Ohio State football vs. Arkansas State: Official preview

The Ohio State football team is coming fresh off a win over Notre Dame. It was a great start to the 2022 season for the Buckeyes and is a great win for their resume. Now they need to follow that up with a big blowout of Arkansas State to really send a message to the rest of the country.

They make have to do that without Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He was pulled out of the game last week after suffering what looked like a hamstring injury. While Ryan Day didn’t tell us exactly what it was today, he made it clear that he won’t put JSN in unless he’s 100%.

Even if JSN doesn’t play the Buckeyes should have no trouble with this one. They have superior talent at every position on the roster compared to the Red Wolves. I’d be surprised if this game wasn’t already a blowout at halftime and some starters get pulled in the second half.

One player Ohio State football fans might recognize at Arkansas State is their quarterback James Blackmon. He was the former starter at Florida State. This is actually his sixth year of playing college football so he obviously has a ton of experience.

The problem for him is that the talent around him isn’t good enough for him to compete in this game. Ohio State’s defense will be even stingier than they were against the Irish. I think they will force some turnovers in this one, which is something they weren’t able to do against Notre Dame.

Ohio State should have no issues moving the ball on offense or stopping the ball on defense. This is one of those blowouts that will be critical because it allows the younger guys to get some playing time. They need some development as well.

Noon on Saturday shouldn’t be anything to stress about this week.