Ohio State football: Jaxon Smith-Njigba says what everyone is thinking

Everyone is expecting big things from this Ohio State football team. It’s not just fans around Columbus either. The national media is also expecting this Buckeye team to compete for a national championship. Some people are even picking the Buckeyes to win it all.

As far as expectations go, that’s nothing new for the Ohio State football program. Both the coaches and the players know it. Jaxon Smith-Njigba certainly knows it too. Speaking to the media yesterday, he said what everyone around the program is thinking.

When asked about winning a national championship, this is what he had to say.

"“Anything less than that is unacceptable.”"

The players even have that mentality. That shows you that the team openly talks about this being a goal, which they should. When you have a team that is as good as this one, it’s a realistic goal. Everyone in that room knows what they signed up for when they decided to go to Ohio State.

Expectations and reality are two different things though. Whether or not the Buckeyes can harness all of this talent and make it all the way to the end is still a question mark. We should get some answers to our questions after the Notre Dame game in a few days.

I do agree with JSN though. Anything less than a national championship this season is a failure. After this year, the Buckeyes have to spend a year with far less offensive talent, which will make it hard for them to win a title. This is the year that they have all of the pieces in place.

I’m glad that the players are taking this expectation head-on and are acknowledging it. That should help their mentality and help them be able to push through adversity better than they did a year ago.

Just a few more days until the 2022 season kicks off. I can’t wait!