Most of you were already very optimistic about Ohio State before the season started.
From what I've seen, I don't think much of that optimism has wavered after Week 1, though some are understandably wary about the defense moving forward. I had predicted a 12-0 regular season for the Buckeyes, and even though the defensive concerns are valid, I've seen nothing from the Week 1 slate to that would give me pause on that prediction.
The Oregon matchup looked great on paper before the season started, but the Ducks barely hanging on to beat Fresno State at home and having their best defensive player injured prompted oddsmakers to make the Buckeyes 13-point favorites ahead of Saturday's game.
After Tulsa lost to an FCS team Week 1, Akron may pose more of a threat. (Spoiler alert, neither will). Maybe Greg Schiano has turned Rutgers into not a totally hapless team, but I still doubt they're ready to hang with the Buckeyes. Maryland's offense looked solid in its win over West Virginia, and the Terps shouldn't be underlooked come October, especially if OSU doesn't figure out its secondary problems by then.
Indiana looked like the scariest road matchup on paper before the season started, but that was before it got drubbed 34-6 against Iowa. Penn State had an impressive victory over Wisconsin, but if Sean Clifford didn't overthrow his receivers every five minutes it could have scored much more than 16 points. Nebraska... well, is Nebraska. Purdue had a nine-point win over Oregon State and OSU fans know all too well not to look past the Boilermakers.
Michigan State looked vastly improved, especially with running back Kenneth Walker III making light work of Northwestern's defense with 263 yards and four touchdowns. Lastly, we all know better by now than to take any Michigan success in September seriously.
All of this goes to say, two matchups (Oregon and Indiana) that gave me slight pause predicting OSU would go 12-0 look significantly less scary, and two matchups I thought would be cakewalks (Maryland and Michigan State) might be more contested than originally thought.
But nothing has dissuaded me from thinking OSU will finish 12-0. How about you?
