The Ohio State football program has one of the most important games in program history on Saturday night. It's the first time that they will host a playoff game in history. Beyond that, it's a massive game for Ryan Day's future and the future of the program.
If Day loses this game, the calls to fire him will grow deafening. The only way to quell those calls for his job for good is to win a national championship. The first step in that journey is to beat the Volunteers of Tennessee. Ohio State certainly has the talent to do so.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are still one of the most talented teams in the country. If they play their A-game, almost no team in the country can beat them. That includes Tennessee. Still, the Buckeyes haven't played a game where they have played their absolute best yet.
Heading into what could be Ohio State's final game of the season, we give you some bold predictions. As always, these predictions are all realistic. If Ohio State is able to do all of these things as well, they should walk out of the Shoe with a win. The first prediction has to deal with one specific Ohio State receiver.
1. Jeremiah Smith records 100 yards receiving
The biggest failure of the Ohio State football team against Michigan was getting away from the passing game. In that game, the Buckeyes only targeted Jeremiah Smith twice in the second half. He finished the game with just one catch for three yards, lightyears away from where he needed to be.
Chip Kelly came out this week and mentioned that was unacceptable play-calling on his part. He showed his regrets over just trying to run the ball up the middle instead of getting the ball in the hands of his receivers more. The Buckeyes need to throw the ball in this game.
Tennessee's defensive line is very similar to Michigan's. The strength of their defense is right up the middle. If Ohio State tries to run it up the guy 30 times as they did against TTUN, that's playing right into the Volunteers' hand. Ohio State needs a more varied attack.
That's why I believe Smith will have over 100 receiving yards in this game. Day will not let the offensive game plan become stale in what could be his final game. If he's going down, he's going down swinging. I fully expect the offensive play-calling to be much looser this game.
That means the Buckeyes are going to be passing it a lot more in this game than the last time they were at the Shoe. The second bold prediction we have has to deal with what the defense will offer.