Editor’s note: Saturday Tradition’s annual Crystal Ball series continues today with Ohio State. We’ll stay with the B1G East all week. Next week, we’ll predict every game for every B1G West team.

Previously: Indiana | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State

Ryan Day enters the 2023 season in a very unique spot: the most unpopular coach to ever have won at least 88% of his games.

Day ranks 3rd in Big Ten history in winning percentage among those who have coached at least 50 games. Trouble is, his predecessor, Urban Meyer, is 1 of the 2 names in front of him. (The other is Michigan’s Fielding Yost, who last coached in 1926.)

Day’s success has made him a bit like a referee or umpire. He’s expected to be right. People only tend to notice when he’s blown it. For a large contingent of Ohio State fans, though likely still short of a majority, there is a fixation on 3 of Day’s 6 career losses.

And you can’t really blame those fans. That’s what happens when you lose to Michigan in back-to-back years for the first time since 1999-2000. And then squander a potential game-winning drive to upset Georgia in the College Football Playoff with some head-scratching play calls that result in settling for a 50-yard field goal attempt.

Not only do the Buckeyes head into the season on their first 2-game losing streak to Michigan in 23 years, but on their first 2-game losing streak, period, since 2011. And if you remove seasons with an interim coach installed for tattoo-related reasons, Ohio State hasn’t lost 2 straight since 2004.

This is how the grumbling starts.

Fortunately for Day, the pieces are in place to nip it in the bud. As the Georgia game proved, the Buckeyes were good enough to win the national championship last year. And with so many integral players returning, they’re good enough to actually finish the job this year.

Provided, of course, they’re able to answer the most important questions.

Will the Ohio State QB train keep rolling?

Within the B1G, Ohio State quarterback has become the positional equivalent of Wisconsin running back. You may not know who the guy is, but you know there will always be a guy.

A Buckeye QB has been named first team all-B1G every season since 2016. If you’re looking to win a bar bet, Michigan State’s Connor Cook was the most recent non-Buckeye to be named the top quarterback in the Big Ten.

Day has yet to announce whether redshirt sophomore Kyle McCord or redshirt freshman Devin Brown will take CJ Stroud’s place behind center. Ironically, the best template for determining the starter may have been established a year ago by The Team Up North.

Michigan alternated between Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy in its first 2 games before McCarthy was handed the reins for Week 3 and beyond.

It’s a little trickier for the Buckeyes, who open the season with a conference game. Fortunately, that game is against Indiana, so there should be room for experimentation. By the time Ohio State returns to the Hoosier State for a Week 4 game at Notre Dame, Day should have his guy in place.

Whoever wins will have a chance to put up monster numbers.

Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka are 2 of the top 5 receivers in the entire country. And that’s to say nothing of Julian Fleming, sneaky-good senior Xavier Johnson, or incoming 5-star freshman Carnell Tate. Or tight end Cade Stover. Or running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams.

You get the idea. Regardless of who takes the helm, he’ll have everything necessary to succeed.

The defense will be …

Day’s best at Ohio State. The Bucks have a front 7 (or front 6, given the 4-2-5 base) that may be the Big Ten’s very best.

The line, bookended by JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer with Mike Hall Jr. stuffing the middle, should be among the top 3 in the league. Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg is a favorite to be named Big Ten defensive player of the year, and Steele Chambers is no slouch himself.

The question is if the back end will carry its weight.

In the losses to Michigan and Georgia, the Buckeyes were singed by big plays. The Wolverines and Bulldogs combined to score 87 points, with an average of 8.8 yards per play.

To that end, Ohio State added Syracuse nickel Ja’Had Carter and Ole Miss cornerback Davison Igbinosun to the secondary mix. Perhaps they’ll bring some takeaways with them.

Ohio State tied for 66th in the country with 18 takeaways last year. It was the first time the Buckeyes finished lower than 30th in that department since 2015.

You can afford to give up some big plays on defense so long as you can erase them. Ultimately, that’s what Ohio State’s defense failed to do in its losses and must fix this year.

Are the Buckeyes built to beat Michigan?

Jim Harbaugh has flipped the tables in the rivalry by bullying the Buckeyes in the trenches. Having the best receivers in the world isn’t as much of a threat if you can’t get the ball to them. Or if you can’t get your hands on the ball, period, without first surrendering touchdowns to Michigan.

If they get to the finish line healthy, Ohio State’s defensive line looks brawny enough to mix it up with Michigan’s offensive line. The X-factor will be how the offensive line holds up against Michigan’s defensive front.

Left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. was the 6th pick in the NFL Draft for good reason. Right tackle Dawand Jones fell to the 4th round but has been the talk of training camp in Cleveland and may well end up starting for the Browns from Day 1.

The matter of how successfully Ohio State is able to replace them will be what defines this season.

Game-by-game schedule

Week 1: at Indiana (W)

Ohio State snapped its 3-game losing streak in 2004 with a win over the Hoosiers. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Week 2: Youngstown State (W)

This seems like the ideal time to do something honoring Jim Tressel, who retired as Youngstown State’s president earlier this year. And whatever that may look like stands to be more interesting than anything that takes place in this game.

Week 3: Western Kentucky (W)

An ideal non-conference game. Western Kentucky’s offense is usually potent enough that the Buckeyes secondary will get a valid stress test. And it won’t matter whether or not they pass the stress test, because Ohio State can hang 70 on the Hilltoppers.

Week 4: at Notre Dame (W)

Marcus Freeman’s Irish made Ohio State’s offense work for it in last year’s season opener, and this will be a legitimate test for the new starting quarterback. This will be the lowest-scoring game of Ohio State’s season, but the Buckeyes are the better team.

Week 5: Bye

Week 6: Maryland (W)

The Terps feel they’re ready to beat the Bucks after giving them a test in Week 11 last year. But that was in Maryland a week before The Game. Coming off a bye in the Horseshoe? Ohio State will show Maryland who’s boss.

Week 7: at Purdue (W)

This game is only a concern if the Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 — and only No. 2 — at the start of the week. Which is actually a distinct possibility. Otherwise, the Bucks should be able to run over the rebuilding Boilermakers.

Week 8: Penn State (W)

A Big Ten game of the year candidate will unfold. Penn State’s defensive line is the best the Buckeyes will run into this season — but it will be hard-pressed to replicate what JT Tuimoloau did to the Nittany Lions last year. Ohio State’s defense will come up with a late takeaway to snuff out Penn State’s potential game-winning drive.

Week 9: at Wisconsin (L)

The Buckeyes walk into a bear trap.

Halloween weekend in Madison is already the Big Ten’s zaniest atmosphere. Dropping an undefeated Ohio State team into the cocktail will only enhance the madness. Coming a week after an emotional win, this is a natural spot for a letdown. And Luke Fickell will provide it against his former team.

Week 10: at Rutgers (W)

I wouldn’t want to be Rutgers the week after Ohio State loses a game. Granted, I wouldn’t want to be Rutgers any week. But especially not this one.

Week 11: Michigan State (W)

Until proven otherwise, Ryan Day vs. Mel Tucker is a matchup wherein the Buckeyes can name their score.

Week 12: Minnesota (W)

A year ago, Maryland gave the Bucks a handful in this spot. This Minnesota team will be capable of doing the same. But capable of winning in Ohio Stadium for the 3rd time since 1949? That feels like a bit more than the Gophers can chew.

Week 13: at Michigan (W)

It’s not “Remember the Alamo!” or “Remember the Maine!” But “Remember the flag” figures to be a powerful motivator for Ohio State all year. The Bucks will avenge last year’s postgame celebration and earn a spot in the Big Ten championship game.

2023 Projection: 11-1 (8-1), 1st in B1G East

#GoBucks

The arithmetic for Ohio State is actually quite simple this fall.

Step 1: Don’t let Penn State catch up.

The Nittany Lions are on the cusp of getting there. And perhaps their time will come next year when the teams are supposed to meet in Happy Valley, though the addition of Oregon and Washington to the mix may jumble that plan.

At any rate, the B1G East remains a 2-horse race until Penn State can prove otherwise. Best to delay it as long as possible.

Step 2: Beat Michigan.

The Wolverines haven’t won 3 in a row over Ohio State since 1997, which also happens to be the last time Michigan won a national title. Should that combination happen again this year, it won’t just be a noisy bunch of Buckeyes fans who want to oust Day. It may well morph into the majority. And with AD Gene Smith retiring at the end of the school year, Day would legitimately be entering 2024 on the hot seat.

That may seem insane given that Day’s career record at that point could be 56-8. But when nearly half of those losses are against Michigan, people start behaving irrationally.

This season is Day’s chance to restore sanity — or else things will be downright wacky entering 2024.