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.
2. Austin Reed throws for over 300 yards
Reed is going to see his fair share of pressure in this game, but that won’t keep him from getting his downfield strikes.
The passer has quietly been one of the best in America since last season, which he threw for a nation’s best 4,746 yards a year ago. That’s right, more than Caleb Williams, more than Michael Penix, more than Drake Maye. He added 40 touchdown passes on top of that too, which ranked him third nationally only behind Williams and the 2023 No. 2 overall pick, CJ Stroud.
This is going to be a track meet for the Ohio State offense, leaving the Hilltoppers to be in throwing territory for the majority of the game. Reed’s 83 attempts on the season ranks him eleventh in the country for DI, so throwing the football is clearly not a fear in Bowling Green.
Oh yeah, he’s also throwing to one of the best wide receivers in College Football. Malachi Corley was a thousand yard receiver in 2022, catching over a hundred passes from Austin Reed. Corley will have a solid day receiving in this one, and Buckeye fans will lose their minds.
1. Carnell Tate gets in the end zone for his first collegiate TD
This is the week it happens. I can just feel it. There’s been few freshmen in Columbus (if any) with the preseason hype that Carnell Tate had coming into the year.
Just ask the best NFL prospect at the position in the last ten years. Marvin Harrison Jr. was quoted in August saying, “Carnell is probably at a better point right now than I was entering my sophomore season.”
Not his freshman season, he’s referring to last season. The season in which Harrison separated himself from the pack as the clear No. 1 wide receiver in the sport. Those are heavy words from the surefire first round pick in this upcoming NFL draft, and I don’t think he was lying.
Tate was only on the field for twelve snaps in the home opener against Youngstown State, but I blame that on the bad offensive output from the Buckeyes out of the gate. Ryan Day officially named Kyle McCord the starting quarterback earlier this week, and I believe it will be the unit’s best outing of the season with Notre Dame in the shadows. Expect a bunch of Brian Hartline’s blue chip pass-catchers to get run in this one.
The former five star gets on the board this weekend. Book it.