Predicting 2021 Big Ten season: How many wins for Penn State Football?

Ohio State is once again the favorite to win the Big Ten, and for good reason.

After rolling to their fourth consecutive Big Ten crown last season, and finishing as the National runner-up, the Buckeyes show no signs of slowing down.

Ohio State will be led offensively by the return of one of the best wide receiver duos in the country, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. Even though they have to replace Justin Fields, the Buckeyes are still in great hands at quarterback. CJ Stroud, who was the number two quarterback in the class of 2020 according to 247 Sports, is likely to be the starter. Ohio State also has a lot of talent to back him up, including  five star Quinn Ewers, who recently reclassified from the class of 2022. Ewers will be with the team for this season.

The Buckeyes only return five starters on defense, but they still have plenty of young talent on that side of the ball.  A pair of 2021 five star defensive lineman, JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, are two names to watch on the Buckeyes defense.

If you’re looking for a “trap” game on Ohio State’s schedule, you may not have to look further than their week one matchup at Minnesota. The Buckeyes are certainly a much better team, but the game being at Minnesota on a Thursday night makes things tricky. Minnesota may be able to hang around early until the Buckeyes young quarterback settles in.

In week two, Ohio State welcomes one of the top teams in the Pac-12, the Oregon Ducks. Expect this to be a great game, but Ohio State is the better team and will be on their home turf. There are a couple of tests for the Buckeyes in October, at Indiana and vs Penn State, that if they don’t play to their potential, they could slip up.

However, do not expect much of a drop off for the team from Columbus as they will likely take care of business in the Big Ten once again.