Ohio State Football: 10 Reasons Why the Buckeyes Are the Big Ten's Favorites
Ever since 2005, Ohio State football was won at least a share of the Big Ten Conference. That's six seasons worth of football dominance by the Buckeyes.
However, the run of titles could change not only as a result of the suspensions to five players and Jim Tressel, but also due to the new Big Ten format that means there will be no more shared titles due to a Big Ten Championship Game this December in Indianapolis.
The suspensions will hurt their shot at a national title, but not necessarily their chance at playing for a Big Ten title unless the NCAA sanctions keep them out this year, which is very unlikely the longer it takes for the punishments to be delivered.
But the Buckeyes should still be considered a favorite to win the conference this year, and here are 10 reasons why.
10. New Wrinkles in the Offense
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In Terrelle Pryor's third season as a starter, the offense took a leap to another level, showing some explosiveness with a great balance of running and throwing.
This season, new receivers coach Stan Drayton has plans to incorporate multiple running backs into the offense at the same time due to the lack of experience at the receiver position outside of DeVier Posey.
The main guy to watch as far as backs catching passes is Jordan Hall, a guy Drayton has said can be a poor man's Percy Harvin, except without the blazing speed.
With as many as four RBs for Ohio State that can see the field this season, look for multiple backs on the field so as to use their unique talents efficiently.
It makes little sense having that talent sitting on the bench if the offense is ineffective as a result.
9. A Winning Attitude
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As mentioned at the beginning of this slideshow, these Ohio State players have never known anything except winning Big Ten titles and playing in the BCS in the past six seasons.
Terrelle Pryor in his career has won all but five games he has started in his three years, so he has proved himself as a winner.
Jim Tressel knows how to win important games late in the season, especially in November where Ohio State has not lost a game since 2007, when Big Ten games matter more than ever.
If Ohio State needs a win to play for a spot in the Big Ten title game against Michigan, putting money on the Buckeyes would be a safe bet considering past precedents.
8. Winning the Big Ten Starts with Winning the Division
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In this new format, teams need to win their division before they can even play for a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Although the names of the two divisions, the Legends and Leaders, have been ridiculed a large amount, the competitive balance should be very intriguing.
Ohio State draws Wisconsin, Penn State, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana in the Leaders Division, meaning they avoid playing Michigan State and Nebraska every single season.
The division this year will most likely come down to OSU, Wisconsin and Penn State with Illinois being a sleeper this season.
But unless Ohio State is able to win their division which is certainly a good prediction, they won't even get a shot to play for consecutive title No. 7.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. The Defense Always Reloads
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The Ohio State defense is down seven starters from a year ago, including Cameron Heyward, Ross Homan and Chimdi Chekwa, all of whom have become household names in Buckeye Nation.
But as they say about the best programs, they don't rebuild, they reload.
And certainly Ohio State does have a little bit of retooling to do at all three levels, but they do have a large assortment of new silver bullets to install into place, including LB Etienne Sabino and DB Travis Howard, both of whom have drawn great praise from the coaches.
This group has the potential to be one of the most athletic defenses that Ohio State has ever fielded, almost on the level of some of the best defenses from the SEC like Alabama's or LSU's units.
There will likely be some growing pains, but this group come November should be among the best if not the best in the Big Ten, and defense wins championships.
6. Ohio State's Running Game Is Good Even Without Dan Herron
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Another old adage in football that still rings true is that great teams can run the football, and Ohio State has no shortage of guys that can run the ball.
The depth at the RB position with youngsters Jordan Hall, Jaamal Berry and Rod Smith is why most fans aren't too worried about Dan Herron being under suspension, even with his 16 TDs in 2010.
Fans have gotten a chance to see Hall and Berry do some damage returning kicks, as the duo combined to finish No. 5 in the FBS in kick return average, although they combined for only 40 returns on the season.
Smith, on the other hand, has wowed coaches since the Sugar Bowl practices, drawing some Eddie George comparisons, which is incredibly high praise for the young back from Indiana.
Without Herron, this running back corps is very talented. With him back in the lineup, it's downright scary.
5. Pryor, Tressel and Co. Will Only Miss One Big Ten Game This Season
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Most people have talked the story of Terrelle Pryor, four other Buckeyes and Jim Tressel being suspended to death in the past couple of months.
But although it may cost the Buckeyes a shot at a national championship, the reality is that it might not hurt their chances at a Big Ten title all that much.
They only have one Big Ten opponent in the suspension timeframe, October 1 at home against a Michigan State team they last saw in 2008.
This game is very much a tossup at the moment with the difference possibly being the home-field advantage Ohio State will enjoy in that matchup.
The Spartans are part of the Legends Division, meaning that this game will not factor in the division race, but this can still be a tone-setter for Ohio State should they beat Michigan State in Week 5.
4. Ohio State May Be the Most Talented Team in the Big Ten
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No dynasty can ever be done in sports without talent, and Ohio State has that in bunches everywhere.
Although Nebraska can match their speed and Wisconsin overpowered them a year ago, Ohio State may be the most balanced and talented team in the Big Ten.
Ohio State has an incredible amount of athletes and a great combination of power and speed to go with great positional coaching.
One of the only Achilles' heel for this team may be offensive line depth, as the coaches at that position have been heavily criticized in the past several years.
But where they are strong and how strong they are at those spots plays well into how talented this team is and that they can still be a national title contender as long as they survive the first five weeks of the season.
3. The Leaders Division Title Runs Right into the Horseshoe
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Although Ohio State does have many personnel questions to figure out, they can take comfort in one thing: their toughest division matchups are all home games.
Wisconsin, the team that physically embarrassed Ohio State when the Buckeyes were the No. 1 team in the country a year ago, head to Ohio State on October 29 in a primetime affair.
In addition, Joe Paterno's Penn State squad makes a rare repeat trip to Columbus on November 19 to close out the Buckeyes' round-robin division schedule.
Wisconsin was shut down in Columbus in 2009 31-13 despite dominating time of possession by over 25 minutes, and Penn State surrendered 35 unanswered points last season in a 38-14 loss in Columbus.
Although the Buckeyes do have to make return trips next season, the road to Indianapolis goes literally through Columbus as one of those two teams will need to beat Ohio State in the Horseshoe to play for the conference title.
2. Terrelle Pryor's Farewell Tour
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Some Buckeyes fans will probably be happy that Terrelle Pryor's final season is here for reasons that have nothing to do with his on-field success.
But as for what he does on the field as both a player and a leader, Pryor took major strides last season despite still suffering through chronic injury issues to his lower body sustained at Illinois and after the Sugar Bowl.
Anyone who questions Pryor's desire to win again has to check the record and some of his biggest performances, including the final drive at Iowa that kept Ohio State in the driver's seat for the conference title last year.
Between his NFL future and the past allegations relating to the tattoo scandal, Pryor has all the individual motivation in the world to not come out starting October 8 at Nebraska and will his team to another conference title.
He has done it before and can certainly do it again.
1. Ohio State's Us Against the World Mentality
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If the Buckeyes fans are sick of hearing all of these negative stories about their program being in damage control right now, just imagine how the players feel.
Based on some of the tweets players have posted on Twitter, the team feels more united in their cause and dug into an us against the world mindset.
We saw that in spurts against Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl when they got off to a 28-point explosion in the first half before trying to hold onto the lead desperately.
If this team can turn all the distractions into positive motivation, all the negativity into consistent energy, there's no reason to believe this team can't win their seventh straight Big Ten title.
But it needs to be controlled and channeled into their most important games, including at Nebraska and home against Wisconsin.
Ohio State definitely still has all the tools to emerge out of the darkness of the tattoo scandal as a champion once again this season.
For more college football news and updates, visit The BCS Blitz and follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim.
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