2023 First Glance Preview: Week One Ohio State Buckeyes

Written by: Sammy Jacobs

Week One: Ohio State Buckeyes

Date & Time: Saturday, September 2 at 3:30pm

Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN 

TV: CBS

Buckeyes at a Glance

Head Coach: Ryan Day 

Entering his Sixth season as Ohio State head coach

Record at Ohio State: 45-6 (31-2 in Big Ten Conference)

Overall Record: 45-6 

Last Season: 11-2 (8-1 in Big Ten)

Buckeyes Returning Leaders

Passing: Kyle McCord– 16-of-20 (80%), 190 Yards 1 TD 0 INTs

Rushing: Miyan Williams –825 Yards on 128 Carries 14 TDs

Receiving: Marvin Harrison Jr. – 77 Catches for 1,263 Yards 14 TDs

Tackles: Tommy Eichenberg (LB)  120 Tackles , 9.5 Tackles for Loss, 2.5 Sacks

Buckeyes Preseason Predictions

Athlon: 2nd in the Big Ten East

Lindy’s: 2nd in the Big Ten East

Phil Steele: 2nd in the Big Ten East

SP+: 2nd Nationally

Impact Newcomers for the Buckeyes

Davison Igbinosun, CB (Ole Miss)

Ja’Had Carter, Safety (Syracuse)

Josh Simmons, OL (San Diego State)

Biggest Questions Facing the Buckeyes

Who starts at quarterback?

Can they find a solution at offensive tackle?

Can the Buckeyes get back to Indianapolis?

Program Preview

Is Ryan Day’s seat really warming up? This is what happens when the Buckeyes have lost two-straight to archrival Michigan and have not won the Big Ten East since 2020.

However, the reality is that Day has six losses in his career and the Buckeyes are once again expected to compete not only for the Big Ten title but a national championship as well. OSU returns the best wide receiving corps in the country headlined by Marvin Harrison Jr, three running backs who could start for any team in the conference and a defense that is entering their second year under Jim Knowles and should improve.

The Buckeyes are not without their own questions, though. Ohio State must replace C.J. Stroud who was the second overall pick in the NFL Draft in the spring. They also must replace the starting center and both tackles who will also be playing on Sundays in 2023. Ohio State’s schedule is not just Michigan in the final week. The Buckeyes must go to South Bend and take on Notre Dame, travel to Camp Randal to face a revamped Wisconsin squad and will host Penn State. There are plenty of places Ohio State can trip up, but all the talk will be whether they can beat the Wolverines in late November and get back to Indianapolis.

Offensive Preview

All eyes will be on the Buckeyes wide receivers, which is likely the tops in the country. Harrison Jr. is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. If teams decide to double team him, OSU has another 1,000-yard receiver in Emeka Egbuka. The third wide receiver, Julian Flemming is also very good. There is depth there as well as five-star freshmen Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss will be in the rotation.

Cade Stover is a playmaker at tight end and is coming off a season that saw him make 36 catches for 406 yards and five touchdowns.

The biggest question facing the Buckeyes is who will be distributing the ball to all these playmakers.

Kyle McCord was supposedly the odds-on favorite to win the job in the spring over Devin Brown, but neither did enough to wrestle the job away from the other. McCord played in mop up duty last season and completed 16 of his 20 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown. McCord started one game in 2021 against Akron where he threw for 319 yards and two scores. He has a big arm and if he can be responsible with the football, he’ll be an All-Big Ten performance at minimum. McCord is not much of a threat on the ground but is athletic enough to escape and make plays down field.

Brown is a redshirt freshman who played sparingly in 2022 but is very talented. Hoosier fans should expect McCord to win this battle, but don’t be surprised if both play in the opener.

The Buckeyes will have to rebuild their offensive line as both tackles and the starting center were drafted in the spring. OSU brings in Josh Simmons from San Diego State and Josh Fryer could win a starting spot as well. Redshirt freshman Carson Hinzman will likely be the center while Matt Jones and Donovan Jackson man the guard positions.

Ohio State has three running backs who can crack the 1,000-yard mark in TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams and Dallan Hayden. The Buckeyes were hit by the injury bug at this position in 2022 as Henderson was limited to just eight games and Williams missed two games. Henderson and Williams will be a mighty 1-2 punch with Hayden able to take some of the load if needed.

Defensive Preview

The Ohio State defense ended the 2022 season on a sour note as they were gashed by Michigan for 45 points and Georgia for 42 points. The Buckeyes finished seventh in the Big Ten by allowing 21 points per game in 2022, though that was an improvement over 2021.

This season the Buckeyes enter the second year under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and should expect another step forward.

Linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers lead the way for Ohio State as they combined for 197 tackles last season including 14 tackles for loss. Behind the two starters are senior Cody Simon (12 games, 32 tackles) and sophomore C.J. Hicks (12 games, six tackles). So while they may be talented, there is a lack of very experienced depth at the linebacker position.

The Buckeyes’ defense has made a name for themselves over the last decade with some of the best defensive linemen in the country and the next in line are Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimolau who bookend the defensive line. Sawyer had 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 2022 while Tuimolau added 11 tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions.

The interior of the line is stout as well with sophomore Mike Hall Jr. (7.5 TFLs and 4.5 sacks in 2022) and junior Ty Hamilton (.5 sack in 2022). Caden Curry, Tyleik Williams, Tywibe Malone and Kenyatta Jackson round out the two-deep along the defensive line.

Denzel Burke and Lathan Ransom highlight the secondary for Ohio State. The Buckeyes ranked 14th nationally in pass defense last season giving up 298.3 yards per game. Burke is the Buckeyes’ number one corner and Ole Miss transfer Davison Igbinosun should start opposite of Burke.

Ransom finished third on the team in tackles in 2022 as he moved from nickel corner to strong safety. Another year at the position should make him better. Senior Josh Proctor has not lived up to his billing but will get the early nod at free safety. Sophomores Kye Stokes and Sonny Styles are the back up safeties while Jyaire Brown and Jordan Hancock are the backup corners.

Special Teams Preview

The Buckeyes have questions at the place-kicking position as Noah Ruggles graduated after hitting 17-of-20 field goals last season. Ohio State brought in Parker Lewis from USC in 2022, but he did not see any action after hitting 26-of-35 field goals for the Trojans in two years. Jayden Felding was the kickoff specialist last season and has not attempted a field goal in college but could be in the mix to win the job.

The Buckeyes are set at punter, they usually are, with Jesse Mirco who averages 45.4 yards per punt and pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 20 times and forced 20 fair catches.

The Buckeyes have not returned a kickoff for a touchdown since 2014 which is shocking considering the talent they have. Xavier Johnson was the primary kick returner last season and averaged just over 22 yards per return. Expect him to handle the duties again.

Punt return duties will likely fall to Egbuka, who averaged 6.82 yards per return last year. The Buckeyes also blocked a punt against IU last year.

2023 FIRST GLANCE PREVIEWS