Land-Grant’s experts make Ohio State-Kent State predictions

Being the Buckeye beat’s black sheep blog, we here at Land-Grant Holy Land like to pat ourselves on the back. So, throughout the season, members of our staff will be making predictions about that day’s game. They will go on the record with what they think the final score will be, who the game’s MVP will be, and what the major storyline will be coming out of the day.

This afternoon, the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes will finally play their first Big Noon game of the season as they welcome the Kent State Golden Flashes to Ohio Stadium. The two teams will kick off sometime in the general vicinity of 12 noon ET in a game airing on Fox.

Ohio State enters its final non-conference game of the season as a 51.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel. The book projects the total points line at 59.5. If you think you are better at prognosticating than our experts, maybe go and put your money where your mouth is.

Check out what our staff members think and then let us know your thoughts on the game in the comments below. As we move forward with the season, you will be able to keep up with just how well our prognosticators do on a weekly basis Land-Grant’s experts make Ohio State-Kent State.

Score Prediction: Ohio State 49, Kent State 3
Game MVP: Bo Jackson is the game’s MVP. Bo has 15 carries for 160 yards and two touchdowns, and the run game looks dominant.
Major Storyline: Ohio State stays healthy and takes care of business heading into conference play. This was a good, clean game coming off of last week’s disaster. Both sides of the ball look sharp.

Score Prediction: Ohio State 59, Kent State 0
Game MVP: This will be a game where the young guys play a lot, so I think Brock Boyd will catch two touchdown passes and Luke Fahey will throw three touchdown passes since they will likely play all of the second half.
Major Storyline: In a game like this, where the Buckeyes are a 53-point favorite, it is hard to get many storylines. Similar to the MVP, I think the storyline will be that the young guys get a lot of playing time and get some minutes under them.

Score Prediction: Ohio State 52, Kent State 0
Game MVP: Julian Sayin has a big game, throwing for more than 250 yards and four touchdowns, but the defense also makes plays, and Kenyatta Jackson gets two sacks and a forced fumble.
Major Storyline: The major storyline will be Ohio State making a statement Saturday against Kent State, and the Buckeyes will be back to looking like the best team in the country on both sides of the ball. The question will be, can they look the same come October when the schedule ramps up.

Score Prediction: Ohio State 64, Kent State 3
Game MVP: Ohio State wasn’t able to get the speedy Devin McCuin involved last week at all, finishing with just one catch against the Longhorns. I think they will look his way a lot this week in a blowout, and he’ll have two touchdown catches in the first half.
Major Storyline: Ohio State took out its Texas frustration on a subpar in-state foe, but will we really learn anything new about this team until they face Indiana next month?

Score Prediction: Ohio State 63, Kent State 7
Game MVP: Sophomore running back Bo Jackson builds on his solid performance against Texas with his best game of the young season, rushing for over 100 yards and finding the end zone twice.
Major Storyline: Much like 2014 when the Buckeyes lost their second game of the season, Ohio State takes out its frustrations on Kent State the next week. Ryan Day’s team easily handles their second MAC opponent this season, and Ohio State takes a ton of confidence into their Big Ten opener after a complete performance.

Score Prediction: Ohio State 59, Kent State 3
Game MVP: Freshman defensive lineman Khary Wilder plays far more than his five snaps against Texas, registering the first two sacks of his career against Kent State, with one of them causing a turnover.
Major Storyline: Ohio State rolls out a much more youth-focused group, led by guys like Khary Wilder, Riley Pettijohn, Jay Timmons, and Legend Bey.

Score Prediction: Ohio State 54, Kent State 3
Game MVP: True freshman wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. will have the biggest game of his young Buckeye career. After rotating in early and Jeremiah Smith exiting the game midway through the third quarter, there will be plenty of targets available for Henry, as he breaks 100 yards receiving for the first time, nabs a pair of touchdowns, and makes a highlight reel play that damn-near breaks the internet.
Major Storyline: There will continue to be increased attention on the biggest issues that plagued the Buckeyes in the second half (and especially the fourth quarter) against Texas. The Buckeyes will get to Kent State’s quarterback, Dru DeShields; they will have success in short-yardage and the red zone; and (as mentioned above) will get the ball to receivers not wearing No. 4; but ultimately, what does doing that against Kent State really tell us?

Score Prediction: Ohio State 60, Kent State 3
Game MVP: I think Ohio State will make a very intentional effort to get Devin McCuin involved early in order to truly establish him as the WR2 for this offense. They will need him to be a reliable contributor as the season goes on.
Major Storyline: I think there are a bunch of first- and second-year Buckeyes on defense who have been pushing for snaps and more playing time early in the season, and this might be the game we see that happen. Guys like Jay Timmons, Devin Sanchez, Riley Pettijohn, T.J. Alford, Khary Wilder, Zion Grady (if healthy), and maybe even Simeon Caldwell could end up showing that they are future of the OSU defense.