Ohio State certainly had its fair share of marquee matchups in 2017. Those contests included a number of the nation's top players such as Baker Mayfield, Saquon Barkley, Maurice Hurst, and Sam Darnold.
The Buckeyes' performances in these games – and against a few of these individual foes – were quite different to say the least.
Mayfield's Heisman campaign really took off with his performance in Columbus. The Buckeyes had no answer for the future No. 1 NFL Draft pick as he completed 27 of 35 passes for 386 yards and a trio of scores. This was without question one of Mayfield's signature games of the 2017 season and a big part of his eventual Heisman Trophy hoist in New York.
The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions squared off on Oct. 28 in what would go down as one of the more memorable games of the season. Saquon Barkley started things off with a bang thanks to a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown. He also found the end zone on a 36-yard touchdown scamper. Outside of the two scores, Ohio State did a fine job of holding Barkley in check. He recorded just 44 yards on 21 carries while adding another 23 through the air.
The Jets selected Sam Darnold No. 3 overall back in April, but it certainly wasn't due to his performance in the Cotton Bowl. Darnold did made a few of those "wow" throws against the Buckeyes, but overall he struggled against one of the country's more stout defenses. Darnold completed 26 of 45 passes for 356 yards with zero touchdowns, one interception, and two lost fumbles.
Ohio State's 2018 season kicks off on Sept. 1st against Oregon State, and the Buckeyes are going to have to deal with several more potential game-changers. How the staff and players handle them may very well define the upcoming season.
Ben Banogu • Defensive End • Junior (RS) • TCU
Gary Patterson is one of the better coaches in college football, and Ohio State's first real challenge will come in week three when the team travels to Jerry World. The Horned Frogs will be replacing several key contributors from a season ago, but they got some great news when defensive end Ben Banogu elected to return.
Back in December – when many though he'd be off to the NFL – Todd McShay actually had the edge defender slated as a first-round draft pick. Banogu transferred to TCU from Louisiana-Monroe and earned first-team All Big 12 honors in his first season in Fort Worth. He recorded 8.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss.
The departure of Jamarco Jones means the Buckeyes will be relying heavily on Isaiah Prince and Thayer Munford to protect Dwayne Haskins. They could have their hands full with a player of Banogu's caliber.
Trace McSorley • Quarterback • Senior (RS) • Penn State
Following last season's instant classic, the Buckeyes will travel to Happy Valley on Sept. 29th to square off against the Nittany Lions. With Saquon Barkely now suiting up for the New York Giants, it will be a bit of a new-look offense for James Franklin and Co.
Miles Sanders is in line to take over for Barkley, but Trace McSorley should be the leader of the offense. He's an undersized quarterback, but his ability to dance around in the pocket makes him a bit tricky for some defenses to handle. Penn State also has to replace DaeSean Hamilton and Mike Gesicki, so McSorley will need to find new top targets on offense.
Brian Lewerke • Quarterback • Junior (RS) • Michigan State
Things did not go well for Brian Lewerke and the Spartans when they traveled to Columbus last November. Following the destruction in Iowa City, the Buckeyes bounced back with one of the finest performances of the season over Mark Dantonio and a hapless Michigan State squad.
In the two previous games against Northwestern and Penn State, the Spartans' signal-caller had thrown for a total of 845 yards and six touchdowns. Against the Buckeyes, Lewerke completed 18 of 36 passes for 131 yards with no touchdowns and two picks. He went on to amass close to 500 rushing yards on the season but managed just two yards on 10 carries against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes head to East Lansing on Nov. 10 and will once again deal with the Spartans' dual threat quarterback.
Rashan Gary/Chase Winovich • Defensive Ends • Junior/Senior (RS) • Michigan
Michigan fans are of the belief that the best defensive end in the nation resides in Ann Arbor. Everyone else in America has a different opinion, but it is difficult to ignore the talented defense that the Wolverines should have in 2018.
Most of the offseason chatter has revolved around the Shea Patterson transfer, but at this point there's no real reason to get too worked up about the Michigan offense. Defensively, Don Brown is one of the best in the business and the return of both Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich should cause problems for the Big Ten.
Winovich led the conference with 8.5 sacks and a whopping 19 tackles for loss a season ago. Gary chipped in with 5.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss of his own. Gary got to J.T. Barrett twice last season while Winovich recorded nine tackles and a sack.
Should the Buckeyes make it to Indy once again, then there's a pretty good chance they'll square off with either Wisconsin or Iowa with Northwestern perhaps being more of a dark horse.
The Badgers return their entire offensive line to pave the way for Jonathan Taylor. As a freshman, he led the Big Ten in rushing yards with 1,977 to go along with 13 scores. Taylor rushed for 500 more yards than J.K. Dobbins and 700 more than Barkley. Linebacker T.J. Edwards earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2017 and should be one of the conference's top players again this year.
Iowa has the difficult task of replacing two All-Americans in cornerback Josh Jackson and linebacker Josey Jewell. Unfortunately tight end Noah Fant is back, and the Buckeyes would need to develop some type of game plan – one very different from last year's – if they were to face the Hawkeyes for the conference crown.
