And so there’s Ohio State.
Isn’t that the way it always is in the Big Ten? Doesn’t it seem like it always will be?
Just when you think the Buckeyes are vulnerable, they do something electrifying, such as rolling up 59 points and more than 600 yards vs. a Purdue squad with two Top 5 wins under its belt.
Michigan State, which unexpectedly has a very good team, visits Columbus Saturday. Michigan, equally as strong, hosts Ohio State the following week. In another Power 5 conference not the SEC, there would be a real possibility either the Spartans or Wolverines would land a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Instead, it’s highly unlikely.
Ohio State is an impenetrable wall.
Every so often a Big Ten squad will show signs of climbing over OSU. Iowa and Purdue inexplicably shocked the Buckeyes in recent seasons. The Spartans beat OSU in the 2013 Big Ten title game, and again in 2015. Yet, a more likely scenario is similar to MSU’s 10-3 team in 2017 being drilled 48-3 by the Buckeyes at The Horseshoe.
Michigan has not only lost 15 of its last 16 games to OSU, but hasn’t beaten a winning version of the Buckeyes since 2003.
Ohio State has captured the last four Big Ten championships. Since being upset by Oregon early this season, OSU has started to build toward another season-ending crescendo.
Kenneth Walker III is brilliant, the best running back ever at MSU. If he wins the Heisman Trophy, it’d be difficult to argue it’s not deserved. Aiden Hutchinson and David Ojabo are extraordinary bookends as edge rushers for UM.
But Ohio State has five 5-star wide receivers on its roster, and the lone 3-star scholarship player at the position, Chris Olave, will be a likely first-round NFL Draft pick. Redshirt freshman quarterback C.J Stroud has emerged as by far the Big Ten’s best QB. He has 30 touchdown passes. It’s entirely possible you will stop hearing so much about Alabama’s Bryce Young as a leading Heisman candidate, and more about Stroud.
Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba have each recently had huge receiving games. Wilson will be an NFL first-rounder this spring, and Smith-Njigba in 2023.
Oh, and Ohio State’s lead backs, freshman TreVeyon Henderson and Myan Williams, are averaging more than seven yards per carry.
Ohio State’s defense sometimes gets leaky, but it’s difficult to imagine MSU or Michigan staying with the Buckeyes in a fastbreaking game. And OSU’s offense is so overwhelming it will control the pace.
I think Michigan has a better chance than MSU to down Ohio State. Hutchinson and Ojabo are such wrecking balls, they could disrupt everything. Also, Michigan will be at home.
But for both teams beating OSU represents a monumental task.
This season, or in the foreseeable future.