We’ve just about broken down Thursday night’s Sugar Bowl game in every way imaginable, shy of comparing long snappers, analyzing vertical jump by position or taking an in-depth look at how many times each team has seen the John Hughes classic, Uncle Buck.
There’s not too much left to say, although we’ll certainly say it anyway between now and game time. Why not take a break from the analysis and make a few bold predictions? That way, win or lose, you can come back to this column and rip me for being ridiculously wrong.*
*I reserve the right to claim I was misinterpreted rather than wrong.
Ezekiel Elliott will run for 100 yards
Elliott and his abs will run for 100+ yards..
He’ll run for 109 yards, to be exact. I don’t think Elliott will enjoy the consistent success he’s had throughout the season, but I still believe he’ll rip off a long run or two of 20+ yards to help the average and build toward the century mark. The Buckeyes average about 261 rushing yards per game, and I believe they’ll be right around that with the addition of some big scrambles by Cardale Jones and a few additional yards by Jalin Marshall, Curtis Samuel and possibly others.
Ohio State will have a 100-yard receiver
This would ordinarily be Devin Smith territory, but I expect Alabama to take precautions against the Smith home run ball. I think Michael Thomas or Marshall could have a big day with a little extra attention being paid to Smith. I like Thomas to break out for six or seven catches and reach the century mark, but it could just as easily be Marshall with a variety of slants, tap passes and downfield routes. I'm not ruling out Corey Smith, though I think Thomas or Marshall is more likely.
Amari Cooper will have 89 yards receiving
Chris Ash’s troops get the job done on Cooper, for the most part. I see him getting around 89 yards but also probably scoring twice. I’ve said multiple times this year that I didn’t think Cooper would win the Heisman but I still believed him to be the best player in college football this season. He’s very difficult to cover in the way they move him around and shutting him down completely is probably unrealistic. He’ll get some yards and find the end zone, but hopefully the Buckeyes can limit his explosion plays, make him catch the ball underneath and tackle him immediately.
Jalin Marshall will complete a pass
Marshall is 0-for-2 on the season as a passer, but I have a feeling he’s not done. We’ve seen him throw before, both out of the wildcat and after taking a handoff. I think Tom Herman still has a trick or two up his sleeve and it will involve a Marshall pass out of run action. His pass back to Cardale in the B1G Championship Game was ill-advised, but a look at the film showed two wide open receivers down the middle of the field. A little coaching could turn that same play into a winner.
Blake Sims will complete a high percentage of passes
I expect Sims to have a good day throwing the ball, with a controlled passing game and a few shots to Cooper. Sims is a much-improved quarterback from early in the season and I’ll go so far as to say his completion percentage will be higher than Cardale’s. I’m not sure if he’ll have as many yards, but I think he’ll be able to complete around his average of 65%. Jones also completes around 65% of his throws this season but I expect he’ll be careful about throwing it away to avoid sacks and negative plays Thursday night, which will make his average dip.
I don’t have a final score prediction. There are so many variables—Jones’ second career start, turnovers, field position, etc. I do, however, expect a competitive game and think it will be close in the fourth quarter. From there, we’ll see if the good guys can pull it out.
