Ohio State Football: Why Jim Tressel's Buckeyes Will Be Stronger Off Bye Week

Throughout Jim Tressel's career at Ohio State, the Buckeyes have only been 2-4 in games following a bye week.

But this time around, with three games left to go and a chance for an at-large BCS bid and an outside title shot on the line, there should be little doubt that Ohio State will be ready to roll come Saturday against Penn State.

Terrelle Pryor and the Buckeyes will need to win out to get back into the BCS party for the eighth time in Tressel's 10-year tenure, which is a remarkable statistic in itself.

But none of these games will be cakewalks by any stretch.

First up is a Penn State team fresh off of Joe Paterno's 400th victory, and they have always played the Buckeyes tough no matter the record.

And even though former walk-on Matt McGloin will be under center, there is no reason to overlook the Nittany Lions no matter how strong or weak the team looks.

Getting past that will be undoubtedly the hardest game left in the Big Ten schedule, at Iowa against the Hawkeyes who have looked shockingly bipolar in the past few weeks.

At times, this group can be utterly dominant as they were against Michigan State and Penn State.

But at other times, this team puts on puzzling performances, as they did at Arizona and almost giving up a game to a mediocre Indiana squad on their own field.

This Iowa team though has possibly the best defense in the Big Ten, especially in the front four and in safeties Brett Greenwood and Tyler Sash.

And winning in Iowa City in November with the weather will make it that much more challenging for Pryor and the Buckeyes to pull off what would very well be a signature win, something they thought they had against Miami before the Hurricanes proved their inconsistencies as well.

Lastly, they play Michigan the next Saturday, which presents its own challenges in stopping all-everything QB Denard Robinson.

If healthy, Robinson is capable of putting up amazing numbers against a multitude of defenses.

But defense is a big question mark that should have few Buckeye fans worried at this moment.

The best good news for this Ohio State team though is that its defensive leader, LB Ross Homan, will be back in the lineup for Saturday's showdown against the Nittany Lions.

Homan's return along with the potential return of backup LB Dorian Bell should help alleviate concerns from several weeks ago about the huge gap in terms of defensive depth.

The secondary has taken numerous hits, especially in the safety position.

But for a team that has been struggling with injuries all season long, getting their emotional leader back in Homan could be very huge for this team, as he was sorely missed for most of OSU's loss at Wisconsin.

Homan's return will allow junior LB Andrew Sweat to return to his normal position on the weak side after playing tremendous football in Homan's absence.

But the most important focus will be on Terrelle Pryor's knee, which has limited his running ability significantly since their win at Illinois back in September.

If he is back to at least 90 percent, then this team can almost be back to its full potential when they need it against the meat of OSU's schedule.

The good news for Buckeye fans is that Tressel has not lost a November game since 2007 against Illinois.

And for a team that outscored its previous two opponents 101-10, that could be bad news for the final three teams standing in the way of Ohio State punching another BCS ticket.

This article can be found on The BCS Blitz. Don't forget to follow me on Twiiter @bielik_tim.