After a bye week and UMass in back-to-back weeks, the Penn State Nittany Lions will get their biggest test of the season to that point on October 21 when they'll take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.
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Offensive breakdown
At quarterback, there is uncertainty surrounding who will be the Buckeyes starting quarterback come week one for their matchup against Indiana on September 2. The quarterback battle this fall camp for the Buckeyes has been between former St. Joes Prep standout Kyle McCord and 2022 signee Devin Brown out of Utah. By all accounts, it's been a strong quarterback competition, and while McCord was the expected favorite to land the job, Brown has made a legitimate run for the job himself.
While they did lose CJ Stroud this offseason to the NFL, the Buckeyes returned a majority of their starters from a year ago, including running back Trayvon Henderson, wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, and tight end Cade Stover. Notably, they did lose three of five offensive linemen, but the Buckeyes will have until the end of September before they face a defensive line that should test them in Notre Dame.
No matter who the quarterback is for Ohio State, this offense, with Ryan Day, one of the best playcallers in the country, leading the way, will be once again among the top-scoring offenses in the country. They have the deepest wide receiver room in the country, and they have three running backs who could start nearly anywhere else in the country. Good luck to opposing defenses on stopping the Buckeyes.
Defensive breakdown
Last season under first-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, the Buckeyes defense took a step forward from their 2021 season. Last year, the Buckeyes allowed 21.0 points and 321.5 yards per game. Nonetheless, when the Buckeyes did face higher-powered offenses, they often struggled. They allowed 31 points to Penn State, 30 to Maryland, 45 to Michigan, and 42 to Georgia.
The Buckeyes return just five starters on the defensive side of the ball from last season, with their linebacker room being in the best spot with Steele Chambers and Tommy Eichenberg both returning. With that said, it's not a certainty that this Ohio State defense will take another step forward from last season again this fall.
Last year, they allowed Michigan, Maryland, Penn State, and Georgia to all pass for 275 yards, including Sean Clifford going 32-for-47 last season for 371 yards and three touchdowns. The Buckeyes also had three interceptions and one fumble recovery in that game. If the Buckeyes defense can't stop the better passing attacks on their schedule this fall, it will be hard to meet their aspirations for this season.
The big question with their pass defense this fall might be if the Buckeyes' pass rush, which has been so dominant in the past, can find that dominance again this fall. It was a strong pass rush last year for Ohio State, but it wasn't dominating. Their leading sack getter was Jack Sawyer and Michael Hall Jr. with 4.5, and as a team had just 34 sacks on the season. Compariatelvy, Penn State had 42 while Michigan had 37. An elite pass rush can help make up for any secondary struggles.
The Buckeyes run defense should remain a quality one this fall after allowing 121.1 rushing yards per game last season.
Overall, on paper, the Buckeyes' defense should be a good one; against most opponents, they'll look elite. But at the end of the day, the only defensive performances that will likely matter are those against Penn State and Michigan.
Special teams
The Buckeyes will have Noah Ruggles as placekicker after he was 17-for-20 in field goal attempts last season and 74 for 75 in extra-point attempts but will return punter Jessir Mirco, who averaged 45.4 yards per punt last season. They also return key return specialists in the aforementioned Emeka Egbuka and Xavier Johnson.
Overall
Ohio State will once again be among the best teams in the country this fall, barring any major surprises. This roster has too much talent from top to bottom to be anything worse than 10-2 this fall, though 11-1 seems most likely. They'll likely dominate most of their schedule, but as said before, the only performances that will likely truly matter are those against Penn State and Michigan. Their September matchup against Notre Dame is also important, but the Buckeyes should still win, in our opinion. This is an Ohio State team that Penn State matches up well against, and it should be one of the best games in all of college football this season.
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