Finally, we get to a known opponent. Or rather, an opponent that has actual data points to analyze. Even if things are wildly uncertain. Bellarmine comes to town from just across the border in Kentucky, and the Knights bring a wild set of results into their third game of the season. Bellarmine deals with nothing but blowouts in 2025. The team was utterly annihilated by Duke, 26-7, to open then season.

They then wiped out Mercyhurst in a helter skelter matchup that ended up in a 21-11 final score. There’s nothing in between with this team. And that makes it fairly hard to analyze. I honestly think we’ll learn more from the CSU game against Notre Dame than we will from the Buckeyes’ matchup with Bellarmine. Potentially.

Attack

Ohio State will be facing a fairly balanced attack from Bellarmine’s offense. The Knights are led by John Alie (#23), who leads the Knights with 10 points on 7 goals, and 3 assists. Alie has started at attack and middie this season, but we’ll keep him in the attack category just for ease of reference.

Ezra Moore (#1) is second on the team in points with 7, on 4 goals and 3 assists. Ohio State will have its hands full on defense, moreso than the CSU game, as there are other factors at play which will give the attack more opportunities than I’d like to see.

Midfield

Bellarmine has a really strong scorer in Michael Blaymires (#53), who also dabbles in playing attack. Blaymires has scored 5 goals this season, and will likely provide a balancing act to the attackmen, ready to punish the Buckeyes from up top if they get sloppy again on defense. Justin Wescoat (#10) also has 5 points this year, on 2 goals and 3 assists. Wescoat is likely to be your dodger and distributor, setting things up for the attackmen and his linemate Blaymires.

I’m not going to say that either of these players is a massive threat after last week, but I think collectively the group is dangerous enough to warrant some extra attention.

Defense

Bellarmine is going to be tricky to gauge on defense, although I think Ohio State will have plenty of opportunities of their own. Giving up 26 goals to Duke, and 11 to Mercyhurst, is not exactly indicative of a stalwart unit. We’re looking at a unit that could fall apart at any moment under sustained pressure. Goals per game allowed is way off, but opponents are converting over 40% of shots taken, getting 61% of shots on goal, and have assisted on 65% of goals scored. That’s really porous.

Nolan Hudnut (#45) will start in goal, sporting a paltry .367 save percentage. You’re not really going to win a lot of games that way. The close defense will likely start Brady Long (#99), Chris Reynolds (#33), and Nicholas Sheremetta (#2).

Faceoff

Here’s where things are really going to be interesting. The Knights have been really solid at faceoff. Aidan Fearn (#37), won 52% of his faceoffs against Duke, and 84.6% of his faceoffs against Mercyhurst. Fearn is legitimately too good for Bellarmine. As a reminder, Ohio State got scorched by Utah’s faceoff unit. No need to bring up how bad that score was most of the game.

Jack Oldman, interestingly, got some praise for his outings against Detroit Mercy and Cleveland State. Fearn is going to be a really, really tough matchup for the Buckeyes. Things could go south fast if Fearn gets to 60%. If you’re looking to worry, look no further.

Overall

Interestingly, Bellarmine is extremely prone to turnovers, no matter the opponent level. The team iS averaging 22 per game, having that exact total in both games. Ohio State will get some cheap possessions out of their opponent, though the Buckeyes will have to limit their own. The Knights have also reached double digit saves in both their games, despite the poor performance overall of their goalie.

If the Buckeyes aren’t careful, they could find themselves in another poor shooting performance. Bellarmine is also pretty poor on special teams, having converted just a single time while man up. Man Down is thrown off by a stellar performance from Duke’s Man Up unit, while Mercyhurst was stonewalled.

This game is a tough one to decipher. I think it’s going to be much closer than I’d like to be. Mostly because I think Bellarmine wins the faceoff battle, and the Ohio State offense is notoriously poor in the half field. But the Buckeyes still get the W.

Final Prediction: Ohio State 12, Bellarmine 10.

Bellarmine Ohio Player Count: 6

Ohio Vibe Rating: SW Ohio is best Ohio.

Go Bucks!

Game is at 3 p.m. EST, on B1G+.