It is here. It is finally here. Ohio State gets to go for revenge and Virginia Tech gets to try and prove that last year was not just lucky. It’s time for Ohio State to take on the “favored to win it all” status. The journey to a repeat of the national title for the Bucks starts in Blacksburg. Whether it is the national spotlight, the best team in the country looking for revenge or just simply enter sandman, this game is full of must sees and excitement. In every big game, and every game in general, there are bound to be a few players who are play a big factor and are very important in their team’s success. Lets take a look at some of those players for both Ohio State and Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech:
Quarterback Michael Brewer– Brewer played a key role in the upset last year, throwing for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was playing in one of his first games as a hokie, due to his transfer from Texas tech the year before, so there were a lot of question marks as to how he would play. He came in and delivered a solid performance `and propelled his team to victory. If they want to pull off the upset again, Brewer will have to have an unbelievable game with mistakes being minimal.
Defensive Ends Dadi Nicolas and Ken Ekanem-
In my article last week, I mentioned these 2 players as the guys who could mess up Ohio State’s offense and give them trouble and I am sticking to that. a large factor in the game last year and what caused Ohio State so much trouble was the pressure the defense got on JT Barrett and how they forced him  to throw incompletions and commit turnovers. These 2 returners are key in attempting to get that same amount of pressure on Ohio State and forcing them to make the same mistakes to keep Virginia Tech in this football game
Cornerback Kendall Fuller-
Kendall Fuller is the returning star corner for the Hokies. He was First Team All-ACC and Third Team All-American last year and he was only a true sophomore. He has a large task ahead of him with stopping Micheal Thomas, but if he can do that and make Thomas a non factor, then it will put serious pressure on a very thin receiving core due to suspensions and injuries. Also. last year Barrett completed 9 passes and 6 of them were to Thomas so expect him to heavily utilized again this year.
Ohio State-
Tight End Nick Vannett-
As I stated in the above post, Ohio State is stretched very thin at the receiver position. That means that to take some pressure off Thomas and the running game, they will need to utilize the tight ends. This goes beyond Vannett and also to Marcus Baugh for production, but with Vannett being the number one guy this year, expect him to break out and be used quite often in this game.
Defensive End- Sam Hubbard-
With Joey Bosa being suspended for a game, Sam Hubbard is going to be able to step into a huge role very early in his Ohio State career. The freshman, who was a safety in high school, will take Bosa’s spot on the end and, with the high expectations to live up too, he will have to show up strong and ready. Also, with a line who last 2 starters to graduation last year and has one suspended, they will only have one returning starter in this game so some young guys are going to be tasked with getting pressure on Brewer and forcing him into mistakes.
Offensive Line-
This time last year, this O line was very young and inexperienced and during this game, it showed. Barrett was on the run all game and Bud Foster’s defense had them beat. Throughout the year however, that all changed. They gained experience, their skill grew and they ended up being a major factor in Ohio State’s national championship  run. Regardless of who Ohio State starts at QB, as long as this line plays like they did in the playoffs and how they are expected to play this year, this powerful OSU offense will have a good game.
Prediction: Ohio State-38, Virginia Tech-21
Even though some people *cough Mark May cough* think that Virginia Tech will pull it off again, OSU has way too powerful of an offense and defense for Va Tech to take this one. I expect it to be close at the half, but this offense will too much and overpower Virginia Tech. OSU takes this one and gets their revenge.
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