After winning the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship, Urban Meyer has Ohio State primed to enter 2015 as the nation’s top-ranked team. The Buckeyes return a load of talent, highlighted by superstar juniors Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott, in addition to a trio of championship-caliber quarterbacks. But is Ohio State strong enough to navigate its schedule unscathed and post the second undefeated regular season under Meyer? That will be a stiff challenge, because achieving perfection is very hard. Just ask Alabama—the closest thing to a dynasty in recent years—which has only finished unbeaten one time since Nick Saban took over in 2007. The Buckeyes will have to work through a tough slate this fall, which is backloaded with three significant road blocks in November. Here’s an early week-by-week forecast for Ohio State’s 2015 season. Ohio State will avenge its only loss of the 2014 season on opening week of its 2015 campaign. Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes will kick of their schedule by hitting the road for a rare Monday night game in Blacksburg, Virginia, against Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech. It’s the return game in a series that bit the Buckeyes last year, who fell to the eventual six-loss Hokies 35-21 in Ohio Stadium. This time around, though, Cardale Jones will be under center, and he’ll eclipse 300 yards passing as Ohio State uses a quick 17-0 spurt in the first half to put the Hokies in a big hole. The fast start will force the already turnover-prone Virginia Tech team into more mistakes, and Ezekiel Elliott will close things out in the second half as the Buckeyes cruise. Ohio State 38, Virginia Tech 17 It wasn’t too long ago when Hawaii was competing for BCS bowl bids. An undefeated regular season in 2007 set the Rainbow Warriors against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl—a game they lost 41-10—and they haven’t been the same ever since. Hawaii has only produced one winning campaign since that exciting ’07 run, and it reached new depths the last two seasons, losing 21 of its 25 games since the start of 2013. The Buckeyes will only have five days to prepare when the Rainbow Warriors visit the ‘Shoe on September 12, but that’ll be plenty of time as they dominate in their home opener. Joey Bosa will notch three sacks of Hawaii quarterback Ikaika Woolsey, helping limit Hawaii to 225 total yards of offense. All three Ohio State quarterbacks will throw for a touchdown, and Ezekiel Elliott will run for two scores on the ground in an easy 50-point victory. Ohio State 63, Hawaii 13 It’s a MAC school, sure, but Northern Illinois will come to the ‘Shoe ready for a fight on September 19. The Huskies are coming off a surprising 11-win season, and they return a solid core for another strong run in 2015. Quarterback Drew Hare is no Jordan Lynch, who led Northern Illinois to a 12-0 start in 2013, but he’s a smart signal-caller who came into his own as the ’14 season wore on. Hare will get the Huskies on the board first, orchestrating a nice 10-play scoring drive to open the game. The Buckeyes will find their bearings by the end of the first quarter, and Cardale Jones will toss three first half touchdowns to build a comfortable lead. Ohio State 52, Northern Illinois 20 Ohio State’s second MAC opponent won’t have as much success in the ‘Shoe. The Broncos won’t have the horses to keep pace with the Buckeyes, who will be gearing up for league play with this tune-up nonconference finale. Western Michigan boasts an efficient offense that thrives in the MAC, but the Broncos will struggle to get anything going against the Buckeyes, who will be finding their groove defensively. The Buckeyes will force four turnovers, one of which will be an interception that Eli Apple returns for a touchdown. …
Continue Reading: Ohio State Football: Predicting the Buckeyes’ 2015 Win-Loss Record
