Jim Tressel Resigns: Will Ohio State Rally or Fold in the Face of Adversity?

The 2011 season was already shaping up to be a tough test of Ohio State’s resolve.

Today’s announcement of coach Jim Tressel’s resignation only adds to the mounting pile of drama.

Amid scandal and stories of a cover-up, Tressel, who guided the program to eight BCS bowl games in his tenure, finally saw the writing on the wall and realized there was no way to repair wounded relationships with the NCAA and the school.

Thus, Tressel’s reign is officially over.

It’s time to prepare for Fickell ball.

Former defensive coordinator Luke Fickell will now attempt to guide the team he once suited up for through the many traps and pitfalls this season has in store.

The road will be bumpy and by no means easy.

Saying that Ohio State has the most talented roster in the Big Ten might be true, but it’s also deceiving.

The Buckeyes will be without four of their most important offensive players for the first five games of the season. They will in turn be forced to rely on a defense that’s breaking in seven new starters this year.

Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State will be looking to make a charge at a conference championship, and there will be plenty of other hurdles to get over along the way.

QB Terrelle Pryor, one of the "Ohio State Five" who are suspended for the beginning of the year, could be the key figure in all of this.

Pryor and his mentor were at the heart of this whole investigation that ultimately cost Coach Tressel his job.

How will the fans and the team look at Pryor now?

Is he a villain or a potential savior?

The way Pryor gets treated from here on out will be play a huge role in how all of this will eventually work out.

If he’s embraced, Pryor could be motivated enough to come in and shine in his final season. But if he’s shunned, there’s no telling how he could react.

Pryor’s one of the most naturally gifted athletes in college football, but as we’ve seen, he hasn’t proven to be the most mature and levelheaded kid.

If Ohio State survives the first five games of the year unscathed, it will potentially set up one of the biggest showdowns of the season at Nebraska on Oct. 18.

Remember, though, this isn’t your normal "we’re losing our coach" situation. This is the rare "we’re losing our coach because a select few players put themselves before the team" situation.

Pryor, RB Boom Herron, WR DeVier Posey and OT Mike Adams are going to be huge losses for the first five games, but it’s what they’re ready to do in the second half of the season that will be the most important determinant of this team’s ultimate success.

A year ago, it was almost impossible to foresee Jim Tressel going out in this type of fashion, a tainted name vacated from a tainted program.

There’s no telling the kind of toll this will take and what sort of shock waves this will trigger.

What we do know is that you’re probably going to be hearing Urban Meyer’s name bouncing around in Columbus an awful lot pretty soon.

What we do know is that Terrelle Pryor is going to have to come up with some definitive answers for the many new questions he’s about to be asked.

Finally, what we do know is that Ohio State has what it takes to be a Big Ten contender. We know the circumstances will play some type of role, but we just don’t what type of true impact they’ll have.

Luke Fickell, Terrelle Pryor and the rest of the Ohio State football team have the ammo to fight their way through this, but it remains to be seen how motivated they'll be to use it.