This is the 93rd in a series of 100 daily posts, a Countdown to College Football. (Sort of.)
We are exactly one week from Ohio State’s trip to Big Ten Media Days. This is not a drill.
Exactly seven days from now, Urban Meyer, Isaiah Prince, Parris Campbell, and Dre’Mont Jones will be in Chicago to preview the 2018 season, and we will be there as well.
Eight days from now, Media Days will be over and the unofficial start of the season will be here.
Friends, we’re almost to football season.
Today, we’ll look at a one-man wrecking crew who helped lead the Buckeyes to a national title, a potential playoff elimination game, a very special coach who’s taking the fall off, and a big concern for the first three quarters of The Game.
If you would like to check out yesterday’s edition, you can find 9 Days To Ohio State Football 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
#8 Chris Gamble, 2001-2003
This countdown has been full of players who were outstanding Buckeyes on offense, on defense, and on special teams. Chris Gamble was all three.
He opened the 2002 season as Ohio State’s starting flanker, but when injuries and a shaky depth chart left a hole at cornerback, he took over a starting job on defense as well.
Gamble wasn’t just an okay corner – he immediately became one of the best in the nation, earning first-team all-conference honors and being named a second-team all-American.
He turned in some absolutely massive plays on both sides of the ball. On defense, his pick-six against Penn State was the difference in a 13-7 win.
On offense, he had a 57-yard reception in the national title game against Miami that set up a crucial field goal that gave OSU at 17-7 lead.
Oh, and he returned punts and kickoffs that year as well.
Gamble was on the field for more than 100 plays in each of the Buckeyes’ last four games, including a mind-boggling 128 against Illinois. Many starting players don’t even reach half of that number.
He might be best-known for a catch he didn’t make. Gamble was the intended receiver on the pass that drew a belated but correct pass interference flag in double-overtime against Miami.
However, that play almost certainly never would have happened if officials had called either A) the obvious defensive hold against Gamble on a crucial late 3rd down or B) the fact that he caught Craig Krenzel‘s pass on that play inbounds.
Had either call been made, the Buckeyes could have almost run out the clock in regulation for a 17-14 win.
If you don’t recall the play, the extremely impartial video below will refresh your memory.
Best Games This Fall
#8 Penn State at Michigan, November 3
The Big Ten East this year lives up to everything that people always said about the SEC West. The top four teams in the division are all legitimate national title contenders.
The bottom three teams are all far enough along in their rebuilds that they may be dangerous enough to pick off one of the top four.
It’s going to be very difficult for anyone to get through conference play with a perfect record, but it’s also going to be tough to lose two Big Ten games and still make the College Football Playoff.
That’s why all of the round-robin games between Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, and Michigan rank among our top 15.
This one will be Penn State’s toughest road test of the season. They get Ohio State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin in Beaver Stadium, but have to travel to Ann Arbor.
The showdown with the Wolverines comes one week after the Nittany Lions host Iowa, and the week before the Wisconsin game. It’s very unlikely that they’ll win all three of those.
If they’ve already lost to either OSU or MSU, that second loss could be a season-killer.
As for Michigan, this is their last major test before they travel to Columbus. However, their national title hopes could already be dead before the Nittany Lions even get to town.
UM opens at Notre Dame, has a tricky road date at Northwestern in late September, then hosts Wisconsin and travels to MSU in consecutive weeks in mid-October.
They will, however, have a bye week to rest up before the PSU game.
What We Can’t Wait To See
#8 The Bret Bielema Rumor Mill
College football’s favorite large adult son is taking the year off to reflect and maybe do some backpacking across Europe, but you can’t keep a good Bert down for long.
Bielema’s name has already been tied two both Power-5 jobs in the state of Kansas, and neither of those positions are even vacant yet.
Kansas just hired former Arkansas AD Jeff Long to run its athletic department, and while their marriage didn’t exactly end in “Happy Ever After” in Fayetteville, Bielema wouldn’t be a bad choice for the Jayhawks.
Ol’ Bert served as a co-defensive coordinator under Bill Snyder at K-State in 2002 and 2003. He could be a fit in Manhattan if Snyder retires and isn’t able to strong-arm the school into hiring his son, who is a current assistant.
You’re going to hear his name associated with almost any major conference job east of the Rockies that opens up this offseason (Iowa State? Kentucky? Purdue?), and he’ll probably land one of them. It’s just a matter of fate and #karma where he’ll end up.
Matchup To Watch
#8 Chase Winovich, MICH DE vs. Isaiah Prince, OSU OT
Ohio State’s offensive line is the biggest question looming for the Buckeye offense this fall, and tackle is probably the spot with the biggest concerns.
Prince, however, should be the steadier of the two tackles. He’s now in his third year as a starter, and came out of spring ball penciled in again at right tackle.
If he’s healthy and on the right side of the line, there should be very little concern about him this fall.
One of the biggest tests he’ll face all season will come when he has to deal with either Rashan Gary or Chase Winovich there during The Game.
Both players are very strong pass-rushers for the Wolverines, and as we learned during the Amazon Prime series All or Nothing, Winovich is also a prolific trash talker.
The good news for Prince is that there is a steep drop-off for Michigan behind those two stars. So while OSU can rotate in players like Jashon Cornell and Jonathon Cooper to keep Nick Bosa and Chase Young fresh, Gary and Winovich will have to play most of the snaps.
That means that if Prince can weather the storm for the first three quarters, dominating the line of scrimmage could get a little easier during the most important moments of the game.