So in lieu of the wayy too early Bowling Green prediction article, I felt like making a couple of predictions myself. By position I broke down what I expect to see happen, based off a) what Urban probably hopes to learn about his team b) what little effort it will take for a win and c) who I expect to pleasantly surprise Buckeye Nation.
RB
Mike Weber - 105 yards on 13 carries, 2 rush TD
Bri'onte Dunn - 32 yards on 5 carries, 1 rush TD
HB
Curtis Samuel - 49 yards on 7 carries, 42 yards on 5 catches, 1 pass TD
Dontre Wilson - 27 yards on 3 carries, 67 yards on 5 catches, 1 pass TD
Torrance Gibson - 17 yards on 2 carries, 26 yards on 3 catches, 1 pass TD(receiving lol)
WR/TE
Noah Brown - 53 yards on 6 catches
Marcus Baugh - 49 yards on 6 catches
Corey Smith - 37 yards on 3 catches
Austin Mack - 21 yards on 2 catches, 1 pass TD
Parris Cambpell - 18 yards on 2 catches
JT Barrett - 23-29 passing, 247 yards pass, 3 TD, 40 yards on 7 carries, 1 TD
Joe Burrow - 9-11 passing, 66 yards pass, 1 TD, 1 INT 10 yards on 5 carries, 2 sacks
Total Rushing - 280 yards rushing on 42 carries, 3 TD
Total Passing - 32-40, 313 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
Total Offense - 593 yards, 7 TD, 82 total plays
In summary, I expect JT to come out hitting the hitches and routes on the edge that were so effective against Notre Dame. These will be received by Brown, Smith and Dontre. We may do this once or twice all the way down the field to take the LBs out of the box or off the field early.
Then I could see Mike Weber having an impressive drive or two, starting in the 2nd quarter. Weber will get a TD but he'll deserve one more. JT should be out by the 3rd drive of the the 3rd quarter, but not before hitting Torrance Gibson on a fade, Dontre on an underneath-in, and Curtis on a wheel - all for touchdowns.
Joe Burrow will then come in and look very efficient handing off mostly to Dunn and throwing short routes to the likes of Mack, Campbell and Gibson. Dunn will look like a viable backup, and the coaches will find him a TD on the play after a long play fails to find pay-dirt. I expect Marcus Baugh to make a catch in every single quarter, and I want Burrow to hit Mack on a screen about 15 yards out and for Mack to take it in.
The pleasant surprise of the day will be Dontre Wilson's near-100 yard performance - which will force the coaches to find ways to further utilize his skill. This may surprise some but I do see at least 8 Buckeyes having receptions in the first game. We know that we can line up and run the ball at BGSU and win the game handily. Meyer will want to see how his young WRs respond when asked to execute consistently.
I see us only scoring 7 TDs because there will be two turnovers. I would say more turnovers, but our ball-carriers are all actually quite experienced. However, the young Mike Weber will lose a fumble on a simple Read-Option exchange. Then late in the game Burrow will have a pass tipped and intercepted.
Neurenburger (sp??) will boot a 37-yarder to add up to a final score of 52-17.
That ain't no guess, that's what it's gon' be.
Totally just whited-out for a moment, what happened?
