Ohio State shouldn’t be in danger of losing to Nebraska, but there are plenty of questions surrounding the Buckeyes as their second half of the regular season begins.
Three areas in particular will be under the microscope as Ohio State returns from its bye week against Nebraska on Saturday: New starting left tackle Zen Michalski, the Buckeyes’ safety depth and their pass rush.
Michalski is the player we’ll be watching most closely on Saturday as he makes his first career start in place of Josh Simmons, who is out for the rest of the season due to the knee injury he suffered against Oregon. With a massive test looming next week against Penn State and Abdul Carter, can Michalski prove he’s up to the task of protecting Will Howard’s blind side? If not, how quickly will Ohio State turn to a plan B – and will that plan B be moving Donovan Jackson or Tegra Tshabola outside?
Offensive tackle and safety were the positions where we most concerned about Ohio State’s depth entering the season, and it appears both will be tested this week after Lathan Ransom was injured last week in practice. While Ryan Day offered no clarity on Ransom’s status Tuesday, his non-answer is enough to suggest Ohio State will likely be without him for at least one week. If so, it remains uncertain whether Ohio State will replace him in the lineup with Malik Hartford, Jaylen McClain, Jordan Hancock or Lorenzo Styles Jr. – or some combination of both.
The pass rush, meanwhile, has been a major talking point for the past 10 days after Ohio State failed to notch a single sack against Oregon. After Day agreed with Nick Saban’s assessment that Ohio State’s pass rush scheme isn’t working, will we see more creativity from the Buckeyes’ pass rush against Nebraska, or will Ohio State save that for next week’s trip to Happy Valley? Either way, the Buckeyes need to prove that they can put more pressure on the quarterback this week as they go against another passer who’s capable of testing their defense in former Ohio State commit Dylan Raiola.
We discuss all of that and more, including our predictions for Ohio State vs. Nebraska and what we saw this past weekend from the likes of Indiana, Michigan, Georgia and Texas, on a new episode of Real Pod Wednesdays.
The rundown for this week’s episode:
- 0:00 Andy Celebrates His Turkey Bowl Win
- 4:43 Time to Turn the Page from Oregon Loss As Second Half of Ohio State’s Regular Season Begins
- 6:56 Dylan Raiola Has Been Inconsistent As A Freshman, But He’s Giving Nebraska Hope
- 10:32 Solid Left Tackle Play Without Josh Simmons is the Biggest Thing We Need to See This Week
- 22:35 Ohio State Will Likely Need to Test Depth at Safety This Week With Lathan Ransom Injured
- 31:07 Ohio State Must Get Pass Rush Going vs. Nebraska Even If It Saves Some Tricks for Penn State
- 39:49 OSU Can Help Denzel Burke, Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau with Schematic Adjustments
- 44:41 Score Predictions for An Expected Ohio State Cover vs. Nebraska
- 47:48 Indiana Looks Like A Real Threat While Michigan Might Need to Win This Week for Bowl Eligibility
- 57:13 Texas’ Loss to Georgia Further Evidence That Everyone is Beatable in College Football This Year
