Today is the first day of May, which means that we are now 85 days away from football.*
The further we get away from spring football, the closer we get to college football magazines on the shelves. In fact, you might start seeing some towards the end of the month. That’s when things tend to get serious.
We’re not there yet, but that doesn’t mean we can still be kind of serious now. In fact, you should just treat this daily exercise as your college football magazine stand. You can read us while your waiting for your prescriptions to be filled.
Before we get started, however, don’t forget to check out yesterday’s installment if you haven’t yet.
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
#85 Joshua Perry, 2012-2015
Joshua Perry was a 3-year starter for the Buckeyes from 2013-2015, and also played in 10 games as a true freshman during Ohio State’s undefeated 2012 season. He was the first commitment in the Buckeyes’ 2012 class, committing to Jim Tressel in June of 2010. He stuck it out through Tressel’s firing and Urban Meyer’s hiring, and it paid off for everyone involved.
Perry led the 2014 national champions in tackles with 124, and his 73 solo tackles that season have only been topped by Ryan Shazier over the previous 15 years. He was named Second-Team All-Big Ten following the season. As a senior, he finished second on the team behind Raekwon McMillan (119) with 105 tackles. He was named First-Team All-Big Ten for his efforts.
Perry finished with 298 career tackles, which ranks 17th in Ohio State school history. He has more solo tackles in his career (167) than Randy Gradishar or James Laurinaitis (159).
Best Games This Fall
#85 UCF at USF
UCF and USF were two of the three Florida teams to actually finish the season ranked in the Top 25 last year, joining Miami.
The Knights defeated the Bulls 49-42 last season on their way to the national title. The win also gave UCF the AAC East Division title, as they finished 8-0 and the Bulls dropped to 6-2.
This year, however, UCF head coach Scott Frost is gone, and now the Knights have to come to South Florida the Friday after Thanksgiving. Can the Bulls get their revenge? Could they possibly win a national title instead of Alabama like Central Florida did last year? Maybe!
What We Can’t Wait To See
#85 Joe Moorhead at Mississippi State
For some reason, former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead was seen as the next big thing in offensive football, and so Mississippi State went and hired him when Dan Mullen left for the Florida job.
I’m interested to see what he can do at Mississippi State with Bulldog quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald broke his ankle in last year’s Egg Bowl, but is expected to be fine this summer. He participated in spring ball, but was held out of anything physical.
Can Moorhead get something out of a passing game that featured exactly zero players with over 280 yards receiving last year?
Moorhead was able to get a lot out of his receivers at Penn State, but how much of that was him and how much was it the players? The talent in Happy Valley was certainly better than it is in Starkville. Can Moorhead’s offense even the playing field? Having Nick Fitzgerald will help, but others are going to have to help Fitzgerald.
Matchup To Watch
#85 Oregon State LT Blake Brandel vs Chase Young
Oregon State had a 3-way battle going on at quarterback this spring, which isn’t ideal, but they do return four starting offensive linemen to try to protect the eventual winner.
Left tackle Blake Brandel is a junior who has started all 24 games the Beavers have played the last two seasons. Oregon State has brought in a new offensive line coach to attempt to improve on an offensive line that gave up the second-fewest sacks in the Pac 12 last year (18).
Looking to increase that number this year is Ohio State sophomore defensive end Chase Young. The Buckeyes host Oregon State to start the 2018 season, and this is going to be Young’s introduction to the rest of the nation.
Even though the Beavers don’t yet know who their quarterback is going to be, they do know that Chase Young and the rest of the Ohio State defensive line will be coming for him.
