The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes welcome the No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers for a primetime affair at Ohio Stadium tonight. The winner advances to the quarterfinal round and punches its ticket for Pasadena to face the Oregon Ducks. The loser goes home.

The hosts will “Scarlet Out” the Shoe and will dress for the occasion.

SCARLET EVERYTHING pic.twitter.com/radPONjYIQ

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 20, 2024

Eleven Warriors Staff Score Predictions

Andy Anders: Ohio State 20, Tennessee 17
Both offenses struggle in the cold with a few whacky plays in a rock fight, but Ohio State’s defense and receivers do enough to carry the Buckeyes through to the CFP quarterfinals.

Chase Brown: Ohio State 27, Tennessee 20
The Michigan game has thrown a wrench in how many people, including me, view Ohio State. However, I’ve decided to throw that performance — and the wrench — out the window as I pick this game, selecting a Buckeye team that should have reached the Big Ten title game and been no lower than the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the CFP to take care of business against a formidable foe from the SEC.

George Eisner: Ohio State 24, Tennessee 17
Between speculation on how the weather will impact the visitors and the Buckeyes’ most recent letdown performance at home, it seems difficult to forecast how this game will go. Therefore, while leaning towards the under given the frigid conditions, I’m taking the coward’s approach to a prediction and aligning my anticipated margin of victory almost exactly with the spread.

Jack Emerson: Ohio State 28, Tennessee 13
The Buckeyes ride on the back of their defense, while displaying a much more encouraging offensive performance en route to a CFP win.

I’m picking the Buckeyes because of my belief in Ohio State’s defense to draw from the energy of a loud home crowd and make key stops with the game on the line.– Dan HOpe

Johnny Ginter: Ohio State 20, Tennessee 24
I just can’t believe in Ohio State’s ability to maximize their talent until I see it actually happen, and I don’t think that’s truly something we’ve seen all season.

Matt Gutridge: Ohio State 24, Tennessee 21
Ryan Day is currently 6-7 against teams ranked seventh or better in the CFP. He’s 2-3 against teams outside the Big Ten and Ohio State’s head coach is defeated (0-2) against the SEC. Here’s to the cold weather making the Volunteers turn into orange creamsicles. If not, this could be another bad night for Day and company.

Garrick Hodge: Ohio State 21, Tennessee 17
The Buckeyes win a Rock fight in the Shoe thanks to touchdown catches from Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka.

Dan Hope: Ohio State 24, Tennessee 20
Both teams’ defenses are better than their offenses, so I’m not envisioning either team scoring more than four times. I expect some continued struggles from Ohio State’s offensive line against a really good Tennessee defense, but I’m picking the Buckeyes because of my belief in Ohio State’s defense to draw from the energy of a loud home crowd and make key stops with the game on the line.

Kyle Jones: Ohio State 27, Tennessee 17
The Buckeyes come out aggressive and get an early lead, forcing the Vols to lean more heavily on a passing game not built to come back in such games.

Chris Lauderback: Ohio State 24, Tennessee 17
No outcome would surprise me and I don’t really feel like the cold weather favors the Buckeyes at all but I’ll ride with Ohio State’s defense to make the Volunteers one-dimensional and I have Jeremiah scoring at least one touchdown as OSU advances to face Oregon.

Ramzy Nasrallah: Ohio State 24, Tennessee 23
If the Buckeyes prepare for Tennessee, they’ll win and advance to the Rose Bowl. If they prepare for Michigan again, or a Michigan team from a past era, or decide scoring points isn’t nearly as important as proving points – they are going to lose the game. This prediction is a bet against the coaching staff’s recent behavior.

Josh Poloha: Ohio State 24, Tennessee 20
The Buckeyes come out with a point to prove and play with a chip on their shoulder, much like they did against Indiana, and get a big-time win over one of the best teams in the SEC. Ryan Day and Chip Kelly learn from their mistakes after the loss to Michigan and allow OSU’s playmakers to make plays on the outside all while the Silver Bullets dominate on that side of the ball.

Jason Priestas: Ohio State 23, Tennessee 13
The Buckeyes answer their critics in a historic, frigid, first for Ohio Stadium, and in doing so, inject themselves right back into the CFP contender discussion.

Jordan Raines: Ohio State 24, Tennessee 17
The Buckeyes get creative on offense and the defense holds Dylan Sampson in check allowing

Will Ohio State Cover?

The current Vegas spread sits at Ohio State -7.5 after opening at Ohio State -7. Since adding the hook, the Ohio State moneyline has peaked at -280. Tennessee’s moneyline has increased from +195 at open to +230 in some books. The initial game total of 46.5 has added a point and is showing at 47.5 in some spots.

With the current odds, just 21 percent (3 of 14) of our staff predictions have Ohio State covering while 93 percent (13 of 14) have the Buckeyes winning, but not covering.

Only Johnny Ginter predicted Tennessee to win outright.

What About the Over?

Every member of the 11W staff is going with the under.

Eleven Warriors House Prop Bets

Let’s make the game a little more interesting with a few prop lines set right here by Eleven Warriors. Make your predictions in the comments and compete for bragging rights.

• Emeka Egbuka Anytime Touchdown (+155)
  • Over 4.5 receptions (-114)
  • Under 4.5 receptions (-114)
• Jeremiah Smith Anytime Touchdown (+110)
  • Over 69.5 receiving yards (-114)
  • Under 69.5 receiving yards (-114)
• Will Howard Rushing Yards
  • Over 10.5 yards (-114)
  • Under 10.5 yards (-114)

Ohio State and Tennessee will clash under the scarlet lights of Ohio Stadium at 8 p.m. tonight. Don’t forget to make your official Eleven Warriors Prognostication before kickoff for a chance to win a free signed Jeremiah Smith jersey.

Kansas State added another defensive player to their roster Friday.

Former Ohio State LB Gabe Powers signed with the Wildcats. Powers was anticipated to be a solid contributor to the Buckeyes’ defense but hasn’t had much playing time. He logged five tackles and a pick-six last season.

KANSAS STATE’S CHRIS KLIEMAN RAVES ABOUT DYLAN EDWARDS’ POTENTIAL AS PREMIERE RUNNING BACK

Kansas State star DJ Giddens will forego his senior season after declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Is it time for Dylan Edwards to take over the position? Wildcats coach Chris Klieman believes so. When asked about what Edwards can do as a premiere back, Klieman raved about the diversity he brings to the position.

“He’s so versatile,” Klieman said. “He can line up as a single back by himself. He can line up in a two-back set, flex out and be a receiver, or take jet sweeps. He can run really good routes. That’s what’s important for us.”

Edwards had 56 carries for 350 yards and three touchdowns last season, along with 17 receptions for 156 yards and a receiving touchdown. He transferred from Colorado after totaling over 600 total yards and five touchdowns his freshman year.

Edwards has big shoes to fill as Giddens exits as one of the top rushers in school history. Nevertheless, Klieman is excited for him and Joe Jackson to get acclimated and start producing as the likely running back duo next year. Klieman says this begins with the Rate Bowl against Rutgers.

“I’m excited for those guys,” Klieman said. “It’s their chance to get established. We know a lot of the things that Dylan can do and we’re excited to be able to showcase a lot of those things for him. And then with Joe, we’ve seen some really good glimpses of him in the early part of the season.”

Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.

The former Ohio State linebacker signed with the Wildcats on Friday after entering the transfer portal earlier this month, according to multiple reports.

Ohio State transfer linebacker Gabe Powers has signed with Kansas State, @On3sports has learned.

Former top-150 recruit had an interception return for a touchdown in 2024.https://t.co/VxSGJETKD9 pic.twitter.com/D0h2lGOt4f

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) December 21, 2024

Advertisement

Powers brings two years of eligibility to Kansas State after three seasons at Ohio State. Powers played only sparingly in his three years as a Buckeye, though he returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of Ohio State’s season-opening win over Akron this season.

What a play by Gabe Powers for the @OhioStateFB touchdown. pic.twitter.com/3JsVeITD0R

— CBS Sports College Football (@CBSSportsCFB) August 31, 2024

Had Powers stayed at Ohio State, he likely would have remained a backup linebacker next season, assuming Sonny Styles stays at OSU for his senior year. Arvell Reese is in line to replace Cody Simon as the Buckeyes’ starting middle linebacker while Payton Pierce and C.J. Hicks – if he doesn’t make a full-time move to the edge – are also candidates for increased playing time at linebacker in 2025.

Powers, who opted not to remain with the Buckeyes for the CFP, chose Kansas State after also visiting Minnesota, North Carolina and Wisconsin. He becomes the second Buckeye since the end of the regular season to transfer to a new school, joining wide receiver Jayden Ballard, who committed to Wisconsin earlier this week.