Why Ohio State Needs To - And Will - Beat Youngstown State Convincingly

The Buckeyes won the opener on the road by 20 points, but it wasn't the emphatic win fans hoped for. This week will be different.

As a Buckeye fan, sometimes it was hard to remind yourself this past week that it was "only Week 1." When the expectations each season are national-championship-or-bust (and beat Michigan along the way), you expect to see a team that steamrolls lesser opponents.

In fact, the Ohio State Buckeyes left lots of national college football fans wondering if they're going to actually be a team that factors into the College Football Playoff picture this season after the ONLY beat Indiana, 23-3. Ryan Day's offense looked clunky. It was far from a convincing win and it didn't pass the eye test for what Scarlet and Gray faithful expect.

Week 2 should be much different.

Saturday's kickoff in The 'Shoe against Youngstown State marks the first of six home games this year and it should be the least stressful.

The good news from last week's opener? The defense looked outstanding, especially considering they needed to adjust to a triple-option scheme they hadn't practiced for all week. With an FCS opponent coming to town, Ohio State has every opportunity to get things back on track and build up some confidence. 

Brendan Gulick and Anthony Moeglin explain why they think the Buckeyes will do exactly that, including a score prediction as they preview Saturday's first game back inside Ohio Stadium since the loss to Michigan last November.

TreVeyon Henderson hushes the crowd at Penn State after scoring a touchdown

It's all straight ahead on Friday morning's edition of the Buckeye Breakdown podcast! Join the guys live every week day morning at 7 AM to talk Ohio State football. The show streams LIVE on YouTube and is available ON-DEMAND wherever you like to find your favorite podcasts all season long.