Ohio State football: 5 reasons the Buckeyes will beat Oklahoma

4. The departures on the Sooners’ offense will prove to be too much to overcome.

Like the Buckeyes, the Sooners will enter this game with many first year starters as the annual departure of star players for the draft has left cabinets empty. However, the Sooners will be feeling the pain a bit more this time around.

The Sooners will be without both of their interchanging starters at running back with Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine in the NFL. Mayfield will also be with his star receiver Dede Westbrook.

Perine and Mixon each rushed for over 1,000 yards. Westbrook had the sixth most receiving yards in the country to go along with 17 receiving touchdowns which was tied for second.

This is music to the Buckeyes’ ears as the defense will surely plan on pinning their ears back and sending pressure at Mayfield. If the Bucks can get Mayfield out of the pocket early, he’ll be liable to making mistakes. He will have nobody to throw it up to when he’s under pressure with Westbrook, Mixon, and Perine gone.

With all of those impact players gone, there is little to no experience left on the Sooners’ offense. They certainly had no problem putting up points last week though but that was against a lowly UTEP team.

Expect the Sooners to run into some major problems on Saturday night without their reliable targets. Mayfield will take way too much time in the pocket with nowhere to go with the ball.