Land-Grant’s experts make Ohio State-Washington predictions

Being the Buckeye beat’s black sheep blog, we here at Land-Grant Holy Land like to pat ourselves on the back. So, throughout the season, members of our staff will be making predictions about that day’s game. They will go on the record with what they think the final score will be, who the game’s MVP will be, and what the major storyline will be coming out of the day.

Today, at 3:30 p.m. ET, the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the Washington Huskies. Despite OSU being undefeated and the top-ranked team in the country, and UW having the 133rd-rated strength of schedule thus far, a lot of analysts think that the Huskies are going to keep it close. However, (unsurprisingly) our staff is almost uniformly going with the Scarlet and Gray.

Check out what our staff members think and then let us know your thoughts on the game in the comments below. As we move forward with the season, you will be able to keep up with just how well our prognosticators do on a weekly basis HERE.

Alex Frank

Score Prediction: Ohio State 38, Washington 24
Game MVP: Bo Jackson will carry the ball 19 times and will go for 130 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while adding three receptions and 20 yards through the air.
Major Storyline: Bo Jackson is CLEARLY the No. 1 RB on this team!

Joey Gertz

Score Prediction: Ohio State 35, Washington 17
Game MVP: Max Klare will have two touchdowns.
Major Storyline: Julian Sayin will go 18-for-20 with three touchdowns and will enter the early-season Heisman race.

Justin Golba

Score Prediction: Ohio State 34, Washington 20
Game MVP: Max Klare will score two touchdowns.
Major Storyline: The Buckeyes will lead comfortably the entire time and solidify themselves as the No. 1 team in the country.

Jami Jurich

Score Prediction: Ohio State 34, Washington 17
Game MVP: Arvell Reese: The defense will need to contain Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr., and with sacks in two of the last three games, Reese could make the difference for the Buckeye defense on this front.
Major Storyline: Julian Sayin looks explosive in his first road start.

Connor Lemons

Score Prediction: Ohio State 38, Washington 21
Game MVP: Washington will over-commit to cover Jeremiah Smith, opening up Carnell Tate, who will put up some big numbers against the Huskies.
Major Storyline: Ohio State was tested in a loud road environment but separated itself in the second half.

Brett Ludwiczak

Score Prediction: Ohio State 35, Washington 20
Game MVP: Julian Sayin will carve up the Washington defense in his first road start.
Major Storyline: The Buckeyes overcome some early sloppiness to handle Washington in the Big Ten opener, proving that they can handle life on the road in a hostile environment.

Gene Ross

Score Prediction: Ohio State 38, Washington 24
Game MVP: Arvell Reese will have a monster day, collecting a sack and three tackles for loss, while keeping Demon Williams Jr. contained as the spy.
Major Storyline: Washington is a very good football team and will probably be ranked before long, but Ohio State is legit and as good as we think they are.

Matt Tamanini

Score Prediction: Ohio State 41, Washington 17
Game MVP: The Buckeye defense will be the unquestioned difference in this game, proving that with Matt Patricia pulling the strings, they are even better than last season.
Major Storyline: My heart really wants to go 42-13, but I will pay a little bit of deference to the hostile environment that the Buckeyes will be playing in today. However, I do not think this game will be particularly close or ever in any doubt. Washington is a solid team, but they have put up good numbers against bad teams. I think that the Silver Bullets are just way too good of a defense to allow Demond Williams Jr. and company to score enough points to put pressure on significant Heisman contender Julian Sayin and the OSU offense. I also foresee Bo Jackson leading all running backs in yards today.

Cole VanWiechen

Score Prediction: Ohio State 31, Washington 21
Game MVP: Arvelle Reese and the OSU Defense will hold Demond Williams under 250 total yards.
Major Storyline: Arvelle Reese will firmly entrench himself at the top of the Butkus Award conversation.

Ryan Weckstein

Score Prediction: Ohio State 43, Washington 13
Game MVP: Jeremiah Smith will have eight catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
Major Storyline: Ohio State will dominate the trenches, which will open up the passing lanes for Julian Sayin to connect with Jeremiah Smith.