College football 2018 preview: Predicting the first loss for every Top 25 team

With Urban Meyer’s slap on the wrist three-game suspension, the one meaningful game he’ll miss is TCU. Playing a Gary Patterson-led TCU team on the road sounds like a perfect recipe for an upset. The Horned Frogs’ uncertainty at quarterback does a lot to temper expectations though, and Ohio State’s roster creates even less reason for optimism.

When lines for several games were released earlier in the summer, Ohio State was listed as a 12-point favorite against TCU. That number probably falls by a couple points, but still leaves Ohio State as favorites on the road. Meyer’s absence will impact primarily the offense so first-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins will have to grow up quickly but everything he’s shown from spring through preseason camp suggests that he’ll be up to the challenge.

The Buckeye defense looks like such a juggernaut that it will be able to more than make up for limitations on offense in case though. Nick Bosa and Dre’Mont Jones, both presumed first-round picks in 2019, anchor a defensive line that is at worst, one of the three best in college football. If by chance TCU has an established quarterback who looks comfortable and in command of the offense by Week 3, Bosa, Jones and company will probably put an end to that quickly.

If Ohio State was built on offense and planned on getting into shootouts all year, I’d feel really good about the upset. But even with Gary Patterson and even if Kenny Hill was still playing quarterback, the defense Ohio State will put on the field this season overcomes whatever the early schedule can throw at them.