There’s three teams that are realistically deserving of the title (or death sentence) of being the preseason Big Ten favorites: The defending Big Ten Champion Michigan State Spartans, the uber-talented Ohio State Buckeyes, and the upperclassmen-loaded Michigan Wolverines. But there can only be one, and that one is the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes lost only one game last season, but that’s all it took for them to be kept out of the playoff picture. The stunning 17-14 loss came at home against Michigan State against last year’s backup and this year’s probable starter for MSU, Tyler O’Connor. The Buckeyes only played two games after that, but boy did they make them count. They went to the Big House and embarrassed the Wolverines 42-13, and then saved some of that can of you-know-what for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Fiesta Bowl by beating them 44-28. The big question with Ohio State is who is going to play alongside quarterback J.T. Barrett? The Buckeyes sent twelve players to the NFL through the draft, including five in the first round alone. That’s a lot of talent to replace, but the Buckeyes replace and reload talent better than anybody in the country and I don’t expect this year to be any different. The Buckeyes schedule offers them four potential losses before the Big Ten Championship Game. September 17th at Oklahoma at night might be the toughest match up, but since it’s out of conference, it’s the one the Buckeyes can most afford to lose. October 15th at Camp Randall…
Continue Reading: 2016 Conference Preview: Big Ten
