Ohio State finally has the home night game that fans have been wanting, but it might not be against the quality of opponent they might have hoped for. Ohio comes to Columbus for a 7 p.m. matchup that will be broadcast on Peacock.
Here’s how the Buckeye Sports Bulletin staff sees this game going:
Sam Cipriani: Buckeyes Continue Dominance Over In-State Rivals
Some have called the matchup between Ohio State and Ohio the “Battle For Ohio,” although it likely won’t be much of a fight at all. The Buckeyes have the edge over the Bobcats across almost every position, and coming off a tune-up matchup with Grambling State, Ohio State is expected to be firing on all cylinders.
For Ohio, look out for the duo of quarterback Parker Navarro and Chase Hendricks, who’ve connected 17 times for 236 yards and a touchdown over two games. However, it remains to be seen whether the Bobcat offensive line will be able to give Navarro enough time and contain a vicious pash rush.
The top-dogs in the MAC will surely break through the Buckeye defense a couple times, but it won’t be nearly enough to keep up with Ohio State’s dominant offense.
Ohio State 45, Ohio 10
Bobby Gorbett: Buckeyes Pull Away In Second Half
One would think Saturday’s contest between Ohio State and Ohio wouldn’t be too dissimilar from the Buckeyes’ 70-0 win over Grambling State on Sept. 6.
Upon further reflection, though, the Bobcats aren’t the average MAC school. Not only is Ohio coming off a MAC Championship win, but it also defeated West Virginia and narrowly defeated Rutgers.
So how good are the Bobcats? ESPN’s SP+ metric has them ranked in between Big Ten basement dwellers Northwestern and Purdue.
Even if the Bobcats are at the level of a pair of low-end Big T squads, the Buckeyes should have no issues. Ohio may keep it relatively close with the Buckeyes during the first half. The Bobcats’ quarterback, Parker Navarro, excels at making defenders miss in the open field and has helped his team total over 400 yards in each of its first two games. I see Ohio State’s defense giving up a couple of first-half scores, before adjusting to Navarro’s quickness and shutting down the Bobcats’ offense in the second half.
On the other end, Ohio State should be able to overmatch the Bobcats with its slew of talented skill position players. Last week, Ohio’s defense showed it could compete with Power Four offenses when it allowed the Mountaineers to score only 10 points and total 250 yards. With all due respect to West Virginia, Ohio is facing a much stiffer challenge on Saturday. The Buckeyes may be stopped a few times in the game, but the Bobcats’ defense won’t be consistent enough to make the game interesting.
Ohio State 41, Ohio 13
Greg Wilson: Buckeyes Contain Navarro To Roll Over Bobcats
Coming into this game, Navarro is the biggest worry the Buckeyes need to have against Ohio. He can run, and does so with both designed plays as well as scrambling out of the pocket when his read isn’t available.
Although Ohio State won’t publicly admit as much, this game will serve as a good warmup for Demond Williams Jr. at Washington, when the Buckeyes go to Seattle to match up against the Huskies on Sept. 27. For that reason, I think one of the main focuses of the defense in this game will be attemtping to contain Navarro as miuch as possible, which is also the best gameplan against the fifth-year senior QB.
Navarro has shown that he is no stranger to throwing the ball into trouble and tossed three interceptions in the Bobcats 17-10 win over West Virginia last weekend. Going up against Ohio State’s secondary that locked down Texas’ talented receivers in Week 1 will be extremely tough for Navarro, especially if the defensive line and linebackers can contain him.
Offensively, Julian Sayin showed that he is ready to take on even more responsibility and will have a bit of a better challenge to take on this weekend. I expect him to throw for another three touchdowns, with the running game getting at least two of its own.
I think Bo Jackson will get some time to try to prove himself again in this game even though his ball security seems to be an issue in practice, and he will find the end zone once. I’ll predict that Jeremiah Smith will get one (bold, I know), and Max Klare will get his first as a Buckeye.
Ohio State 45, Ohio 3
