By: Carter Caldwell

The 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes have a lot to prove this season, and they are off to an impressive start.

Despite their 11-2 record at the end of the regular season in 2017, the Buckeyes did not receive an invitation to the College Football Playoffs, which the Buckeyes notably won in 2015.  With nothing to look forward to except their chances in 2018, the Buckeyes began to work.  The recruiting class of 2018 was a hefty 26 young men, the smallest of which was 6’1″ 170 lb wide receiver Chris Olave, and the largest of which was 6’3″ 305 lb defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson Jr.

The Buckeyes earned a number of preseason awards, including the Jim Thorpe Award and the Outland Trophy, but controversy struck at the beginning of the season: reports of spousal abuse against assistant coach Zach Smith came out, many of which claimed head coach Urban Meyer was aware of the allegations.  Smith, for his part, was fired, while an independent investigation took place to determine the extent of Meyer’s knowledge.  Following the investigation, Meyer and OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith were found guilty of not upholding the values of Ohio State University.  In response to this, the Ohio State Board of Trustees suspended Meyer for the first three games of the season, including the much-anticipated season opener against Oregon State.

Although they did not have their head coach, the Buckeyes won the first three games of their season, with a combined score of 163-62.  Upon Meyer’s return, attendance numbers for the Buckeyes have been on par with the season opener, an excellent statistic for the university, and the team has continued their winning streak.  The  Buckeyes (ranked third) will play the unranked Minnesota Golden Gophers at home on 13 October at 12:00 pm, with hopes of becoming one step closer to an invitation to the 2019 College Football Playoff.