Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes picked to finish second in Big Ten East

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Buckeyes picked to finish second in Big Ten East

Ohio State has been seen as the underdog in the Big Ten East for this upcoming season since the end of last year.

Now the prognosticators are making their picks official. Phil Steele’s 2023 College Football Preview Magazine is on shelves, and Steele has the Buckeyes behind Michigan in the division, a spot the Buckeyes have finished in back-to-back seasons after winning four straight Big Ten titles from 2017-2020.

Steele still has Ohio State in his list of top five teams in the country; the Buckeyes are too talented to begin the season anywhere else.

Of course, Steele ranked the rest of the Big Ten East and predicted the order of finish. Penn State is in his third spot in the East, a typical place for the Nittany Lions. Following Penn State is Maryland, then Michigan State, followed by Rutgers and bottom-dwelling Indiana, which will face Ohio State to open the year on Sept. 2.

Steele picked Wisconsin to win the West, saying the Badgers hold the edge over Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Purdue, in that order.

Elite Buckeyes cornerback target sets decision date

Ohio State has had its hands full trying to hold off Michigan for in-state top-20 cornerback Aaron Scott Jr. The battle between the arch rivals for the No. 13 overall player in the On3 rankings appears to be coming to an end soon, however.

Scott will choose between Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon, and he’ll make his decision on July 30, according to On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons.

Simmons had this to say in his story about the decision date:

He has eliminated Tennessee and Penn State from contention, and he will now focus on three schools: Oregon, Michigan and Ohio State. And one of those three schools will receive his commitment on July 30.

That date is a special one, as it’s his father’s birthday.

The 5-foot-11, 165-pounder visited all three programs in June — Oregon (June 9-11), Michigan (June 16-18) and Ohio State (June 23-25) — and came away with a strong feeling about each.

Chad Simmons, On3

Lettermen Row’s Matt Parker caught up with Scott following Scott’s official visit to Ohio State last weekend. Find that story below.

READ: Aaron Scott Jr. sees Ohio State vision after official visit, decision process underway

Ohio State hoops adds charity exhibition matchup against Dayton

Ohio State will play Dayton inside UD Arena on Oct. 22 to cap off ‘a multi-day community engagement event championing adolescent and young adult mental health and suicide prevention.’ The entire weekend, which is being put on by Dayton, will center around mental health awareness, according to a release.

According to Dayton’s release Thursday, the NCAA provided a waiver to approve the charity game. Game time will be announced at a later date. Also according to the release, all proceeds from the game and surrounding events will benefit the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation and the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio.

“We look forward to partnering with Anthony and Dayton on this exhibition game at UD Arena,’ Ohio State Coach Chris Holtmann said in the statement. “Anthony’s willingness to share his family’s story in hopes of helping others is inspirational and we appreciate him including Ohio State in this event. We are excited that the proceeds will benefit the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation and other local organizations.”

READ: Buckeyes set to play charity exhibition game against Dayton in October

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 64 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 148 days

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