touchdowns scored last year came in Alabama’s four non-conference games. I expect him to score more in SEC play than he did a year ago, but I also expect him to make some serious hay this year against Florida State, Louisiana-Monroe, Wisconsin, and Eastern Illinois.

Big Ten Football Predictions

NEBRASKA WILL MAKE THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF.

Sometimes we’ve got to get a little crazy around here. Nebraska’s non-conference schedule of Cincinnati (in Kansas City), Akron, and Houston Christian should have them 3-0 to start the season. Then they host Michigan and Michigan State. Don’t be surprised if the Huskers win both of those games. Then they head to Maryland and Minnesota. Both of those games are exceedingly winnable. Then they host Northwestern and USC before heading to UCLA and Penn State. They finish the season with Iowa at home on Black Friday. The only game that they definitely aren’t winning is the trip to Penn State. Every other game could see Nebraska favored.

Ohio State Football Predictions

A TRUE FRESHMAN WILL FORCE A FUMBLE.

The Buckeyes haven’t had a true freshman force a fumble since 2022 when cornerback Jyaire Brown and safety Kye Stokes both did it. Both players have also transferred out of Ohio State, so maybe this is more of a curse than a feat. The Buckeyes have three linebackers who could make this happen, but if the last two players to do it were defensive backs, then maybe we should keep an eye on cornerback Devin Sanchez or safety Faheem Delane.

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