Scarlet Sunrise: ESPN expert joins growing list of folks to pick Ohio State over Oregon
COLUMBUS — Ohio State has a massive game this weekend at Oregon. The eyes of college football are on Eugene — and the Buckeyes.
ESPN college football talking head and noted Ohio State hater Paul Finebaum actually has the Buckeyes coming back to the Eastern Time Zone with a win over the Ducks. He predicted that on this week’s edition of The Tim May Show.
“It’s great to see Ohio State on a big stage. It is the biggest game in the country,” Finebaum said. “I’m going to end the suspense. I like the Buckeyes. I think they are, particularly, a great team. They’ve had six weeks to prepare for this one game so why wouldn’t they be ready?”
Finebaum even went further, saying he thinks Ohio State might be the best team in the country — ahead of all the teams in the SEC.
“Listen, everybody’s obsessed over Alabama, Texas, and Georgia. In the back of my mind? I remember telling you back in January or February. I thought Ohio State might be the best team,” Finebaum said. “We’re going to finally get a chance to figure that out.”
Carnell Tate expected back for Buckeyes
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day confirmed Wednesday that sophomore wide receiver Carnell Tate is on track to play Saturday against No. 3 Oregon.
“Yeah,” Day said. “He had a good day of practice today.”
Tate was listed as “questionable” on the team’s availability report last week against Iowa but didn’t play. His injury was undisclosed.
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Last weekend’s 35-7 win over the Hawkeyes marked the first time Tate has missed an Ohio State game. He appeared in all 13 games last season as a true freshman, a season in which he had more targets (28), receptions (18) and receiving yards (264) than Marvin Harrison Jr. (16 targets, 11 receptions, 139 receiving yards, three touchdowns), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (13 targets, 10 receptions, 49 receiving yards, one touchdown) and Chris Olave (16 targets, 12 receptions, 197 receiving yards and three touchdowns) tallied as first-year Buckeyes players, per Pro Football Focus.
Brandon Inniss, another second-year Ohio State wideout and Tate’s close friend, said it was difficult for Tate to sit out last last week against the Hawkeyes.
READ MORE: Ohio State WR Carnell Tate expected to return to action against Oregon
Around the Big Ten…
Friday night
Northwestern at Maryland (8 p.m., FS1)
Saturday slate
Washington at Iowa (Noon, FOX)
Wisconsin at Rutgers (Noon, Big Ten Network)
No. 4 Penn State at USC (3:30 p.m., CBS)
Purdue at No. 23 Illinois (3:30 p.m., FS1)
Minnesota at UCLA (9 p.m., Big Ten Network)
Counting down
Ohio State at Oregon: 1 day
Ohio State at Penn State: 22 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 50 days
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