The Time Has Come: Previewing the Ohio State Buckeyes' 2009 Season Opener

After eight long months since the Buckeyes' loss to the Texas Longhorns in the Fiesta Bowl, it is finally time for their 2009 season to begin.

Their opening opponent is no pushover in the Navy Midshipmen, a team which has led the nation in rushing each of the past four seasons.

In Annapolis, there are usually two constants: a heavy running game, and plenty of upperclassmen in the starting lineup. 2009 is no different, with 19 of the 22 starters on the depth chart being either a junior or senior.

Leading the Midshipmen attack will be junior QB Ricky Dobbs, whom Coach Niumatalolo said was the most complete dual-threat he's had at Navy in some time.

This means that Navy fans should expect a few more passes in the games.

Four returning starters on the line also should help give Navy's young playmakers opportunities to feel more comfortable. The line may have to play extraordinary early on because of the extremely limited amount of experience in the backfield.

But Navy is able to take pressure off of any one guy because of their efficient triple option game.

Former coach Paul Johnson brought the offense to Annapolis, and his successor Niumatalolo has continued the system in his stead.

As it is every year, few names on the Navy offense are known until they start to put up some huge numbers.

Defensively, the Midshipmen run a 3-4 defense, anchored at nose guard by a pair of DTs in Chase Burge and Jordan Stephens.

DE Jabaree Tuani returns for his sophomore season after being named a freshman All-American.

One thing the Midshipmen will have to shore up is a disappointing pass defense that has given up plenty of big plays in recent years.

With undersized linebackers and a secondary struggling to defend the pass, Navy will need to go on long, sustained drives and will have to avoid turnovers to hang with the Buckeyes.

Most intriguing matchup: QB Terrelle Pryor vs Navy LBs

As the most difficult, fastest QB the Navy defense will face, Terrelle Pryor looks to have a big day running the football although he does also want to display passing skills.

Navy will have to take away one of those plays because if he is allowed to run and to pass, the Midshipmen have no chance.

If the tilt when OSU has the ball shifts to Navy sending multiple players to blitz, that could play into Pryor's hands as he has a new multitude of targets to get the ball out to.

Prediction: Ohio State 38 - Navy 17

Navy will get their points due to an inexperienced Buckeye LB corps with only one starter out of the three returning in junior Ross Homan.

Look for Ohio State's powerful D-line to impose their will as time goes on against the Navy defense, and for players to slowly work their way into the Navy backfield.

Ohio State has spent a lot of drill time working on the option and pursuit drills, so they are as ready as they can be for this game.

Offensively, Ohio State will look to establish balance running Dan Herron and Brandon Saine while opening the playbook for Pryor's arm.

In the end, the athleticism of the Buckeyes will win them the game against an honorable opponents, and a much better team than the Buckeyes have started against in the past.

As a bonus today, as this is the beginning of the 2009 college football season, I will also deliver bonus predictions for some of the top games in the country this weekend.

Oregon 35 - Boise State 27

Jeremiah Masoli and Legarrette Blount will not let Oregon forget the loss at home last season to the Broncos.

Replacing superstar Ian Johnson will be a challenge for the Broncos, but Kellen Moore will win Boise State many games on his arm. However, expect the Broncos to fall just short in an epic game against Chip Kelly's bunch this season.

Alabama 17 - Virginia Tech 14

The big matchup between two top-ten teams in the country looks to be a defensive showdown in Atlanta.

The loss of star RB Darren Evans was seismic for the Hokies, but nothing they shouldn't overcome with Tyrod Taylor at the controls.

In the end, Alabama just has too much firepower in Mark Ingram, Roy Upchurch, and Julio Jones.

Georgia 31 - Oklahoma State 28

This could end up having the most interesting fireworks of any game of the first weekend. Georgia loses their two top offensive players in Matthew Stafford in Knowshon Moreno, but they return many of their top defensive stars including Rennie Curran and Jeff Owens.

The Georgia defense could be the fastest the Cowboys see in 2009, but their trio of superstars will get them some points.

If they don't shore up defensively, look at RB Caleb King to get some good yards on the ground and Joe Cox to AJ Green being a common occurrence.

This matchup will go down to the wire, but I give the nod to the Georgia team because of a defense more capable of containing the OK State offense than vice versa.