2018 Football Preview – Big Ten – Buckeyes
Looking for 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes predictions? Once again, head coach Urban Meyer has the Ohio State Buckeyes poised for another National Championship run. He has the coaches in place, while he probably has the most uber-talented team in the Big Ten, but we could have said that about last years team – who’s defense was better – but we all still remember that shellacking to Iowa, 55-24. If Ohio State takes it one game they are playoff bound.
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2018-18 College Football Preview – Ohio State Buckeyes
Head Coach: Urban Meyer
2017 Record: 12-2
Ohio State Buckeyes Odds to win the 2018 FBS Championship: +750
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The time is now for this Fighting Irish team to win. Can Brian Kelly deliver?
2018 Ohio State Buckeyes Predictions: Team Strengths
An Unstoppable System:
What makes an Urban Meyer offense tick? Well a dynamic quarterback is Meyer’s type of quarterback because of that option to run the football.
Having to cover the pass, then have to readjust and stop the run is brutal and doesn’t play in your favor.
Then you have to account for either the quarterback optioning the ball off or keeping it, which if Ohio State’s new quarterback (Dwayne Haskins) can produce half the production that JT Barrett did, then they are in another promising position.
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Meyers not only has one of the best offensive systems in the country, but he’ll always have the talent to fill in the gaps, which is why we should see little drop-off without Barrett.
Run, Run, Run:
Going back to the run game, this Ohio State squad that averaged 243.2 rushing yards per game last season and touted the best backfield in the Big Ten has the chance to repeat with their talented backfield.
Leading the way is JK Dobbins who discarded the freshman rule of thumb and racked up 1,403 yards last season to go with eight scores.
Throw in Mike Webber who produced around six yards per carry and reached the pay dirt 10 times. Even the newbies like Master Teague, Jaelen Gill, and Brian Snead were highly recruited prospects.
And of course none of this would be possible without one of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten. They will be without starters Jamarco Jones, Demetrius Knox, and Billy Price, but with the way Ohio State recruits talent, they’ll be fine with the likes of Michael Jordan, Thayer Munford, and Isaiah Prince.
2018 Ohio State Buckeyes Predictions: Team Weaknesses
Filling The Void:
Greg Schiano is going to have to work a little magic after losing seven starters from the defense, five of which were drafted by the NFL.
They’ll have some big shoes to fill after we saw this defense finish seventh in the nation in total defense, while they allowed just 301 yards per game and 19 points per game.
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Losing six of your top ten tacklers will be hard to replace…for most teams, but again, Ohio State gets any guy they want, so although we shouldn’t see that productive of a defense from a year ago, but they’ll be good enough to make a playoff run.
Next In Line:
This is a young Ohio State team, mainly on the defensive side where a majority of the positions will be occupied by underclassmen.
They’ll have two tune up games against Oregon State and Rutgers to get things going in the right direction before having to hit the road to take on TCU.
Focusing the attention on the offense, Dwayne Haskins will have to grow up fast and take charge of this offense. He is 21 years old, so the maturity should be getting there, and he’ll have the talent around him to excel in this system.
Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction: 11-1
It is National Championships or nothing in Columbus Ohio. Being able to recruit any player you want added with the fact that you have one of the best head coaches ever, well it really should be National Championships or nothing every year.
There may be a few bumps in the road getting adjusted with the new pieces, but once things get rolling, your Buckeyes should slice through the competition.
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Ohio State has two early tests having to travel to TCU and Penn State, but from there on out they really won’t be tested again until having to face Michigan State and Michigan in the third-to-last and last game of the season, respectively.
They may lose one of those games, but after that Iowa game from last year, Ohio State isn’t going to overlook any team.
2018 Ohio State Buckeyes Football Schedule
- 9/1/18 12:00 PM ET ORST
- 9/8/18 3:30 PM ET RUTG
- 9/15/18 8:00 PM ET @TCU
- 9/22/18 TBD TULN
- 9/29/18 TBD @PSU
- 10/6/18 TBD IND
- 10/13/1 TBD MINN
- 10/20/18 TBD @PUR
- 11/3/18 TBD NEB
- 11/10/18 TBD @MSU
- 11/17/18 TBD @MD
- 11/24/18 12:00 PM ET MICH
What do you think about our 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes predictions? Please leave us a comment below telling us how you think they’ll do in 2018!
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