All Eyes Will Be On Columbus Saturday Night as the No. 8-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes Host The No. 9-seeded Tennessee Volunteers.

A battle of two teams with 10-2 records and talented rosters will be the final game of the first round of the newly expanded 12-team playoff Saturday in the Horseshoe. The Ohio State Buckeyes welcome an SEC foe, the Tennessee Volunteers, in a unique matchup with a primetime start time in Columbus.

A non-Noon start might be just what the Buckeyes needed after six Noon games to end the year. Ryan Day’s side has a sour taste in their mouth with how the regular season ended, and this is a chance at some redemption to save an overall up-and-down season.

Standing in the way are the Volunteers, a talented side of their own who also had some up and down moments throughout the season. They will give the Buckeyes all they can handle and more, so here are some things to watch for as both sides look to gain an edge heading into Saturday.

The Scarlet and Gray Need to Get Back on Track

The Buckeyes had rattled off five-straight wins including victories over Penn State and Indiana after their first defeat of the season at No. 1-ranked Oregon. In their regular-season finale against their rival in That Team Up North, a team they had lost three straight to in the series, they had one of the most underwhelming and disappointing performances in a very long time.

The offense and offensive play calling did the defense zero favors in their most recent outing and simply need to be much better to have any chance of winning this playoff game and keeping the season going. Transfer quarterback Will Howard needs to distribute the ball to his playmakers and stretch the field to help open up the run game. Howard has had a solid season but has been questionable in the biggest moments. He has 2,860 passing yards on the year with 34 total touchdowns and eight interceptions. It is essential that he steps up in one of the biggest games of his career, which could end up being his last.

TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins need to spring the ball out wide and get vertical against a very talented Tennessee defense and defensive line. The two backs have combined for 1,556 yards on the season with 14 rushing touchdowns. Both numbers should be higher given their talent, but they have good averages of 7.0 and 5.5 yards per carry respectively. Big games will be needed by the backs to take some of the pressure off of Howard, and the offensive line will need to do enough to help open up the lanes.

The wideouts will need to have a bounce-back game as it is one of the key factors for a Buckeyes win. The offense tried to prove they could win the game mostly on the ground against TTUN and it reared its ugly head. This game there should be a nice dosage of the three wideouts with Gee Scott Jr. at tight end helping out in the short game. Jeremiah Smith is chasing the 1,000-yard mark and leads the team with 10 touchdown receptions. Emeka Egbuka leads the team with 60 receptions and should be very involved in this game. Carnell Tate has stepped up as the third receiving option and has 41 receptions, 583 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. 

The defense did what it could against the Wolverines, holding them to 13 points, 62 passing yards, and forcing two timely interceptions. The ground game for TTUN ran the ball at a 4.1 yards per carry clip for 172 rushing yards. A few long runs were some of the differences in the game and will be a huge point of emphasis as they face one of the top backs in the country this weekend. Jack Sawyer and Caleb Downs made huge plays last game and will need to be the leaders yet again for the silver bullets. Cody Simon, Sonny Styles, and the defensive line will need to force Tennessee into uncomfortable plays and throws, which isn’t the Volunteers’ strength. The Buckeyes secondary will need to be disciplined and maintain good coverage against a team that likes to spread the ball around to anyone running routes.

The special teams will also need to be much, much, better, and to be honest, it couldn’t have been much worse in The Game. Kicker Jayden Fielding made just one of his three field goals with two misses from between 30-39 yards. He had just one miss on the year and it was from a further distance, so this will be something to keep an eye on in high-pressure situations.

Tennessee Will Not Go Down Easy

Tennessee boasts the same record as Ohio State and finished just one seed below them in the final College Football Playoff rankings. They suffered losses to Arkansas and Georgia and had wins over Alabama and Vanderbilt en route to 10 wins.

The Volunteers are led under center by redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava who had 2,512 passing yards with 20 total touchdowns and five interceptions in his first season as the starter. He was held under 170 yards passing with 0 total passing touchdowns in their two losses, making it more obvious that if the Buckeyes get an early lead it could spell trouble for the Vols offense.

Running back Dylan Sampson led the SEC in rushing yards in his third season in the orange and white. He was a beast all season long behind a solid offensive line, having just two games under 100 rushing yards with a touchdown in every game except the season-opener. He is a much bigger threat in the running game than the passing game, and if the Buckeyes hold him relatively in check then it will lead to success. With a 5.8 yards per carry clip, Sampson will get the ball early and often with a cold forecast expected. Desean Bishop will also get the ball a little bit and has 433 rushing yards and three touchdowns with a 6.5 yards per carry average on the year.

Through the air, wideout Dont’e Thornton Jr. leads the offense with 647 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. Wide receiver Bru McCoy leads the team with 35 receptions. Tennessee spreads the ball around with nine players having between 13 and 35 catches. All nine of those players have at least 100 yards receiving and seven players have at least two receiving touchdowns. This makes it important to have everyone accounted for, with no main threat through the air.

On defense, defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. will look to wreak havoc in the Buckeye backfield and has a team-high seven and a half sacks on the year. Linebacker Arion Carter leads the team with 65 total tackles and flies around the field for the defense. Defensive backs Will Brooks, Jermod McCoy, Boo Carter, and Andre Turrentine will be tasked with handling the elite receiving unit for Ohio State. The defense gave up 31 to Georgia, but only allowed 20 points one other time when they gave up 23 to Vanderbilt in their regular-season finale.

Arguably the Best First-Round Matchup

The spread opened and is currently set at Ohio State minus 7 with the point total at 47.5 points. This has the potential to be the best game of the opening round, but Buckeyes fans like myself hope that is not the case. This Buckeyes team is too talented to let what happened last game be a common occurrence and linger into this matchup even against a very respectable opponent.

Ryan Day and the veterans of this team know this is their last chance to avenge some previous mistakes and make a run at a National Championship, with a rematch against Oregon looming. The world-famous Buckeyes will take it one game at a time and use their weapons the right way this game. The defense will continue to be one of the best in the country, and the Buckeyes will win a scrappy game to move on to a Rose Bowl date with the Ducks.

Prediction: Ohio State 28 Tennessee 17