Spring practices are underway for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, with plenty of positional battles to play out. The 2023 season will also see Ohio State usher in a new starting quarterback, with C.J. Stroud now vying for the potential No. 1 spot in April’s NFL Draft.
Despite the reset, FanDuel Ohio doesn’t think Ohio State football will miss much of a beat in 2023.
FanDuel Ohio Sets Ohio State football Win Total
FanDuel Ohio Sportsbook has provided win totals for a handful of schools. Ohio State is among them.
FanDuel Ohio has set the Buckeyes’ 2023 win total line at 10.5. Not counting the pandemic-shortened 2021 season, Ohio State hasn’t had fewer than 10 wins since 2011, when the team went 6-7 in Luke Fickell’s lone year as head coach.
Ohio State finished 11-2 and fell to eventual champs Georgia in a scintillating College Football Playoffs semifinal last season.
Looking around the Big 10, Michigan’s win total is also set at 10.5, but the under is clearly favored at -142 odds at the time of this writing. Penn State comes in at 9.5 and Iowa at 8.5.
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Let’s dive into this spring outlook for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State Football Spring Practices: What to Watch
As the Buckeyes prepare for their annual spring game on April 15, these are the most important situations to watch.
Offense: Who Wins QB Derby?
What happens at quarterback will undoubtedly receive the most attention — and for good reason. In the past 10 years, the Buckeyes’ offense has been a top-10 scoring unit in all but three seasons.
With Stroud locked in as a top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day has a positional battle on his hands between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown. McCord is entering his third year with the Buckeyes while Brown will be in Year 2.
McCord has the advantage heading into spring practices, but it’s by no means a foregone conclusion he’s the starter for the season opener when the Buckeyes play Indiana.
The Buckeyes will also be tasked with replacing three starting offensive linemen, including center Luke Wypler and both tackles Paris Johnson Jr. and Dawand Jones. Johnson and Jones are considered likely first-round picks, while Wypler may be the first center taken.
What’s returning though? Still quite a lot. Ohio State has the best wide receiver duo in the country, and a healthy TreVeyon Henderson will do wonders for whoever is the starter at quarterback.
Defense Should Take Big Step in 2023
How you view the Buckeyes’ defense depends on whether you’re a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty type of person.
On one hand, the only defensive player expected to receive meaningful draft capital is edge defender Zach Harrison. There’s a lot of experience gone across the defensive line, but there are also players in a great spot to step up and fill the void.
Ohio State’s secondary doesn’t have any starters set in stone at this point and there’s a lot of pressure on a group that was criticized last year. Luckily, the Buckeyes have no shortage of options at both corner and safety. The hope is that competition brings out the best in the bunch and can at least take some pressure off of the defensive front.
— Article contributed by Cody Kutzer.
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