Ohio State football: 5 bold predictions for the Buckeyes in 2020
Can Justin Fields win the Heisman and lead Ohio State to a national title?
As the start of the college season draws closer, and we continue to hope that it will actually happen, there is still a lot to talk about.
That is especially true when it comes to Ohio State Football, as they continue to be one of the best programs in the country while dominating the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have won three-straight Big Ten Championships, and while only one of those resulted in a College Football Playoff berth, this should be another year where the Buckeyes are expected to achieve both again.
It is head coach Ryan Days’ second season at the helm in Columbus, and while the first season obviously went well, it ended in a loss to Clemson. This year, the Buckeyes are looking to be at the top of the pack for the first time since 2015.
Despite the great talent, it will take a lot to get there. We don’t even know how the structure of the season is going to look exactly right now, and there are a lot of good teams that will be vying for the title in 2020.
We know that Ohio State has the talent to win it all in January, but what are some other predictions for the Buckeyes in 2020?. There is so much talent on this squad and so many of them have the potential to do some special things.
So with that said, let’s take a look at some bold predictions for Ohio State football in 2020
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5. Ohio State leads the country in rushing defense.
The first prediction might be the boldest of the lot as while the Buckeyes have plenty of talent on the defensive line, they went through a pretty big overhaul last season.
They lost three defensive tackles to graduation as well as Chase Young who helped out with the run defense as well. The strength of this run defense is going to have to come from the linebackers who, while they lost leading tackler Malik Harrison to the draft, will return three guys that were top six tacklers for the Buckeyes in 2019.
It is going to be three seniors starting at the linebacker position and that gives me hope that they can lead this Ohio State run defense to a stellar year behind a very young defensive line.
Jonathan Cooper is coming off an injury at one end, he will be a senior, but the rest will be inexperienced. Zach Harrison might be the next in line as far as experience goes as a true sophomore. Harrison has the chance to be the next big defensive end in Columbus too. He is a former five-star with a ton of talent. Day knows this too as Harrison got the nod opposite Young last season in the College Football Playoff Semifinal.
Up the middle on the line will be Taron Vincent and Tommy Togiai. The latter was a rotation player last season who ended up No. 16 on the team in tackles. Vincent didn’t play last season due to injury, but he like Harrison is a former five-star looking to prove his worth this season.
The talent in endless up the middle for the Buckeyes this season, it is just a matter of whether or not the experience will bite them. I think that the talent and the experience of the linebackers behind the line will win the day and the Buckeyes will have the best rushing defense in the country this coming season.