Greg McElroy Breaks Down Nightmare Scenario For Ohio State This Season

The Ohio State Buckeyes lost three consecutive games to the Michigan Wolverines for the first time since 1995-97. For reference, Heisman winners Charles Woodson (1997) and Eddie George (1995) played each other in one of those games.

On a recent episode of "Always College Football," Greg McElroy talked about what could happen for Ohio State to lose to Michigan for a fourth straight season.

McElroy started by discussing former Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Will Howard, who transferred to Columbus this offseason. Howard started 12 games for Kansas last season and accounted for 2,643 passing yards and 24 touchdowns.

If Ohio State loses to Michigan again, McElroy fears that Howard may be compared to Kyle McCord. McCord was the starter for Ohio State in 2023 and had 3,170 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. McCord has since left Ohio State and transferred to the Syracuse Orange.

"...If Ohio State loses this game again, it means a few things," McElroy said. "One, Will Howard is comparable potentially to Kyle McCord. ...It means that he wasn't able to elevate the Buckeyes to some of the same levels before him."

Another reason Ohio State could lose to Michigan again, in McElroy's eyes, is the offensive line. While Ohio State returns multiple starters on the offensive line, McElroy was anxious about the tackles.

Ohio State returns starters from 2023, including Donovan Jackson, Josh Fryar, Carson Hinzman, and Josh Simmons.

"One thing that could be, though, is that the offensive line could remain a bit of a liability," McElroy said. "They do bring back some starters. You bring back three guys that have played. ...The tackles, though, I'm a see-it-to-believe-it person."

McElroy offered Ohio State fans a silver lining. The winner of The Game has outrushed the opposing team for 22 straight years. This is where Chip Kelly comes in. Kelly was hired as the offensive coordinator this offseason. His offenses at Oregon led the Pac-12 in rushing for eight consecutive years.

The Buckeyes also brought former Ole Miss Rebels running back Quinshon Judkins from the transfer portal. Judkins joins veteran RB TreVeyon Henderson at Ohio State. The former Ole Miss RB accounted for 2,725 rushing yards from 2022-23.

"...Ryan Day might have hired Chip Kelly exclusively for this game," McElroy said. "You know why? For 22 consecutive years, from 2001 until 2023, 22 consecutive meetings between Ohio State and Michigan, the team that outrushed the opposition won. Here's the good news for Ohio State fans. Chip Kelly, his offenses at Oregon led the Pac-12 in rushing eight consecutive years."

Before McElroy ended his scenario, he discussed one more area that could hurt Ohio State in the matchup. Last season, Ohio State allowed nine plays of 15 or more yards and five plays of 20 or more yards. If Michigan is able to do something similar, McElroy saw another loss coming for Ohio State.

"Finally, the reason why Michigan probably won the game if they won it again this year, they probably created some big plays," McElroy said. "Last year, the Buckeyes allowed nine plays in that game of 15-plus yards and five plays of 20-plus yards."

Ohio State and Michigan meet on Nov. 30 in Columbus this season.

Related: Will Howard Explains Biggest Difference Between Ohio State And Kansas State