One of the great benefits of being a college football mega-program is that, even when a star talent is lost to injury, suspension or just plain old graduation, there’s very often somebody nearly as good ready to step in and fill the void. Such is the case with the Ohio State Buckeyes and their superstar defensive end, Joey Bosa. When news broke earlier this summer that Bosa and three other Buckeyes—H-backs Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson, along with wideout Corey Smith—would be suspended for the Buckeyes’ season-opening trip to Virginia Tech, speculation began almost immediately as to the impact of those suspensions. More specifically, the discussions focused specifically on whether the loss of Bosa, Marshall, Wilson and Smith would be enough to close the talent gap between the Buckeyes and Hokies—and allow Frank Beamer’s bunch to steal a huge Week 1 upset. I have made clear elsewhere that, no, I don’t think Ohio State will lose to Virginia Tech on Sept. 7. I just think, even taking the suspensions into account, the Buckeyes are light-years better than the Hokies. And that’s actually no slight against Tech; I think they’re a pretty darn good team. It’s just that the Buckeyes are an otherworldly team. It’s no accident, after all, that this Ohio State team has become the first unanimous preseason Associated Press No. 1 in the history of the game. This is a team that is led by one of the greatest coaches the game that has ever seen…
Continue Reading: Even Without Bosa, Ohio State Defense Won’t Stutter vs. VT
