Urban Meyer may have left Ohio State, but the Buckeyes are still the outright favorites to win the 2019 Big Ten football title under rookie head coach Ryan Day. Photo by Adam Glanzman (Wiki Commons) [<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">CC License</a>].
Ohio State has won the last two Big Ten Conference Championships
Urban Meyer and QB Dwayne Haskins have been replaced by former OC Ryan Day and Georgia transfer Justin Fields
Ohio State has won 14 of the last 15 games against Michigan, including the seven straight
The college football season starts on Aug. 24th with a rivalry game between Florida vs Miami. Conference slates, including the Big Ten, will start circa Sept. 14.
The Ohio State Buckeyes have won the last two conference titles and the opportunity to bet them at plus-money is something I didn’t think would be available.
They are definitely the play and here’s why.
Ryan Day Capable of Replacing Urban Meyer
Ryan Day is the new head coach at Ohio State and, to put it simply, he flat out earned the job. Day was the co-offensive coordinator and QB coach last year and it was a rousing success. He worked with Dwayne Haskins and helped turn him into, not only a Heisman candidate, but a first-round NFL Draft pick.
That success helped Day and the Buckeyes land highly touted transfer Justin Fields from Georgia to help fill the hole caused by Haskins’ departure.
Haskins led all of college football with 4,831 passing yards and he tossed 50 touchdowns to go along with only 8 interceptions. While Fields may not possess the same accuracy, he is much more athletic than Haskins and should take advantage of the Buckeyes’ creativity on offense.
With Day still playing a significant role in crafting the offense and Fields at QB, Ohio State is in great shape.
Chase Young the Next Great Ohio State Defensive End
Lately, I’ve come to accept that there are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Ohio State edge rushers becoming household names.
The Bosa brothers (Joey and Nick) were both taken in the first three picks of the draft and it’s absolutely possible Chase Young does the same. While there are talented players all over the field at Ohio State — like RB J.K. Dobbins, WR Austin Mack and CB Jeffrey Okudah — it’s Young that has the highest upside at the next level.
The 6’5, 265-pound freak had 9.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles-for-loss last season and should play an even bigger role as the feature of a hungry OSU defense in 2019.
Why Trust Michigan?
There’s little evidence to suggest that Michigan deserves your hard-earned dollars. Assuming they are in a battle with Ohio State for the conference title, their annual end-of-season matchup (a.k.a. “The Game”) should play a big role in determining the outcome.
Even though it’s at the Big House this year, it’s impossible to ignore the fact the Wolverines have lost seven straight to the Buckeyes and 14 of the last 15.
Entering his fifth season in Ann Arbor, Jim Harbaugh has an 0-4 record. Last season, he became the first coach in program history to start his career with four straight losses to Ohio State.
You have to imagine that, if he makes it five in a row this season, the seat he’s sitting on could get a little warmer.
Considering that the Wolverines are paying only +250 in spite of middling success under Harbaugh, I’d fade them as aggressively as I would any team in the conference.
PICK: Ohio State Buckeyes (+110)
SDB’s college football conference championship coverage
Ryan has been working at TSN for over eleven years, and is now a lead writer and content producer at That's Hockey. Over the years, he's launched and hosted TSN's first NCAAF podcast, The College Football Show, and been featured on the likes of TSN 1050, Sportscentre, and That's Hockey 2Nite.