SEATTLE, WA — Thanks to double-digit wins over Grambling and Ohio University, the defending national champion top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes venture out to the Pacific Northwest to face former Rose Bowl rival, and new Big 10 member, Washington in their first true road game, in what could be a possible trap game.
While the two programs have met 12 times, with Ohio State holding a 9-3 series lead dating back to 1957, per the Seattle Times, both schools have produced some memorable meetings over the last 68 years, including a Ohio State 28-23 win over Washington in the 2019 Rose Bowl.
But this will be the first time meeting as conference members, and not in Pasadena.
Washington, two years removed from losing in the CFP National Championship Game vs. Michigan, presents the first real test for a Buckeyes team, that quite frankly hasn’t been truly tested.
Texas notwithstanding, looks like an overrated shell of themselves, with QB1 Arch Manning looking nothing close to his true potential and famous pedigree, and the aforementioned Tigers and Bobcats serving and glorified warmups before entering conference play.
Washington is a different beast entirely.
Situated on the shores of Lake Washington, with Mt. Rainer in the background and the famed Space Needle in the distance, Husky Stadium is arguably one of the most beautiful settings in all of college football, and possibly all of sports.
Washington has won a program-best 22 straight games at home, the second-longest active streak in all of college football, and since joining the Big 10, have quickly become one of the most hostile places to play at under head coach Jedd Fisch.
While Ohio State has won 34 straight games vs. unranked opponents under head coach Ryan Day, none of them have the pedigree of the Huskies.
And considering Ohio State’s bad history of being upset on the road, at night, even though this game kicks off at 30 minutes past noon in Seattle and 3:30pm back east, this could possibly be another trap game for the Buckeyes to get upset in.
Unranked Purdue in 2018, Iowa in 2017, the worst under Urban Meyer, and the infamous Wisconsin Jim Sorgi eye-gouge loss in 2003.
If you are a Buckeye fan, you know and remember these games all too well, and the script is eerily similar to.
Highly-ranked Ohio State team, on the road, at night. Loses to unranked or lower-ranked, less talented team on the road.
Trust me, I’ve seen this movie before, and Washington has a similar cast of actors, hoping to make a name for themselves in hopes of knocking off the defending champions in their house.
And take into account that Ohio State flew in a day early to accommodate to West Coast time, tells you something. Perhaps, the Buckeyes are mindful of their own recent history and hope to change that.
We shall see.
If the Buckeyes hope to continue their quest in defending their crown, they will need to tread carefully in the pristine evergreen land of Starbucks, Microsoft and pine trees, and come out aggressive and take, what will be a noisy Huskies crowd out of the game early, establish the momentum and control the clock.
QB1 Julian Sayin needs to play within the system and lean on his running game, most notably CJ Donaldson and his talented wide receiver duo of Heisman Trophy contender Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate.
With both Smith and Tate likely to command a lot of attention, look for Purdue transfer tight end Max Klare to have a big game, and emerge as a reliable safety net on critical third down conversions.
On defense, Ohio State has possibly the best unit in the country, thanks to defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and led by safety Caleb Downs and linebacker Sonny Styles, who will make life very difficult for Huskies sophomore QB1 Demond Williams and redshirt junior WR1 Denzel Boston.
Expect Patricia to continue his masterful use of disguises and use of zone coverage, along with timely blitzes to speed up Williams and get him and the Huskies offense off schedule.
If Ohio State does these things, then their first road trip to Seattle in close to 20 years will be a huge success and another Buckeye win.