50 For 50: Could Bo Jackson Meet Up With A Familiar Name?

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 2 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 Bo Jackson, safety Faheem Delane, a postseason 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.

Previous | Day 48

Biggest Buckeye Matchups

PENN STATE LB LAVAR ARRINGTON, JR. VS. OHIO STATE RB BO JACKSON

Admittedly, this is not a matchup that is likely to happen — at least not this year. But how could I pass up on mentioning the possibility of “Bo Jackson breaking a Lavar Arrington tackle?” Arrington is a true freshman for Penn State this season but probably won’t see much of the field against Ohio State. The same could be said for Bo Jackson and the Penn State game given how little true freshmen play in games like this one. But let’s stash this one away for a year or two and see what happens.

Most Important Games

FLORIDA GATORS AT MIAMI HURRICANES, SEPT. 27

These two teams have played just four times in the past 20 years, alternating wins each time. The most recent game was last year’s season opener where Miami put a 41-17 beatdown on the Gators in Gainesville. Florida plays at LSU before they play at Miami, so who knows what kind of shape they’ll be in for this game. They could be licking their wounds or feeling their oats. I’m not sure either is good news for the Gators. It is Florida’s turn to win, however, so let’s see how courteous the Hurricanes are this year.

Things To Look Forward To

FRESHMAN SAFETY FAHEEM DELANE MAKING NOISE EARLY.

A true freshman safety has started at least once for the Buckeyes each of the past two seasons. Jaylen McClain got one start last year due to injury and Malik Hartford started twice in 2023 for the same reason. Faheem Delane was one of the top safety recruits in the 2025 class and he was already mixing in with the twos in the spring. He’s a physical defender with length and range, so he could find himself involved in a number of ways this year.

National College Football Predictions

BAYLOR WILL PLAY TEXAS TECH FOR A COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF BERTH.

The fun thing about the Big XII and the College Football Playoff is that somebody’s gotta make it. Go ahead and give me Baylor and Texas Tech in the Big XII Championship Game. Both teams return a lot from last year, but the Red Raiders have the much tougher road slate. We’ll see how much Texas Tech’s investments pays off this year. In a perfect world for the Big XII, both teams would make the playoff, but there hasn’t been anything perfect in the Big XII’s world for a very long time.

Big Ten Football Predictions

MICHIGAN WILL NOT MAKE THE POSTSEASON.

There’s a decent chance that Michigan starts the season 3-3 before closing with games against Washington, at Michigan State, Purdue, at Northwestern and Maryland, then home against Ohio State. Certainly they can find three more wins in that group, so my prediction about Michigan not making the postseason doesn’t have to be tied to their on-field record. Instead, the off-field record may be what does them in.

Ohio State Football Predictions

THE BUCKEYES WILL WIN AT LEAST TWO POSTSEASON GAMES.

Winning two postseason games in a year used to be a frequent occasion for the Buckeyes. They got back to their habitual ways last year by winning four postseason games — including the College Football Playoff National Championship Game six months ago today. We have already predicted Ohio State to win the Big Ten, so the rest of the prediction is that the Buckeyes will become one of the first teams to also win a playoff game following a bye.

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