30 Day Countdown – Day 6: B1G OPOY

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With the conference touting 7 of the top 20 teams in the country, there is no shortage of talent or offensive firepower across every roster. Lets take a look together at the strongest contenders before I reveal my selection. Please note these are in alphabetical order, I am not ranking them.

QB Josh Hoover (Indiana)

It makes sense to include a QB from the school that produced the previous Heisman winner. Hoover takes over the starting job for the reigning national champs after starting three seasons at TCU. In that time he threw for 9,627 yards and had a 71/33 TD:INT ratio.

While the QB coach who helped Francisco Mendoza win the Heisman, Chandler Whitmer, is no longer in Bloomington Indiana still has Mike Shanahan (OC) and Curt Cignetti to help lead him to greater heights. Hoover also benefits from having arguably the best LT in CFB protecting his blindside as well as a pair of WRs that are being projected to be 1st round picks in the 2027 NFL draft.

RB Bo Jackson (Ohio State)

Jackson broke onto the CFB scene last season as a true freshman at Ohio State after overtaking CJ Donaldson as the leading back for the Buckeyes at the beginning of the season. Despite not being the starter going into the season, Jackson still accumulated over 1000 rushing yards with an impressive 6.1YPC and also added 200 receiving yards.

Ohio State looks to continue firing at max efficiency on offense this season and if teams are foolish enough to only focus on their talented WRs, Jackson will make them pay.

QB Dante Moore (Oregon)

There was already plenty of hype around Moore going into the season, but he may need to shoulder an even greater load. Rumors have been swirling that Oregon’s starting RB, Jordon Davis may have injured his collarbone and could miss multiple weeks. While this has been refuted by coaches, the media did report it for a reason due to seeing the injury in person.

Oregon will be breaking in three new starters along the OL, but return a bevy of talented pass catchers to give Moore plenty of options. They will also be breaking in a new OC, Drew Mehringer. While he has called plays before and learned a lot from his predecessor, Will Stein, these changes are certainly factors that could impact Moore’s ability to win OPOY.

RB Antwan Raymond (Rutgers)

I’m not afraid to admit that I’m biased in putting Raymond on this list. He was my first round pick in my CFB fantasy football draft (we did B1G players only), so naturally I will pull for him to have a great season. If history is any indicator though, he will not need my help doing so. He returns as the conferences leading returning rusher with over 1,200 yards and 13 TDs last season along with 225 receiving yards and a pair of TDs.

Raymond did not have the level of efficiency of Jackson, but Raymond is a workhorse who will churn out yards and help lead the Scarlet Knights offense this season. Last season QB Athan Kaliakmanis scrambled a fair amount, so that could be even more touches and goal line opportunities for Raymond to shine.

QB Julian Sayin (Ohio State)

With how efficient he was last season, I’m surprised Sayin didn’t get an NIL deal to be a spokesman for Swiss trains. He threw for 3,610 yards, had a 32/8 TD:INT ratio, and a 177.5 passer rating while throwing for an unprecedented 77% completion rate. Sayin will not only be a front runner for B1G OPOY, he will be relevant in the Heisman conversation all year and will likely earn an invitation to New York once the season is over.

WR Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State)

Sayin’s top weapon, Smith is a 1/1 type of player and is regarded by many as the top player in the sport. Which is really saying something considering the history at WR at Ohio State. Last season he lead the nation in receiving yards among P4 players with 1,243 yards accompanied by 12 TDs and a rushing TD. Despite teams constantly focusing their attention and double teams on him, Smith is virtually unstoppable and if you allocate too many defenders to him, Ohio State’s offense is so loaded they will wreck your defense one way or another.

QB Demond Williams (Washington)

Call it favoritism if you want, but I think Williams will surprise a lot of people this season. Obviously Husky Nation knows what he can do, but he has been overlooked on the national stage and I think that changes this year. He was 10th in the nation last year for QB rating and while Dante Moore can run, no QB in the conference has the electric running ability that Demond does. The past two OPOY winners were both QBs and each had 7 rushing TDs in their winning season. Williams had 6 last year so it could be an indicator of giving him an edge.

Before I reveal my pick, a couple of notes about the past B1G OPOY winners.

• QBs have won the award the last 6/7 years and 7/10 years
• Before the conference realignment before the 2014 season, an Ohio State player had won the award for six consecutive years
• Since 2010 the winners by position have been:
  • WR: 1
  • RB: 5, including 4 in a row from 2014-2017
  • QB: 10

Winner: WR Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State)

The numbers don’t lie, especially in recent years, this is a QB heavy award. Only one WR has won it since 2010 and it was Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2023. That has meaning to me for two reasons; an Ohio State WR can certainly win the award again and that public perception plays heavily into award season (I began writing and ranting about the 2023 Biletnikoff award voting, but was getting too off topic).

For the record there is nothing I am calling into question about Smith. He is a generational athlete with production to back it up and by all media clips I have seen, is a great young man with a good head on his shoulders. My point is that since Smith is such a popular player, that will carry weight in the mind of voters. That popularity could help him win the award over someone that may have had a better year and certainly would certainly allow him to win a tiebreaker if it were close.

Despite all the double-teams and additional coverage on Smith, I still expect him to dominate this upcoming season. The truly great players always find a way to make plays and Smith is arguably the most highly regarded NFL WR prospect since Calvin Johnson. The expectations on him are higher than arguably any player in CFB this year, but they were incredibly high the year before and he delivered time and time again.

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