Ohio State Football vs. Utah: Three bold predictions
By Ryan Stano
C.J. Stroud was a Heisman finalist. He was a very good quarterback for most of the year. He really only had one bad game, and that was the loss against Oregon. Other than that, Stroud was really good and is expected to be once again on Saturday against Utah.
Stroud averages 351 yards a game passing, so him getting to 400 isn’t that much of a stretch. Of course, that will be harder to do without his two top receivers. Julian Fleming and Emeka Egbuka will have to step up now. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been excellent all year too.
I believe that both Fleming and Egbuka will have at least 70 yards receiving. They need to if the Buckeyes want to win this game. Smith-Njigba will keep giving them numbers out of the slot, or wherever they have him lining up in this game. He could move all over the place.
Utah isn’t elite at stopping the pass, but they aren’t bad either. They are the third-best defense in the Pac-12 at stopping the pass, allowing only 195 yards a game in the air. Despite that, Ohio State is confident they can move the ball through the air against the Utes.
It would take something miraculous for Utah to keep Stroud to only 195 yards passing. I don’t see that happening no matter who the receivers are for this game. Stroud is too good to let that happen to him.
The final bold prediction would be great for the Buckeyes if it happened.