The Ohio State Buckeyes and Virginia Tech Hokies are playing on the NCAA college football schedule on Monday night and the game from Lane Stadium in Blacksburg is on TV from ESPN and streaming online from the WatchESPN website. The game starts at 8 pm ET and has players like JT Barrett, Cardale Jones, Ezekiel Elliott and Michael Brewer looking to start the season strong.
Ohio State comes in having won the national title last year and now they are looking to repeat after being named the preseason number one. The team was a unanimous pick for that and now Urban Meyer is trying to keep those expectations high. The team has JT Barrett and Cardale Jones looking to play QB at it comes as the Buckeyes lost last season in the second game against the Hokies.
Many felt the season was over after that loss for the Buckeyes, but instead they reeled off win after win and they ended up in the college football playoff. The team lost 35-21 last year to Virginia Tech and rebounded and now they are trying to get past this matchup with a win in tough Lane Stadium. The Buckeyes have a fairly easy schedule this season and if they can get past this game, there is a chance that the team could make an undefeated run this season.
The Buckeyes have two players that could start and Meyer likely will use both Jones and Barrett this season and in the game against the Hokies. The Virginia Tech defense is tough and Michael Brewer has shown that he can be a good quarterback, but he has had problems stepping up in big games. Ast season Brewer had nearly 2700 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, but he also tossed 15 picks and he needs to cut down on the turnovers this season.
Brewer has been up and down at times, but last year against the Buckeyes he played well, putting up nearly 200 passing yards and completing 23 of 36 passes. The play of Brewer could be the major factor in whether the Hokies can last against the Buckeyes this time around. The Buckeyes can put up stats and major points and if things get out of hand, it could be a blowout for Ohio State.
Ohio State opens with Virginia Tech and the team doesn't have a major challenge on the schedule for a while after that. The team plays against Hawaii, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Indiana next and then the team has a solid run with Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers and Minnesota as well as Illinois on the conference schedule. The team has Michigan State and Michigan at the end of the season and those could be the toughest games of the year. The team is on the road at the Big House to end the season.
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