Ohio State football: 5 reasons the Buckeyes will crush Oregon State
By Alec Hartman
Ohio State football kicks off another year with the Buckeyes poised to blow out Oregon State en route to hopefully a CFP berth.
Ohio State football is back in action after a long and eventful offseason.
Changes have been made to the team via the 2018 NFL Draft, new faces have entered the roster, and key positions on the coaching staff have endured change. Nevertheless, it is still Buckeye football, which never lacks in potential for great excitement.
There’s plenty to be excited about in 2018. Yes, change can be positive or negative but the diagnosis for this Buckeyes’ team includes nothing but positives as great improvement is evident. Key positions gained another year of experience and the team from last season fulfilled just about all of their goals.
Last season saw the Buckeyes achieve their goal of winning the Big Ten Championship. That was something the team had not accomplished since 2014.
The coaching staff has made some changes including the good and the bad. Here’s the good news: Recent additions Ryan Day, Kevin Wilson, and Greg Schiano have another year under their belt in the Buckeyes’ system. This experience is essential as all of these big-name coaches will continue to gel.
The bad news is the Buckeyes will be without Urban Meyer for the first three games. Co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day will step in as the interim head coach.
By far the loss that had the largest impact on the team was the loss of veteran quarterback J.T. Barrett. Like it or not, he embodies the modern greatness of Ohio State and has the track record to prove it. He will hold several school records for a very long time that will likely not be touched by any other future Buckeye quarterback.
His presence alone was enough to ensure everyone that the Buckeyes would be in position to compete at the highest level and have a successful season. Having Barrett at the helm provided a certain confidence to all his teammates that no matter how the rest of the team was playing, he would still give them an opportunity to compete.
Now, the Buckeyes will face life without Barrett as the team will look to Dwayne Haskins to lead the way at quarterback. Fortunately, he will not have to do it alone as the team has a full running back room starting with the two-headed backfield of sophomore phenom J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber.
The Oregon State Beavers most certainly do not strike any kind of fear into the Buckeyes. They won just one game last season and didn’t beat a single conference opponent. The Beavers also hired a new head coach halfway through last season so their management has had barely a year of experience.
However, they will still be showing up to play so the Buckeyes are expected to do the same and not let their guard down. Nevertheless, the Buckeyes should easily take care of business on Saturday to ensure the Beavers’ 10-game losing streak to finish last season extends to eleven.