Five Things to Watch for Ohio State Football Next Season

The Horseshoe is always rocking on Saturdays in the Fall, regardless of what team is on the other side of the Scarlet and Gray. There are times, however, when the energy goes a couple of notches above what is expected, and the Buckeyes start humming at a pace that no team has even a prayer of stopping. It’s a phenomenon that only special individuals like Archie Griffin, Troy Smith, Jim Tressel, and Urban Meyer, to name a few, have had the ability to summon. It is also something that has been lacking from the team for a few years now.

Five Things to Watch for Ohio State Football Next Season

Ryan Day and the Ohio State football team need this energy when marching into every matchup this year, and here are the five reasons why they will find it, as well as the five reasons why the Buckeyes are THE team to watch this year.

1.) Kyle McCord, QB, Junior

After not having played a meaningful snap yet in his college career, McCord comes into the 2023 campaign as the favorite to start in Week 1 against the Indiana Hoosiers. He is faced with competition from talented sophomore QB Devin Brown, but the consensus is that the job is McCord’s to lose after sitting behind C.J. Stroud for the last two years.

That’s also where things get interesting. McCord was the 8^th ranked QB in the country when he committed to the Buckeyes in 2019, and then he almost beat out Stroud for the starting job as a true freshman in 2021. He was compared to Matthew Stafford during his recruiting tours and described as having a “Wide-shouldered frame with good height and size. Strong arm and accurate. Spins ball well. Poised under pressure. Great leadership qualities.” by Brian Dohn, a nationally recognized recruiting analyst for 247 Sports.

The hype is there.

If he can deliver on his recruiting assessment and not get caught up in the bright lights, he’s GOING to get the ball to his wide receivers and leave no questions as to why Ryan Day chose him to be the successor to three of the most prolific quarterbacks in Ohio State history. It just feels right to go from Dwayne Haskins to Justin Fields, to C.J. Stroud, to Kyle McCord.

Side Note: McCord graduated high school and won three straight Pennsylvania State Championships alongside Ohio State’s star WR, Marvin Harrison Jr., also known as 2022 Unanimous 1^st Team All-American, 2022 1^st Team All B1G, #1 ranked player in the B1G for 2023, and projected top-10 NFL draft pick after this season. The chemistry is already there; why not go all the way?

 

2.) The Defense

First year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles just turned a defense that was ranked 38^th in the country before he arrived into a top 15 squad before the horrific game against Michigan at the end of the season. After proving that he can make the necessary leaps and bounds in only one year at the helm, I think it’s reasonable to expect a top-10 effort from the Buckeyes led by 2022 breakout star J.T. Tuimoloau and returning signal caller Tommy Eichenberg.

The defense is going to the be the biggest question mark for this Ohio State team after they were the reason for last year’s embarrassing loss to Michigan and then the hard fall to Georgia in the College Football Playoff after a masterful performance by C.J. Stroud that wasn’t supported. If they can find the consistency that the defenses from 2019-2020 had, it’s the Buckeyes’ title to lose this year.

Just hold Michigan to less than 40 points… Please?

3.) B1G Away Games

 Last year was Ohio State’s year to capitalize on having their two most difficult regular season matchups at home, namely Michigan and Notre Dame. The tables are turned this year with games in South Bend, West Lafayette, Madison and Ann Arbor. Sure, Purdue and Wisconsin aren’t on the same level as Michigan and Notre Dame, but going into their homes during the stretch where it would be nice to have a few games to prepare for Michigan is going to be a dogfight.

Purdue always shows up against the Buckeyes, and Wisconsin, with Luke Fickell as their new head coach are going to test Ohio State in ways that will either make or break them.

4.) Last Season with Divisions + Guaranteed Games 

The B1G announced that in 2024 the league will move to a division-free format and add USC and UCLA to the fold. This puts the total teams up to 16 and only guarantees a Michigan vs. Ohio State matchup every year. All other games will be played on a rotating schedule; for example, Ohio State and Penn State may only play every other year, with home games every four years.

This change was undoubtedly brought by the addition of UCLA and USC to the B1G and will allow for more balanced play, where for the past decade or so, the East division has dominated the rest of the field.

Nonetheless, this is a list of “lasts” for the B1G and Ohio State in 2023.

• Last year for an East vs. West B1G Championship game
• Last year for the annual Ohio State vs. Penn State game
• Last year where The Game will likely decide who plays in the B1G Championship game.

It’s going to be a fun last year.

5.) It’s All About Playing as One

 The best teams find a way to rally late in the year and capitalize during stressful situations. This Ohio State team has been there before, they have seen the playoff atmosphere, and they have lost to the team up North. It’s setting up to be a year of revenge but also of playing to potential.

Eleven great games and one dud is a bad season. The discipline it’s going to take to win a National Championship and show that the Buckeyes can win in any way necessary is something I can’t wait to see this year. We’ve gotten our high-flying, flashy, pass-first football noses punched in for the past two years, and it’s time for that to change.

Ohio State football is back, and the rest of the country will be put on notice starting September 2^nd against the Indiana Hoosiers.

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