25 Days To Ohio State Football*

This is the 76th in a series of 100 daily posts, a Countdown to College Football. (Sort of.)

Good Saturday morning to you and yours. I hope you use today wisely because you don’t have many free ones left. Pretty soon your Saturdays will be bogged down with the warm, loving embrace of 15-odd hours of college football shenanigans. It’s gonna be great.

Today, we are now just 25 days away from the end of the Big Ten Media Days, which is the unofficial start of the college football season that we are all patiently awaiting.

In today’s countdown, we look at a guy who maybe wasn’t as appreciated as he should have been until he was gone, an in-state ACC rivalry that has faded into oblivion, a two-back system that everyone wants to see, and an underrated matchup in the slot.

If you missed yesterday’s edition, you can find it right here.

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

#25 Michael Thomas

Michael Thomas originally signed in 2011 as part of Jim Tressel’s final Ohio State recruiting class. He then went to Fork Union Military Academy for a year of prep school — where he was joined by Cardale Jones. He and Jones were then also a part of Urban Meyer’s first recruiting class in 2012.

Thomas played in 11 games as a true freshman, starting twice. Despite the playing time, Thomas caught just three passes for 22 yards. The following year, the decision was made to redshirt him.

As part of a six-receiver rotation in 2014, however, Thomas started 14 of the Buckeyes’ 15 games that season. He led the team with 54 receptions and was second with 799 yards and nine touchdown catches. In the Sugar Bowl against Alabama that season, Thomas caught seven passes for 66 yards. It was the 13-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter from fellow receiver Evan Spencer, however, that may have been the biggest touchdown of the season.

In 2015, he again led the Buckeyes in receiving, catching 56 passes for 781 yards and nine touchdowns. After the 2015 season he entered the NFL Draft a year early and was selected in the second round by the New Orleans Saints.

As a rookie in 2016, Thomas caught 92 passes for 1,137 yards and nine touchdowns. This past season he again led the Saints with a team-record 104 receptions. Those catches went for 1,245 yards and five touchdowns. He was named to his first Pro Bowl after the season.

He now owns the NFL record for most catches in his first two seasons (196), breaking the old record for 194 by Jarvis Landry in 2014 and 2015.

Thomas is 13th in school history with 113 catches. He also happens to wear the No. 13 for the Saints. He is 18th in school history with 1,602 receiving yards and tied for eighth (Devin Smith) with 18 touchdown receptions.

Best Games This Fall

#25 Florida State at Miami

This used to be one of the games that you made sure you were in front of the television for. Then we had the end of the Bobby Bowden era for Florida State and the Larry Coker-Randy Shannon-Al Golden trifecta for the Hurricanes.

Even with Jimbo Fisher now off to Texas A&M, this rivalry is on the upswing. Even though the games don’t always mean much nationally, they have been entertaining. Over the last 16 meetings, 14 have been decided by a touchdown or less.

The last time this game pitted top 10 teams, however, was 2013 and Miami was unranked just three weeks later.

This season may see the most important game between the two in years. Both teams consider themselves ACC contenders.

Miami plays on a Thursday night the week before, so they’ll have some extra prep time for this one. Florida State will be coming in off of a game at Louisville.

A Canes win last year snapped a streak of seven wins in a row for FSU.

What We Can’t Wait To See

#25 The Unicorn Formation

We have talked about it in the past, but aren’t we all looking forward to seeing Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins in the backfield together?

Kyle Morgan dubbed it The Unicorn Formation for its mythical nature and rarely seen presence, but there is also some magic to it.

I’m not going to tell you it’s going to be unstoppable or indestructible, all I’m telling you is that it should be pretty fun to watch. I’m also telling you that it’s coming. It’s not just talk.

Well, it is just talk until it actually happens, but there are definitely plans for it to happen.

When Urban Meyer told Mike Weber want he wanted to hear about “touches and stuff like that,” the “stuff like that” may be simply being on the field more along with Dobbins. If they are both options on any given play, that’s much more participation than simply watching from the sideline.

I’m just looking forward to seeing what Ryan Day and Kevin Wilson do to come up with ways to get them the ball when they’re out there together.

Matchup To Watch

#25 David Dowell, MSU Field Safety vs. K.J. Hill

This may be an underrated matchup in a very big game this season.

David Dowell was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection last season and he plays field safety for Michigan State. That’s the same role as Damon Webb or Vonn Bell in Ohio State’s defense. As Kerry Coombs has described it for years, it is essentially a slot corner position.

As such, Dowell and K.J. Hill will have several opportunities to match up against each other when these two teams meet on November 10.

Hill led Ohio State with 56 receptions last season, but had just two catches for 19 yards against the Spartans.

He will be expecting more than that number this time around, and since the game is in East Lansing this year, the Buckeyes will probably need it.

David Dowell locked down the slot last year pic.twitter.com/N5fZpKbP2D

— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 30, 2018