The Ohio State Buckeyes are completely focused on winning a national championship this season. However, there is one player who does not appear to be very happy with his current situation.

C.J. Hicks, a junior linebacker, was very vocal about his displeasure with his role for the team this season.

“They need to put me on the f**king edge,” Hicks said after the win over Purdue last week.

Despite the team success, Hicks is unhappy. More than likely, that could lead to an offseason decision from the linebacker to leave the program in the offseason.

Ryan Stano of Scarlet & Game believes that it is “inevitable” that Hicks will end up deciding to transfer after the season.

“It would not be surprising to see Hicks declare for the portal, regardless of what the result is of this team. Even if they win the national title, Hicks will likely look elsewhere. He has to do what he thinks is best for him. That’s what the portal allows players to do.”

At one point in time, Hicks was expected to be a huge part of the Ohio State defense. He simply hasn’t been able to develop his game and continue earning consistent playing time and the role he wants.

So far during the 2024 college football season with the Buckeyes, Hicks has racked up 19 total tackles to go along with 1.5 sacks and a defended pass. His numbers haven’ been horrible for the role he has been given.

If Hicks does end up deciding to transfer away from Ohio State, there will likely be quite a few teams interested in securing his commitment. There is no denying the talent that he possesses.

Unfortunately, the situation simply seems to have turned south. Hicks absolutely does have to do what’s best for him. Right now, it sounds like a transfer is what he could decide on.

In July, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision that customers who order boneless chicken should expect bones.

Ohio Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, wants to change that with a bill that would establish a test for restaurants’ and suppliers’ liability for food with harmful substances.

“In 49 of the 50 states, boneless means without a bone, but in Ohio, boneless means the predominance of finding a bone,” he said.

What is the boneless chicken case in question?

In 2016, Hamilton resident Michael Berkheimer ordered his usual, boneless chicken wings with parmesan garlic sauce, at Wings on Brookwood. He ate the wings with a knife and fork as he usually did and accidentally swallowed a roughly 1.3-inch chicken bone.

The bone tore a hole in his esophagus, Berkheimer told The Cincinnati Enquirer, and led to infections and a two-month hospital stay. He sued the restaurant and the food supplier. The case went all the way up to the Ohio Supreme Court, but Berkheimer never got a jury trial.

The court ruled that boneless wings refers to a cooking method and not a guarantee of no bones.

“To say that boneless is food preparation, give me a break. That’s twisting the law,” DeMora said.

What would the bill do?

DeMora said it’s a matter of food safety and consumer protection.

“I don’t know anywhere in Ohio people don’t eat boneless wings,” he said. “Parents order their children chicken nuggets, those are boneless wings. They have to worry about there being bones now.”

His bill would allow for a jury trial for a civil lawsuit brought by someone who suffered injury, death or loss from consuming food with a substance harmful to human health. It would also create a “reasonable expectation test” to decide whether the restaurant or food supplier is liable for the injury.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. If it does not receive final approval before the end of the year, the bill will need to be introduced during the next general assembly.

“As members of the legislature, it’s our job to try to rectify this, and I hope my colleagues will at some point in the next session take this seriously, because it is a serious matter,” DeMora said.

Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Big Ten football kicks off on the shores of Lake Michigan this weekend as No. 2 Ohio State hits the road against Northwestern. Let’s check in with the latest prediction for the matchup from an analytical model that simulates games.

Ohio State is still behind undefeated Oregon and Indiana in the Big Ten standings and, with the loss to the Ducks, needs to stay winning with the Hoosiers coming up next weekend.

Northwestern moved to 2-4 in Big Ten play after getting past Purdue last time out but sits 120th in passing output and 126th out of 134 FBS teams in scoring production with 18 points per game.

Looking ahead to this week’s matchup, let’s check out the latest college football predictions from the Football Power Index computer prediction model.

The model simulates every NCAA college football game 20,000 times and uses key analytics from both teams and picks winners based on a projected scoring margin per game.

As expected, the models are siding strongly with the Buckeyes over the Wildcats this weekend.

Ohio State is the big favorite on the road, coming out ahead in 95.3 percent of the computer’s most recent simulations of the game.

That leaves Northwestern as the presumptive winner in the remaining 4.7 percent of sims.

In total, the Buckeyes came out ahead in 19,060 of the index’s calculations of the game, while the Wildcats edged out OSU in the other 940 predictions.

How does that translate to an expected margin of victory in the game?

Ohio State is projected to be 26.7 points better than Northwestern on the same field in both teams’ current composition, according to the model’s latest forecast.

If so, that wouldn’t be enough for the Buckeyes to cover the spread against the Wildcats.

That’s because Ohio State is a 28.5 point favorite against Northwestern, according to the updated lines posted to FanDuel Sportsbook.

FanDuel lists the total at 43.5 points for the game (Over -115, Under -105).

The book didn’t list any moneyline odds for the game, given the Buckeyes are such big favorites.

A slight majority of bettors expect the Wildcats will make things closer against the Buckeyes, according to the latest spread consensus picks for the game.

Northwestern is getting 53 percent of bets to either win outright in the upset, or more likely, to keep the final margin under 29 points in a loss.

The other 47 percent of wagers project Ohio State will win the game and cover the big point spread.

Ohio State is first among Big Ten teams and third nationally with a 92.5 percent chance to qualify for the College Football Playoff, according to the FPI’s metrics.

That model gives the Buckeyes a win total projection of 11 games this season.

Northwestern’s postseason hopes are just about dashed, but not extinguished just yet.

The model projects the Wildcats will win 4.6 games in ‘24.

That translates to a 10.9 percent shot to become bowl eligible this season.

Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance. 

Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season and games, using a combination of key analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, team talent, recruiting, and a team’s schedule.

Teams are ranked not in order of talent like in other rankings, but by a projected point margin per game against an average team on a neutral field.

1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Penn State
5. Indiana
6. BYU
7. Tennessee
8. Notre Dame
9. Miami
10. Alabama
11. Ole Miss
12. Georgia
13. Boise State
14. SMU
15. Texas A&M
16. Kansas State
17. Colorado
18. Washington State
19. Louisville
20. Clemson
21. South Carolina
22. LSU
23. Missouri
24. Army
25. Tulane

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When: Sat., Nov. 16
Time: 12 p.m. Eastern
TV: Big Ten Network

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, please call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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