Bold prediction time. The pressure is mounting on Ohio State football head coach Urban Meyer. Can the Buckeyes contend for a National Championship in 2017?
It seems like the Ohio State Buckeyes’ path to the College Football Playoff is clearly laid out for them already. They have the No. 2 spot in the Amway Coaches Poll entering Week 1, one spot behind former National Title runner-up, the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Ohio State is becoming a popular pick to win the National Championship this season and with good reason. Their quarterback returns for his fourth year as a starter. Moreover, it feels like J.T. Barrett has been around forever. When it’s all said and done, Barrett might be the best quarterback in program history. Yet, a lot of that depends on how things go in 2017.
The biggest hurdle for the Buckeyes will be to get through their Big Ten schedule. Aside from Ohio State, three other Big Ten teams are ranked inside the Coaches Poll top 10 as well. The Wisconsin Badgers sit at No. 10, Michigan Wolverines at No. 9, and the Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 6.
Penn State presents the biggest threat to the Buckeyes in 2017. The combination of quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Saquon Barkley is a lethal duo for any team that faces them. Furthermore, Penn State was the only team to defeat Ohio State during the 2016 regular season.
All things aside, bold predictions are never something that are guaranteed to happen. With the 2017 season less than two weeks away, the time to explore bold (but realistic) scenarios has arrived.
Now, let’s take a look at five bold predictions for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2017.
5. Binjimen Victor becomes OSU’s go-to receiver
With the departures of both Noah Brown and Curtis Samuel at wide receiver, another pass catcher needs to step up on the Ohio State offense. Both Brown and Samuel had the opportunity to return to Columbus for another season but both decided not to.
That leaves sophomore Binjimen Victor and redshirt juniors Parris Campbell and Terry McLaurin as the presumed starters at receiver. However, none of the three notched more than 200 receiving yards last year. One of those three names will be a household name by the end of the 2017 campaign.
The man to watch in 2017 among the OSU receiving corps is Binjimen Victor. He’s got the height, at 6-foot-4, to go up and snatch the ball away from opposing defensive backs. Even with only four catches last season, Victor did manage 16.0 yards per catch and one touchdown.
If there’s one team that knows they need to be well prepared for Victor it’s the Maryland Terrapins, since that’s the only team he’s caught a touchdown pass against in his career.
4. Secondary is even better than last year
Some of Ohio State’s best defensive backs last year were very young. Safety Malik Hooker was only a sophomore and emerged as one of the best NFL prospects in the country, at least Indianapolis Colts’ fans should hope so.
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Moreover, even cornerback Marshon Lattimore was a sophomore when he had his breakout season. Both Lattimore and Hooker were not expected to do what they did in 2016. Yet, Meyer just seems to pump out superstars each and every year in Columbus.
This year, it’s time for redshirt sophomore Damon Arnette and junior Denzel Ward to step up at corner. Yet, there’s a lot of experience returning at safety between seniors Erick Smith and Damon Webb. Ohio State should be just fine there.
Having two seniors in the secondary should help the transition of Arnette and Ward into becoming leaders on this defense. Watch out for sophomore Kendall Sheffield to emerge this year as well.
3. Mike Weber is a Heisman Finalist
Redshirt sophomore Mike Weber will have a lot more of the offensive burden fall on his shoulders with Samuel and Brown gone. Weber had a great start to the 2016 season, but tailed off down the stretch.
After the Indiana game, Weber totaled 566 rushing yards and four touchdowns. In the final eight games, Weber rushed for 530 yards and five touchdowns. Continuing the momentum he built up in the first five games is a huge key for Weber in 2017.
If he can find his way back among the best running backs in the country, Weber will have a great chance to find himself in the thick of the Heisman race. Being in such a bright spotlight with Ohio State can have some positives as well.
Ohio State has produced more Heisman winners (six) than only the USC Trojans and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Adding another talented running back to the list of OSU Heisman winners would not be a huge surprise to anyone.
2. J.T. Barrett wins the Heisman
It’d be cool to see Barrett and Weber develop into something similar to what Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart had at USC in 2005. With Bush winning the Heisman and Leinart also being a Heisman finalist, ironically along with former Texas quarterback Vince Young, the Trojans had something special that will be hard to replicate.
Related Story: 5 reasons why J.T. Barrett will win the Heisman in 2017
Yet, Barrett and Weber do form one of the best QB-RB duos in the country. The thing that makes them different from every other backfield is the ability of both players to present a threat running the ball. Very few quarterbacks possess the dual-threat ability that Barrett does.
The wear and tear on Barrett’s body means that some of the workload will get moved over to Weber when running the option. However, if the receiving corps has a few players emerge as real threats to opposing defenses, Barrett could still put up 4,500 total yards in 2017.
If Barrett had not injured himself against the Michigan Wolverines in 2014, he might have had a better chance at winning the Heisman. However, this is his last chance to bring home the award that has eluded him for three years now.
1. Ohio State wins Big 10 and National Championship
Very few teams can claim that they have been the favorite to win their conference each of the last four seasons. However, Ohio State seems to always be the favorite to win the Big Ten, even with Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State, etc. emerging.
The last time Ohio State won the Big Ten was with Cardale Jones in 2014, when they went on to defeat Alabama and Oregon to win the National Championship in the first year of the College Football Playoff. Former running back Ezekiel Elliott played a pivotal roll in winning that National Championship as well.
Not slipping up in a difficult conference schedule is a huge challenge for Ohio State, but also one that Meyer should be prepared for. The Buckeyes have owned Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State (aside from last year’s upset) of late.
Next: 2017 Ohio State football game by game predictions
It seems like the right time for Barrett to finally get over the hump and win his first Big 10 Championship and National Championship as a starting quarterback. He’s led Ohio State football to the Playoff twice without accomplishing either, maybe 2017 is the year he will finally get over the hump.