Five Predictions: Florida Atlantic at Ohio State
Welcome back to my weekly game predictions!
It has been a while, but I’m glad you have returned to once again have your Saturday action spoiled just a bit.
I once again attended the annual Football Predictors Conference and Recital this spring, and the keynote speech was delivered by a guy who was correct on 86% of his predictions last season.
That’s pretty good, but of course he fell short of my 87% mark last year.
I didn’t bother to confront him considering all of my predictions from last year were lost due to a data breach and also a fire and then some fracking.
So I guess I’ll just have to hit 87% again this year.
Why not shoot for 88%, you say? Because I’m one of those people who are successful enough that resting on my laurels is still very spectacular.
This year, the season kicks off with Florida Atlantic. Not many of us have ever watched FAU play, so tomorrow will be a Bucket List item. Though if you have an FAU game on your Bucket List, you are either very boring or the most exciting person in the world and there was nothing left for you to conquer.
Ohio State brings in a new quarterback, a new offensive line, and a brand new defense.
Some predictors would go cautious, but not me. I eat midseason form for breakfast.
Feel free to add yours below. Any that you get correct become ownership of me in perpetuity.
1. Freshmen will account for three scores.
Yes, this includes redshirt freshmen, but I’m not sure it needs to. Who might the freshmen be? Well, I could see any of the three freshman running backs scoring, or redshirt freshman H-back Jaelen Gill now that he’s going to be rotating in as one of the six, or receiver Garrett Wilson who is simply fantastic — and who will also be returning some punts, or receiver Jameson Williams, who is a candidate to take a quick screen 75 yards in the third quarter, or maybe Zach Harrison with a strip sack, or perhaps redshirt freshman long-snapper Roen McCullough gets to snap in the fourth quarter on a punt and goes down to cover it and it’s muffed in the end zone and he covers it for the score. Any of these are plausible.
2. Chris Olave will catch a touchdown.
I’m not going to put a yardage on it. I was originally thinking a deep ball, but Chris Olave is going to be effective all over the field. Olave hasn’t caught a touchdown pass since December, so he’s due. KJ Hill will probably catch two, but that was too bold to make a standalone prediction.
3. Ohio State will force at least three turnovers.
We have heard quite a bit about how focused this defense has been when it comes to forcing turnovers. We’ve also heard how successful they have been. They are running to the ball and then ripping and punching. The secondary mixes their coverages, allowing their eyes to see the quarterback more. Corners are being asked to look back for the ball at yardage intervals. The defensive line will need to do their part, but don’t be surprised if the guys in the back end help out too. I’m not sure if Shaun Wade is going to force a fumble or intercept a pass, but I’m pretty sure it’s one or the other. And then there’s sophomore safety Josh Proctor, who picked off more passes in camp than anybody else. There are some options here and all I’m asking is for three turnovers.
Entire article:
https://theozone.net/2019/08/five-predictions-florida-atlantic-ohio-state/
