2021 First Glance Preview: Week Eight (Ohio State Buckeyes)
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Written by: Zach Greene (@zgreene650)
Week 8: Ohio State Buckeyes
Date & Time: October 23, 2021, Time is TBD
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
TV: TBD
The Buckeyes at a Glance
Head Coach: Ryan Day
Entering his 3rd season as Buckeye’s head coach. Took over, for, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer
Record vs. Ohio State:
Overall Record: 76-12 (Ohio State has 15 game winning streak against IU)
Last Season: 7-1 (5-0) Only loss was to Alabama in the National Championship Game
Buckeyes Returning Leaders
Passing: C.J Stroud and Jack Miller the third (Both did not attempt a pass last season but did get playing time)
Rushing: Master Teague, 514 yards during the 2020 season (Second best name last year in the B10 behind Whop Philyor) Averaged 4.9 yards per carry and with eight touchdowns on 104 attempts
Receiving: Chris Olave (Second in the B10 in receiving yards last season with 729 yards) Averaged over 14 yards per catch and had seven touchdowns. He would have been an early draft pick but decided to return to the Buckeyes for his Junior season. Just behind Olave is Sophomore Garret Wilson, who had 723 yards during the 2020 season and six touchdowns.
Tackles: Marcus Williams (20 Solo Tackles last season and seven assists)
Buckeyes Preseason Predictions
Athlon: 1st in B10 East- “Ohio State is clearly the team to beat in the Big Ten once again. Coach Ryan Day has yet to lose a regular-season game in two years in Columbus, and if a new quarterback quickly emerges, along with improvement on defense, the Buckeyes can make another run at a trip to the national title game.”
Sportsnaut: 1st in B10 East
Phil Steele: 1st in B10 East
College Football News: 1st in B10 East
Over/Under: 10 ⅕ wins
Toughest Games
Week 2: Home vs. Oregon Ducks
Week 8: @Indiana
Week 13: @Michigan
Impact Newcomers for the Buckeyes
-RB Freshman TreVeyon Henderson- 5 Star recruit in the 2021 class Henderson was the #1 running back in the nation and decided to attend Ohio State. According to 247 sports, he has the first round. His highlights are insane. https://247sports.com/LongFormArticle/Ohio-State-football-recruiting-TreVeyon-Henderson-is-the-most-complete-RB-prospect-in-years-147764659/#147764659_9
-DE True Freshman Jack Sawyer -5-star recruit in the 2021 class Sawyer was the 4th ranked player in the nation. Also has first-round talent potential and will cause havoc on the line of scrimmage. Watching him throw people in high school is fun to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah1BujwApVs (Better Prospect than Nick/Joey Bosa)
QB Sophomore C.J Stroud - A four-star in the 2020 class, Stroud is likely to win the starting quarterback job and lead the offense this season. While he did get some playing time last season it came in garage time. He was the #42 player in the nation and #2 pro-style QB in the nation. 247 also projects him as a first round. Stroud played very well in Ohio State spring game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah1BujwApVs
Biggest Questions Facing Ohio State
1. Can they make it to the National Championship for the second year in a row?
2. Who will earn the starting QB job? Truly a three-person race
3. Will Ryan Day and his staff be able to beat a highly ranked Oregon Ducks at home? (Toughest game of the season)
4. Ohio State Strength of Schedule? Is it too easy for the powerhouse program?
Program Preview
One of the best college football programs in the country in the past decade, The Ohio State Buckeyes will look to take a National Championship back to Columbus for the first time since 2014. For the 2020 recruiting class, Ohio State ranked #5 in the nation and #1 in the B10. With three 5-stars enrolling into the program. While #5 in the country for the 2020 class is very impressive, Ryan Day and his staff managed to put together an even better-recruiting class for 2021. According to 247 sports, they ranked #2 in the nation, only behind Alabama. With them getting a crazy six 5-stars to commit to their program. This off-season, the biggest headline, has spurred the three-way quarterback battle between C.J. Stroud, Kyle McCord, and Jack Miller. All three quarterbacks were highly recruited out of high school but decided to attend the program even know they knew nothing was guaranteed. With Justin Fields departing for the Chicago Bears, Ryan Day will be looking for a dual threat to lead the offensive unit this season. According to early reports, it seems as if C.J Stroud will be the first in line to lead the squad. That said, considering the Buckeye’s easy schedule, don’t be surprised if you see all three quarterbacks in a game. Shifting topics to the Buckeyes traveling to Bloomington on Saturday, October 23rd, which will be the most challenging game of the season for this Hoosiers squad. Simply on paper, they will be overmatched. There’s no doubt about that. But with this being a home game and Tom Allen playing well against Ohio State in the past, I think that the Hoosiers will be in line for a significant upset. The primary key in this game will come at the line of scrimmage. With the additions of J.T Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer to go along with Haskell Garret and Zach Harrison, the Hoosiers will need to find a way to beat these guys of the line of scrimmage. They will need to be quick and aggressive and be able to block for Penix when he needs time to throw. If they can do all that, don’t be surprised if this is a lot closer than many think. I expect the Buckeyes to be two-touchdown favors in this game.
Offensive Preview
This team is loaded with talent. We can look first to returning wideouts Chris Olave and Garret Wilson, who will bring a ton of experience to this team. Both players have had great careers so far and would’ve been early draft picks in the 2020 NFL draft but decided to come back for another season. They both are great route runners and able to blow by defenders using different route combinations to go along with their fantastic speed. PFF has both receivers going in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. https://www.pff.com/news/draft-preseason-2022-nfl-draft-board-prospects-rankings. To go along with Olave and Wilson will be Julian Fleming, who was the #3 ranked recruiting nationally by 247 sports in the 2020 class. Fleming figures an advanced skill set. He has the size, speed, and agility to play at a very high level. If all three of these receivers are on the field simultaneously spread-out offense and Stroud in the gun, it will be tough for the Hoosiers to play lock-down defense. Therefore, you will see a combination of different blitzes like the Hoosiers did last year when they played Ohio State to speed up the projections of Stroud. Not only that, but in third and long, you will see a lot of 3-3-5 defense with an emphasis on not allowing receivers to get past the first down marker.
Shifting to the offensive line, the unit lost a few guys, but overall, they still have a ton of talent. Thayer Munford will be returning this year and is one of the best tackles in college football. To pair along with Munford is Nicholas Petit-Frere. This will be one of the best offensive line duos in college football. Both guys have experience and are massive human beings. It will be hard to beat these guys off the line of scrimmage, but it can be done with a suitable scheme and techniques.
The Buckeyes will have to return to senior Jeremy Ruckert to lead this unit at the tight end position. Ruckert has had a real solid career from the get-go, playing and producing his freshman season. Behind Ruckert is Cade Strover and Mitch Rossi, both sought-after recruits.
Running back will also be a unit that produces this season. With returner Master Teague who features a diverse skill set of speed and size, they will likely use him in the red-zone and third and short situations. On the other hand, TreVeyon Henderson will be used in an array of first downs and screens. With his speed and agility, Henderson is a shifty back. If the defense loses sight of him, he will already be 20+ yards down the field. He is explosive and will make defense look silly.
Overall, this Ohio State offensive is excellent. All the units have experience except for the Quarterback position. Therefore, this Hoosiers team will need to develop a suitable scheme to speed up the projections at the quarterback position. There is no guarantee that Stroud will be the quarterback when the Buckeyes travel to Bloomington in late October. Still, no matter who it is, they should prepare for a historically great team and who on paper is better than them.
Defensive Preview
The Buckeyes lost many players to the NFL draft (Tommy Togiai, Pete Werner, Baron Browning, Shawn Wade, Jonathan Cooper) but managed to keep their best-returning player. Their best player on this defense must be Haskell Garret, who decided to return to the program for his senior season. According to PFF, Garret is the highest graded returning defensive tackle in the B10. Garret is big and has quick hands to beat offensive linemen off the ball. To tag along with Garret is Jack Sawyer, who the #4 recruit in the 2021 class. He is a massive 6-5 250 defensive lineman who will line up on the outside. He displays explosiveness that compares to Joey Bosa. One spot ahead of Swayer in the 2021 class is J.T. Tuimoloau, likely to get some playing time this season.
The secondary is one of the only question marks for the Buckeyes this season. Last year, the Buckeye’s defense allowed 97.6 yards per game along with 300+ passing yards per game. With much of their linebacker unit leaving, a focus of attack should be at the linebacker position. Josh Proctor is one of the only seniors on this unit and will look to be a leader this season. He plays strong safety and returns for his senior season after playing in 20 games over the past two seasons. Also in the secondary is Marcus Williams and Sevyrn Banks, both of whom will look to improve after getting blown up in the National Championship game.
Special Teams Preview
Dominic DiMaccio returns for his senior season and will be kicking off for the Buckeyes this season. Jake Seibert will be the kicker this season. He was the top kicker in the nation and made 16 of 16 PAT and had one miss from 44 yards against Indiana. This season he will be a sophomore and have some experience and know what it is like to kick at a high level. Returning kicks for the Buckeyes will be a combo of Garret Wilson, Demario McCall, and TreVeyon Henderson. All three of these returns will be lethal and explosive and will surprise special team units with their remarkable speed.