"Won the offseason": CFB analyst Max Chadwick drops his verdict on top Big Ten team following major additions
Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a 2023 season that started strong but ended in disappointment.
After winning their first 11 games of the regular season, they faced Big Ten rivals, the Michigan Wolverines, to decide who would win a spot in the conference's championship game. The Wolverines won the title after beating Iowa, and the Buckeyes’ hopes for a national championship ended there.
Adding insult to injury, Ohio State was easily defeated by the Missouri Tigers in the Cotton Bowl.
The Buckeyes need to improve, and college football analyst Max Chadwick thinks that this has happened in the offseason:
“Ohio State has won the offseason. No team has come close to doing what the Buckeyes have done so far.”
The Buckeyes now appear to be the strongest team in the Big Ten.
One of OSU's biggest moves this offseason was gaining top prospect Caleb Downs from Alabama.
The defensive back had an extraordinary freshman year for the Crimson Tide, where he recorded 107 tackles and was chosen as the SEC Newcomer of the Year.
Downs was set to stay in Tuscaloosa, but the retirement of coach Nick Saban changed everything. Downs entered the transfer portal soon after and transferred to Ohio State.
The move will benefit the Buckeyes as he is a generational prospect already playing incredibly well. Once Downs fully develops into the best player he can be, he could become a massive asset for the Buckeyes’ defense.
One of the main issues with Ohio State last season was that it struggled on offense but was able to rely on its strong defense to win games.
Quarterback Kyle McCord left the program to go to Syracuse and was replaced by Kansas State Wildcats signal-caller Will Howard.
To bolster the offense, the Buckeyes also obtained the services of running back Quinshon Judkins. The former Ole Miss Rebel was a massive asset to coach Lane Kiffin's high-scoring offense, winning the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2022.
Judkins may be able to fill the offense power gap left by wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who declared for the 2024 NFL draft. But gaining on-field talent is not the only reason Ohio State may have won the offseason.
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Can Ohio State win the Big Ten with Chip Kelly?
The Buckeyes have also been able to upgrade their coaching staff.
Coach Ryan Day demoted offensive coordinator Brian Hartline after one year in the role and was replaced by former UCLA Bruins head coach Chip Kelly.
Kelly brings a vast amount of experience with him, having been a head coach of many top college football programs, alongside a four-year stint in the NFL, coaching the Philadelphia Eagles for three years, and then one year at the San Francisco 49ers.
Going from being a head coach to an offensive coordinator may be seen as a step down in the coaching world for Kelly. But this will allow him to focus solely on making sure the Buckeyes’ offense is as strong as it can be in the Big Ten this year.
All of these offseason moves will help Ohio State challenge the Michigan Wolverines and the likes of the Washington Huskies and Oregon Ducks, who have joined the Big Ten this season.