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Welcome to Gleitman’s Gameday Guide, presented by Steamboat Dry Goods, a quick-hitting resource for fans on Buckeye Scoop as they prepare for the upcoming Ohio State game and the national slate of college football each week.
This guide will include my five players who must step up each week for the Buckeyes to win, score prediction and how it plays out, and “brave and bold” predictions for the upcoming contest. Additionally, I’ll take a look at the national and Big Ten games to let you know my picks (straight up and vs. the spread), as well as who I am picking as my four teams to advance to the College Football Playoff each week.
This week, Gleitman’s Gameday Guide takes a look at the Buckeyes next game against Indiana coming off a bye, as well as the rest of college football in week eight.
FIVE PLAYERS WHO MUST STEP UP FOR OHIO STATE TO WIN
The Buckeyes are a 21-point favorites in this one, but Indiana always plays them close and will be looking to turn their season around with an upset. Here are five players that need to step up to ensure Ohio State escapes Bloomington unscathed.
- QB CJ Stroud: It seems like when Stroud is performing that OSU’s offense is one of the best, if not THE best, in America. The IU defense is tough, so this will be a good test for the redshirt freshman.
- CB Denzel Burke:While IU number one receiver Ty Fryfogle hasn’t had a great year to date, he absolutely torched the Buckeyes last year. You better believe that Nick Sheridan will try to draw up some things to expose the OSU secondary again, and Burke will need to be the guy to shut Fryfogle down if that happens.
- DE Zach Harrison: The Indiana offensive line hasn’t been good. If the Bucks can get after the IU quarterbacks, this one won’t be close. Harrison was supposed to be “the next great DE at Ohio State”. He’s played well but not at superstar level. It’s time to elevate the game in the back half of the season.
- Interior OL: Going to group Thayer Munford, Luke Wypler, Paris Johnson, and Matt Jones here. This group has struggled a bit at time with some different looks up front. Indiana’s linebackers are pretty good, especially Cam Jones and Micah McFadden. If the interior OL can help make yards on inside zone plays and also get off blocks and get to the next level to take on the linebackers, it will be a very good day for OSU’s offense.
- LB/S Craig Young and S Ronnie Hickman: Possibly Indiana’s best weapon on offense is tight end Peyton Hendershot. The guys who will likely match-up with Hendershot are Young and Hickman, so they need to be ready to make some plays in this one.
GAME PREDICTION
This will be covered in our weekly staff picks, but I want to provide it here as well:
I don’t think Indiana is as bad as their 2-4 record says they are. The schedule has been tough with the opener at Iowa, another away game at Penn State, and home contests against Cincinnati and Michigan State (both close games) serving as their losses on the season.
As we talked about this week, though, the Indiana offense took a huge step back from last year, when we thought maybe that group would take a step forward and make this team “for real” as a contender in 2021. The defense has been stellar and will serve as a legitimate challenge for the Ohio State offense, but with Michael Penix out (and playing poorly before that), the offensive line not looking good, and the playmakers (see: Ty Fryfogle) not executing at a high level, I think this will be a good match-up for the Silver Bullets.
The key to the game will be protecting the football on offense. If they do that, which I think they will do generally well, the Buckeyes just need to take what the defense is giving them, instead of trying to force what they want to do, and they should be able to get into the 35+ point range. I think the defense will play well enough to continue getting the offense the ball throughout the game, and when they give up points it will be more of a bend-but-don’t-break, resulting in field goals versus touchdowns.
Ryan Day learned last year that you need to keep your foot on the gas against Tom Allen’s team, as they won’t quit, regardless of the score, until the final whistle blows—I don’t think Day will make that mistake again. With that said, coupled with the analysis above, I think this game will be a comfortable win for the Scarlet and Gray, although with some frustrating moments thanks to the IU defense, and they’ll move on to the Penn State contest at 6-1 (4-0) on the season.
Ohio State 41 Indiana 16
BRAVE AND BOLD PREDICTIONS
While the score prediction is pretty straight forward, here are three “brave and bold” predictions each week that I’ll make about things that happen in the game:
- Emeka Egbuka to the house. I think the freshman receiver brings a kick return back this week. He’s been close. This is the week. If I recall correctly the last OSU punt or kick return for a score was by Jalin Marshall against IU in 2014.
- Despite being 2-4, Indiana has not allowed an individual of an opposing team to rush for 100+ yards this season. That ends Saturday when TreVeyon Henderson does it against the Hoosiers.
- Donovan McCulley has a (relative) breakout performance. The touted IU freshman quarterback should see action as a change-of-pace to Jack Tuttle on Saturday and I think with Tuttle struggling that McCulley is going to end up getting more reps than expected. I think he’ll flash some brilliance as a dual-threat in this game and finish with 100+ yards passing and 40+ yards rushing to give the Hoosiers some hope for the future.
THE PICKS
Every week I will pick every Big Ten game and a few select national games both straight up and against the spread (LW SU: 11-3; LW ATS: 7-7; TOTAL SU: 66-36; TOTAL ATS: 51-51)
- Ohio State at Indiana (+21): Ohio State SU & ATS
- Northwestern at Michigan (-23.5): UM SU & NW ATS
- Illinois at Penn State (-23): PSU SU & ATS
- Wisconsin at Purdue (+3.5): Wisconsin SU & ATS
- Maryland at Minnesota (-4.5): UMD SU & ATS
- Wake Forest at Army (+3): Army SU & ATS
- Oklahoma State at Iowa State (-7): ISU SU & ATS
- Oregon at UCLA (-1): UCLA SU & ATS
- LSU at Ole Miss (-9.5): Ole Miss SU & LSU ATS
- Clemson at Pitt (-3): Clemson SU & ATS
- USC at Notre Dame (-7): ND SU & USC ATS
- Tennessee at Alabama (-25): Bama SU & ATS
- NC State at Miami (+3.5): NCST SU & ATS
- South Carolina at Texas A&M (-19.5): TAMU SU & ATS
- Cincinnati at Navy (+28): UC SU & Navy ATS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PICKS
Here are my weekly picks for the CFP (top 4 and first 2 out) every week heading into the slate of games:
Here are my weekly picks for the CFP (top 4 and first 2 out) every week heading into the slate of games:
- Georgia: Rolled along with a 17-point win against top 10 Kentucky. (Last Week: 1)
- Cincinnati: With the Iowa loss they move up. I think as others behind them play (and beat) tougher opponents they will slide, even if they remain unbeaten. (Last Week: 3)
- Oklahoma: They look like a completely different team with Caleb Williams driving the offense. Watch out for the Sooners. (Last Week: 4)
- Ohio State: A bye but with Iowa losing they move up a spot and find themselves right back in the CFP. (Last Week: 5)
- Penn State: They were 6 last week so with a bye they stay at 6. Alabama is right on their heels though and this will be sorted when they go to Columbus in a week anyway. (Last Week: 6)
- Alabama: Even with a loss they are still right in this thing. Behind Bama would be Michigan at 7, Oklahoma State at 8, Michigan State at 9, and Oregon at 10. (Last Week: NR)
Be sure to check out the Buckeye Scoop Staff Picks feature this week to learn how you can win a prize pack giveaway from Steamboat Dry Goods by predicting the score of the Ohio State game!
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