Three bold predictions for Ohio State football in 2022
By Ryan Stano
The 2022 season is almost here for the Ohio State football team. Just two weeks from today, the Buckeyes will be kicking off their season against #5 Notre Dame in what will be the premier non-conference matchup of the season. All eyes will be on the Shoe at 7:30 pm on September 3rd.
This is the type of year that all Buckeye fans wait for. Ohio State has the talent on their team to go pretty far this year. They also have players who are looking to have a big year before leaving for the NFL next season and are hoping to increase their draft stock.
With the season being so close, it’s time for our annual bold predictions article. Remember, these aren’t just easy things that the Buckeyes will easily accomplish. These are bold things that are hard, but still doable for a team of this caliber. They aren’t unrealistic.
We start with a prediction about one particular player for the Buckeyes.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba breaks the Ohio State football program’s career receiving record.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a monster year for the Ohio State football team in 2021. He led the team in receiving yards despite sharing the room with two first-round picks. He was simply unstoppable, catching 95 passes for a whopping 1,606 yards and 9 touchdowns.
That was good enough for the most prolific season anyone has had in program history. Now, he just needs 1,293 yards to break Michael Jenkins’ career receiving record, and he’d basically be doing it in just two years since he hardly played his freshman season.
This is about as easy as my bold predictions will get. As long as he has a half-decent season and doesn’t get hurt, that record is as good as his. There’s really no reason he shouldn’t get it, especially with how good his quarterback is at getting him the ball.
The second bold prediction on this list might upset some Buckeye fans.