Ohio State football 2023 predictions: Why the Buckeyes will go 14-1 and end the ‘What ifs?’

COLUMBUS, Ohio — You should probably read with skepticism any time a beat writer picks the team they cover to win the national championship, even if that team circles that outcome as regularly as Ohio State football.

I think if you took the names off of every FBS team in the country and based your prediction on 2022 results, overall talent and playoff path, the Buckeyes stand up as a logical pick.

Ohio State certainly still has question marks, beginning with who emerges between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown to lead this crusade. The offensive line is not anchored by a top-six NFL Draft pick at left tackle. The defense cannot say it has solved its explosive vulnerabilities until it consistently latches those escape hatches shut in games.

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The other legitimate title contenders have their questions too — some identical. The Buckeyes, though, also have a lot of answers.

How differently would the country be talking about OSU if it had found a way to make that field goal, knock off Georgia and do what the Bulldogs did to TCU? How differently would the Peach Bowl have gone if Marvin Harrison Jr., Cade Stover, TreVeyon Henderson and/or Miyan Williams been able to contribute in the second half?

Yes, that team needed help from South Carolina and Utah to even make the playoff field. That’s an indictment of a restrictive playoff format that will thankfully die off after this year. It matters more what OSU proved when it finally faced off against Georgia.

Normally, last year’s results would not bear as much weight, except ...

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Even without C.J. Stroud, Paris Johnson Jr. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, this roster remains loaded.

Those mock drafts you’ve seen that project seven or more Buckeyes in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft are, let’s say, overly enthusiastic. But if you’re starting a season with a handful of legitimate first-round contenders, that’s a strong position on which to build a championship run.

Ryan Day is still undecided on whether McCord or Brown locks down the quarterback job. Both were among the nation’s best prospects at that position as high school players. Internal opinion has been split as to who one is better, not whether either can play.

Whoever finally seizes the job will benefit from a 2021 signing class full of stars entering its third-year en masse. Championship teams tend to have elite receivers (Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka), edge rushers (J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer) and cornerbacks (Denzel Burke and Jordan Hancock). Ohio State paired up those difference-makers three years ago, and now they’re all poised to play their best football.

We actually suggested last year’s team might be ahead of schedule by December, and we were mostly correct — except ...

Michigan isn’t going away, and could very well be better than it was a year ago when it came into Ohio Stadium and made a statement. J.J. McCarthy and a talented running game capitalized on known vulnerabilities. The Buckeyes cannot bank on threading the good fortune needle by losing The Game and still making the playoff. While four spots are available, history tell us OSU is playing for only one — the one that goes to the Big Ten champion.

However, I’m picking OSU to win in Ann Arbor on the strength of a defense that can solve its one big problem. If you noticed the headline, that means I’m also predicting the Buckeyes to lose somewhere else. Maybe it’s at Notre Dame in a duel with veteran Sam Hartman. Maybe its in the electric atmosphere at Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium. Maybe it’s against a Penn State team that is the third national contender in the Big Ten East.

If OSU loses once, but wins at Michigan, wins the East and wins the Big Ten Championship, it will go to the playoff. Last year’s roster did not have quite enough to sneak past the finish line. I think this one can close this four-team playoff decade the way it opened it — lifting the trophy.

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