The calendar has flipped to July, which means undivided attention and focus can be paid to the upcoming 2024 college football season.
Conference media days are now only days away. It will be our first legitimate look at the sport’s new landscape after this offseason’s significant realignment. Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington will attend a Big Ten media day schedule that now includes 18 teams, while Texas and Oklahoma will make their first appearances as SEC competitors. It will be a harsh dose of reality that will only grow stronger when the season kicks off in late August.
Related: One Big Ten game to watch each week of the 2024 football season
While there is still some more movement to come on the class of 2025 recruiting trail, right now it is all-systems-go toward the fast-approaching season.
Our preview work here at Badgers Wire will continue throughout the month with in-depth looks at every Big Ten team and position group. It will provide a comprehensive look at what Wisconsin will face both in 2024 and beyond.
Team Previews: Indiana Hoosiers — Purdue Boilermakers — Illinois Fighting Illini — Northwestern Wildcats — Minnesota Golden Gophers — Nebraska Cornhuskers — Iowa Hawkeyes — Rutgers Scarlet Knights — Maryland Terrapins — Michigan State Spartans — USC Trojans — UCLA Bruins — Washington Huskies — Michigan Wolverines — Penn State Nittany Lions — Ohio State Buckeyes
Position Previews: Quarterbacks — Running Backs — Wide Receivers — Offensive Lines — Tight Ends — Defensive Line — Linebackers — Cornerbacks — Safeties
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Next up in our preview series are the Ohio State Buckeyes, one of the Big Ten’s perennial contenders.
Poor end-of-season results have clouded what has been a successful stretch for the program under Ryan Day. Successful as in each team has been good enough to win a national title. Not successful, obviously, in that it has lost three straight to rival Michigan and hasn’t won the Big Ten since 2020.
2024 could be the season all of that turns around for the Buckeyes:
Coaching Staff
Jan 17, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Ryan Day talks to basketball coach Chris Holtmann prior to a press conference to name Ross Bjork the university’s new athletic director at the Covelli Center. Adam Cairns-USA TODAY NETWORK
Head Coach: Ryan Day (ranked No. 2 in Big Ten)
Offensive Coordinator: Chip Kelly (ranked No. 1 in Big Ten)
Defensive Coordinator: Jim Knowles (ranked No. 1 in Big Ten)
Recent History
Dec 29, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Lincoln Kienholz (12) talks to Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day in the third quarter against Missouri Tigers during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium. Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK
On the Ohio State grading scale, which should be applied here, the Buckeyes’ last three seasons have been abject failures. The team has failed to defeat Michigan, and has not won the Big Ten or a College Football Playoff game.
That dynamic can exist: three consecutive 11-2 seasons being considered failures and causing many to call for Ryan Day’s job. But it must be accepted while also acknowledging that the team was one field goal away from a national championship in 2022. It reached the playoff at 11-1 despite losing to Michigan in the regular season, then took a great Georgia team to the wire before missing the game-winning kick. If that field goal goes through, Ohio State goes on to destroy TCU and win its first national title since 2014.
So Ohio State’s recent history has been defined by failure. But that doesn’t mean the program is far off.
Offseason Movement
Mar 5, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly works with quarterbacks Lincoln Kienholz (3) and Air Noland (12) during the first spring practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK
Transfers In: 8
Transfers Out: 26
Ohio State made three notable transfer moves this offseason: former Ole Miss All-American RB Quinshon Judkins, Kansas State QB Will Howard and former Alabama all-world safety Caleb Downs.
Downs might be the best player in the sport this season and should have no trouble acclimating to Columbus, Ohio. Howard, on the other hand, is the team’s biggest question after some unspectacular years at Kansas State. He won’t have trouble surpassing Kyle McCord’s play from last season. But Ohio State needs top-end quarterback play from Howard to return to a national title game.
The addition of Judkins was made to take further pressure off Howard. The former Wildcats QB now plays the nation’s best backfield (Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson), which should help his game immensely.
Other than those three transfers, the program did take Chip Kelly from his head coach perch at UCLA and hire him as offensive coordinator. Kelly may struggle as a head coach in the modern age, but his play-calling and offensive design prowess are undeniable. His hire was a substantial offseason move by Ryan Day and the Buckeyes.
Win Total Over/Under
Sep 17, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads his team onto the field prior to the NCAA Division I football game against the Toledo Rockets at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch
Win Total: 10.5
Pick: OVER (11-1, with wins over Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall, Michigan State, Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, Northwestern, Indiana, Michigan)
Ohio State’s schedule is a gauntlet with games against Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska, Penn State and Michigan. It plays every good team in the conference aside from Washington and Wisconsin — and itself, obviously.
But the 2024 Buckeyes look like the complete, national title contender that the fanbase so desperately desires. Its defense is among the best in the country under ace DC Jim Knowles, and the offense is guaranteed to be improved after 2023’s struggles.
Anything less than 11-1 and a trip to the Big Ten title game would be a colossal disappointment.
Season Outlook
April 13, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA;
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) of the scarlet team throws a pass to running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) during the first half of the LifeSports spring football game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK
Ohio State’s season outlook rests on the right shoulder of QB Howard. The team is elite at every defensive position, again dynamic at wide receiver, experienced and talented at offensive line and boasts the best running back duo in the sport. It will all come down to whether Howard can make the throws that McCord couldn’t against Michigan.
The Buckeyes travel to Eugene, Oregon during the regular season for what is sure to be a top-5 matchup. That feels like the preview for the future Big Ten Championship in December, then maybe for a College Football Playoff contest into January.
Ohio State’s season outlook is simple: the team is good enough to win a national title. It just has to beat Michigan and Oregon when the games matter the most.
Badgers Wire Bowl Projection
Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leaves the field following the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Ohio State lost 30-24. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK
Bowl Projection: College Football Playoff first round (No. 5 seed)
Ohio State is a College Football Playoff lock barring an absolute collapse. The team should reach 10 wins with ease, which nowadays is good for a playoff birth.
It feels like the winner of Ohio State vs. Oregon will be the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, and the loser will be down at No. 5 or No. 6.
What Wisconsin Fans Should Know
Wisconsin thankfully avoids Ohio State in 2024. But the program continues to serve as a measuring stick for what the Badgers must improve before entering the conference’s top tier.
The 2017 and 2019 Badgers were at that level, and fell just a few plays short of winning the conference. But the 2024 Badgers project to finish far from the level of those two teams. Step one is figuring out how Phil Longo’s offense can work in Madison, Wisconsin. Step two will be acquiring the talent to compete on the level of the Buckeyes.
Badgers fans should be interested in Ohio State this season because it will either contend for a national title or (likely) fire Ryan Day. That could create a window opportunity. It could also see the Buckeyes target a program great who currently occupies a job within the conference (Luke Fickell).
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Publish date : 2024-07-23 08:10:00
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