Five for Friday: Predictions for Ohio State’s Second Half

The Buckeyes don’t play this week, so I don’t have any game predictions to make. That doesn’t mean I’m just going to sit by and let my skills diminish. As we say in the predicting industry, every day spent without a prediction is a day you could have been predicting something.

It’s not the best saying. Our members aren’t good at writing stuff that inspires anything. We’re predictors, not writers, after all.

Anyway, since there is no game to predict things about, I thought I would go ahead and look forward to the rest of the season and offer up some all-encompassing predictions for you to keep an eye on.

1. Ohio State is going to win out (through the regular season).

The Buckeyes are going to be favored in every game the rest of the regular season, so it would follow that they are also going to win those games. Michigan is always THE game, but next week’s game against Penn State has been circled for a while. Every returning player on this team knows how they felt walking off of the field in Happy Valley last season. They didn’t take the Nittany Lions seriously enough and a special teams collapse cost them a victory. The offense and the defense are intent on not letting the kicking game decide this one. The Michigan game isn’t going to be pretty or easy, but the Buckeye offense should be versatile and physical enough to find the points they need to secure the win.

2. The Buckeye offense is still going to have some rough moments.

After a big win next week against Penn State, it would be understandable for the Ohio State offense to have a down week at Iowa. Kinnick Stadium can be a difficult place to play and the Hawkeye defense is basic, but very good at what they do. We also know what Michigan State’s defense has been capable of against the Buckeyes under Urban Meyer, and we don’t even need to mention the difficulty that Michigan’s defense will pose at the end of the season. You can’t expect 600 yards of total offense against good defenses, but you should still be able to expect 34 points when you absolutely have to have them.

3. J.T. Barrett is going to win the Silver Football trophy.

Right now, Penn State running back Saquon Barkley is one of the Heisman front runners, but that candidacy should hit a snag these next three weeks. He is currently leading the Big Ten in all-purpose yards by over 50 yards per game, but if he is quieted by Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State, that will leave an opening for J.T. Barrett. And right now, Barrett doesn’t need much of an opening. Barrett leads the B1G in pass efficiency (173.8), passing yards (1,838), touchdowns (21) and fewest interceptions (1). He’s basically hitting the quarterback grand slam right now. If he keeps that up — which is a sizable if — then he should repeat as the Silver Football winner. He also might be sharing it for the second year in a row with Barkley.

4. The Buckeyes will pitch at least one shutout.

Consider this me not having much faith in Illinois’ offense. Or maybe Michigan’s. But also consider this me having faith in an Ohio State defense that is more rested than a 12-year old on summer vacation. The Buckeye defensive line is begging to play more and they have been held back so that they can be more effective when they do start to be given more snaps to work with. Chris Worley is getting healthier, but even without him, the linebackers are improving each week. The secondary has had some letdowns this season, but there has never been any panic by Greg Schiano or Kerry Coombs. There aren’t really any dynamic offenses on OSU’s schedule the rest of the regular season, so let’s go ahead and expect the Buckeyes to look extremely good defensively somewhere along the way.

5. Urban Meyer will win the Big Ten Coach of the Year Award

And now I’ve really lost you. Why not predict something more likely to happen, like J.T. Barrett will turn into an eagle and release an album of classroom desk noises that hits number one on the charts. But just hear me out. There is no small-time team having a big-time year. Purdue is 3-3. Maryland is 3-3. Michigan State is 5-1, but they are going to add a couple more losses down the road. The battle here is likely between James Franklin, Urban Meyer, and Paul Chryst, and Meyer can move ahead of Franklin next week. That then pits Chryst and Meyer. I don’t expect Wisconsin to lose in the regular season, but what is more impressive — Wisconsin going through the Big Ten West undefeated or Ohio State going through the Big Ten East undefeated? The answer is Ohio State, but even as I write it, I just can’t see Meyer getting the nod over Chryst. It’s a good thing these are just practice predictions.