This is the ninth in a series of 100 daily posts, a Countdown to College Football. (Sort of.)
The start of college football season* is now just 92 days away. That doesn’t mean anyone is actually going to be playing football then.
But at that point, Big Ten Football Media Days will be over, and it will be time to start thinking about football for real.
Not that anyone in Columbus ever actually stops thinking about football, of course.
To help you kill the time between now and then, we’ve got this 100-day project going. Don’t forget to check out yesterday’s edition if you missed it.
Now please join us as we continue our countdown of the 100 greatest Buckeyes of The Ozone era (1996-present).
We will also preview one of the 100 most exciting games on this fall’s college football schedule, and one of the 100 things we’re most looking forward to this fall.
Plus, we’ll preview one of this season’s 100 biggest personnel matchups.
Greatest Buckeyes Of The Ozone Era
#92 Mike Kudla, DE 2002-2005
Kudla was part of not only one of the greatest Ohio State recruiting classes of the century, but also arguably one of the best Ohio high school football classes as well.
The Buckeyes went hard in their home start that year, bringing in three 5-star prospects (LB Mike D’Andrea, QB Justin Zwick, and RB Maurice Clarett), eight 4-star players (including Kudla), and a whopping 18 players in total.
You may recognize some of the lower-ranked names on that list: LB A.J. Hawk, OL Nick Mangold, QB Troy Smith, and LB Bobby Carpenter. None of those guys even rated among the top-10 players in Ohio that year.
Kudla’s best season as a Buckeye was 2005, when he recorded 11.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. That sack total still ranks in the top 10 best seasons in Ohio State history.
He set a Fiesta Bowl record with three sacks in a win over Notre Dame at the end of the 2005 season.
Always known as a physical freak, Kudla benched 610 lbs as a Buckeye, and tied an NFL Combine record by benching 225 lbs a total of 45 times.
However, several hamstring injuries ended his pro career before it ever really got started.
Kudla got his degree from OSU in finance management and is now the CEO of a business consulting firm.
Best Games This Fall
#92 Georgia Tech at USF, September 8
Charlie Strong’s South Florida Bulls have a chance to unseat reigning national champion UCF as the non-Power 5 team unjustly left out of the College Football Playoff.
They lose QB Quinton Flowers, but have a talented roster returning, as well as a favorable schedule. In this case, that just means they miss Memphis, and the two best teams they’ll play (UCF and Georgia Tech) both come at home.
If you have to play Georgia Tech, this is the time to do it. The Bulls open with Elon, so it’s reasonable to think they’ll spend a lot of time in August watching film of the Yellow Jackets’ offense.
One potential red flag is the week after Georgia Tech, when the Bulls have to fly north to play a neutral site game against Illinois at Soldier Field. There is a documented hangover the week after teams face a flexbone triple-option offense like Paul Johnson’s.
Don’t be shocked if the Bulls win this one, and then find themselves in a dog fight against the Illini.
What We Can’t Wait To See
#92 Year 2 For Jeff Brohm
Yes, we’re looking forward to Purdue football.
No, we can’t believe it either.
Brohm’s first season in West Lafayette ended with an entertaining bowl win over Arizona. The phrase “entertaining bowl win” encapsulates three words that haven’t been associated with Purdue in a long time.
Coming off a 7-6 season, they’re now poised to take another step forward. How far forward? Don’t expect to see them in the Big Ten Championship Game just yet, but the schedule sets up pretty well for an 8-win year.
They have home games against Eastern Michigan, Missouri, and Boston College out of conference. None of those are gimmes, but all are certainly winnable.
Their home schedule in conference play includes Northwestern, Ohio State, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Don’t be shocked if they go 3-1 in those games.
After close to a decade of either laughing at or simply ignoring Purdue, it’s time to start dreading trips to West Lafayette for reasons other than “it’s West Lafayette” again.
This is the year the Spoilermakers officially come back to ruin someone’s season.
Matchup To Watch
#92 PSU RB Miles Sanders vs. OSU DT Robert Landers
Ohio State travels to Happy Valley in late September this year, meaning you’ll have a pretty good sense where OSU’s national title hopes stand long before you decide whether you want to dress as a Slutty Accountant, Morally-Casual Actuary, or just wear your lightly-stained “back end of a horse” costume for the 12th consecutive Halloween.
One of the biggest questions facing Penn State is how they’ll replace all-everything RB Saquon Barkley. The answer looks like it’ll be “Miles Sanders.”
Sanders has gotten only limited action in his first two seasons, but has made the most of it. He’s averaging 6.7 yards per carry, mostly in mop-up duty.
The showdown with OSU will be the first true test of Sanders as the Lions’ main back, following a fairly soft September schedule.
If Landers is able to help plug the middle of the line that night in State College, the Buckeyes have a shot to make Penn State one-dimensional.
And if that happens, #PickSixUniversity could make its triumphant return to the college football landscape.
WE ARE…PICK SIX!