Ohio State football: 3 hot take predictions vs. Western Kentucky in Week 3
By TJ Heyder
It’s Week 3 for Ryan Day and company, as Ohio State welcomes Western Kentucky to Columbus this Saturday for their last ‘tune-up’ before hitting the road to Notre Dame next weekend.
It’s been an underwhelming start to 2023 for the Buckeyes, who have dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 in the AP Rankings after two weeks of play. Ohio State is a 2-0 football team, but they played closer-then-expected games with both Indiana and Youngstown State, and it’s evident the nation isn’t ready to fear them until they put together four solid quarters of football.
Does Western Kentucky give the Buckeyes a scare on Saturday? I wouldn’t bet on it. But after seeing their first two performances of the year, I don’t think this will be the expected blowout you’d see from former Ohio State teams.
I’m all for bold predictions, and I have quite a few on tap for this one.
3. Ohio State records 3+ sacks
Believing that the Buckeyes will match their season total in sacks in this game is the definition of bold.
If you don’t count the sack by All American linebacker Tommy Eichenberg last week, this defensive line only has two through two games. Not great for a unit full of Blue Chip prospects.
This is the week this unit breaks through. JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, the former five star plus prospects, will each account for at least one a piece. The duo have had sky high expectations since their arrival to Columbus, and have yet to fully make their mark as the prolific pair they’ve been hoped to be. We’re only a sixth of the way through the year, leaving plenty of time for them to hit their stride.
It’s to be noted that Western Kentucky has yet to allow a sack on the season, but South Florida and Houston Christian don’t exactly have Ohio State’s defensive line flair, either.
Expect the Buckeyes torment on WKU quarterback Austin Reed on Saturday.