Ohio State Buckeyes Season Preview

Having a tumultuous offseason would be the understatement of the year for Jim Tressel and Buckeye nation. Losing five players for five games is brutal, but when they happen to be your top rusher (Herron), receiver (Posey) and arguably blocker (Adams), there may be issues that arise.

Also, did not I mention the coach that has led his program to the most BCS appearances resigned due to NCAA violations from a tattoo-parlor scandal. Losing your most explosive player and essentially your entire outlook on offense is gone with Terrelle Pryor now in the NFL.

Six straight BCS Bowl appearances and nine overall are the most in the history of the BCS dating back to January of 1999 when it all started. In those nine games the Buckeyes are 6-3, with two of the three losses coming in the BCS National Championship Game.

Depending on who you are talking to, many expect the Buckeyes to challenge and appear in another BCS bowl this upcoming season. However, with a Big Ten Championship being played on Dec. 3, 2011, most should simply ask if Ohio State will even be playing in it?

Pryor Commitment to Who Under Center?

Now as a member of the Leaders Division in the Big Ten, they will be facing the following teams every single year until further notice: Illinois, Indiana, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. No need to worry about the greatest rivalry in college football history as “The Game” will never go away. The season finale for Ohio State ends with a trip to Ann Arbor where new head coach Luke Fickell will attempt to start and more so end on the right foot.

Taking over for Pryor could be incoming freshmen Braxton Miller. He may be the consensus pick being ranked as the fourth best quarterback coming out of high school this past winter. Miller is a decent size freshman at 6’2”, 190 pounds. He stands tall in the pocket and can thread the needle with the best of them.

Also, he has the athleticism to run past defenders coming off the edge with his quick feet. His decision-making and reads could make an immediate impact. If he does not start the opener against Akron, look for any of the other two or three quarterbacks to get reps under center.

Joe Bauserman would make the most sense if not Miller because of his experience (backed up T-Peezy past two seasons) under center.

Bauserman is a solid 6’1”, 233 pounds who does not have the speed to run with the rock, so he has always been known for his throwing ability. He is nothing spectacular, but he has paid his dues and has a good of a shot to start ahead of Miller. (Please chime in who you think should start.)

If Miller or Bauserman struggle in the summer and or get dinged up, look for Kenny Guiton (talented sophomore) or Taylor Graham (should red-shirt as a true frosh). It looks as if it may be a two QB system at least early on. 

They Don't Rebuild, They Reload

The receiving corps will take a big hit in the first five without Posey stretching the field. He was an All-Big Ten selection and was expected to do the same this upcoming season. Corey Brown was a prized recruit and is expected to star in the near future.

They still need further development out of tight end Jake Stoneburner along receiver Chris Fields. The WR corp is so shot without Posey that they have supposedly been lining up some of the RBs in the slot and even out wide during the spring and summer.

The offensive line should not be in too much trouble without All-Big Ten selection left tackle Mike Adams. He surely will be missed in the Miami and Michigan State games, but overall the line will be just fine. They still have arguably the best center in the game with Mike Brewster.

The playmakers on offense are fairly new which makes us ask, "Who is the next great Buckeye?" Hopefully, that is answered in September in those prime time games against those teams in green and white.  

Stout Front Again?

Defensively, the front four will certainly miss Cam Heyward, but the play of the beast known as John Simon will make this unit nearly the same. Nathan Williams is exceptional off the edge, and Johnathan Hankins and Adam Bellamy are sensational sophomores who should make an immediate impact as starters. 

Defensive tackle Garrett Goebel also returns, who has earned his stripes the past few years, but is now ready for consistent playing time as fifth/sixth linemen when defensive end Solomon Thomas returns from his five game suspension.

The LB corp has plenty of shoes to fill, luckily they seemingly always reload. Andrew Sweat, Ethienne Sabino and Storm Klein all saw extensive playing time the past season, and the trio is now ready for stardom.

Sweat was the one lone starter who returns, but Bell and Klein are solid athletes. They are also your typical Buckeye linebackers that are instinctive and just have a nose for the ball.

Laying the Lumber in the Secondary

The secondary remains arguably the biggest question of any unit on the field. Travis Howard and Dominic Clarke have been the expected starters who have been playing with the first team defense the entire offseason. They are solid talents, but the backups are nearly all players who have not seen the field much. The safeties fall into the same realm as Orhian Johnson is the lone starter back.

CJ Barnett was a highly touted player coming out of high school and must contribute as a nickel back/third safety. Jamie Wood is the expected free safety competing with Christian Bryant. Whoever starts must not get lured and get beat deep on the play action early in the season against Miami and Michigan State.

The secondary did a fine job against Ryan Mallett and that high octane Pig Sooie aerial assault in the Sugar Bowl. Two key linemen, linebackers and defensive backs certainly helped stifle that offense, but those kids are now gone which means new ones will have their chances. 

New Coach Same Success?

The schedule for the Buckeyes may not seem daunting as a whole, but those first five games could be a nightmare because let us not forget that the game manager himself Jim Tressel will no longer be using that clock to a perfection.

Say what you about Tressel off the field, but he has been the best game clock manager in the BCS era with seven Big Ten Titles (six straight) and three appearances in the BCS National Championship Game.

Enter Luke Fickell (former co-defensive coordinator) who has basically lived in the state of Ohio his entire life.

He played pigskin at Ohio State from ’92-’96 and was a grad assistant in ’99 under his former coach John Cooper. He then coached the defensive line at Akron from 2000-2001. Ever since, he has been in front a raucous crowd of 102,329 screaming fans at the Horseshoe. 

Schedule Breakdown

Those first five games without their starters will be against Akron, Toledo, Miami, Colorado and Michigan State. Thank goodness all are at the Horseshoe outside of a trip to Coral Gables against the Canes. I just question how the team will respond without their ball coach Jim Tressel and with a brand new defense.

Wrapping up the offense though, it goes without saying that they need their youngsters to play like fifth-year seniors in the first month of the season.

Whoever replaces Pryor under center must avoid mistakes and costly interceptions/fumbles at all times. They have a big bulls eye on their back being one of the elite programs in America. It is almost always a foregone conclusion that Buckeye nation will be traveling to some BCS bowl.

This year things may be different though. Those first five games may put this team into a tailspin searching for answers that may never be solved.

Also, when all of the studs come back not including Tressel, they have to travel to Lincoln to take on the Children of the Corn. Husker nation will be licking their chops to be possibly the first team to knock off the team that has won six straight Big Ten champs.

Drama's Forecast

Arguably the best program in the nation among traveling support from their fans, there is no doubting the fans of Scarlet and Gray love their football. Winning six straight conferences and appearing in the most BCS bowls of all-time (9) has to count for something right?

The only way the Buckeyes can prove me and some of the nation wrong in those first five/six games is if they play near perfect ball and have a near All-American fall from the sky. Don't get me wrong, they have been the best program in America arguably during the regular season. They will contend and be legit threats for a BCS bowl.

However, every program eventually takes a small step back for a season or two, and I forecast the same happening to the Buckeyes with everything that has occurred this offseason.

PROJECTED RECORD: 8-5, 4-4

PREDICTED FINISH: Fourth in Legends, Seventh Overall 

PROJECTED BOWL: Gator Bowl

(Please let me know if there any player updates/injuries I am unaware of and remember this is just one man's opinion and it is far from gospel.)