Miami Football: 10 Things You Need to Know About the Ohio State Buckeyes

The Hurricanes started the season last Saturday with the same old sad song from last year, turnovers and penalties.

Come September 17, Miami better have those problems nipped in the bud as Ohio State rolls into town.

The Buckeyes beat Miami last year, 36-24, but vacated the win due to NCAA infractions.

Although these teams don't play each other every year, it almost seems like a rivalry is brewing.

Here are 10 things you need to know about the Ohio State Buckeyes this year.

Ohio State Owns Miami

Ok, maybe "own" is a little too much, but Ohio State really plays well against the Hurricanes.  The Buckeyes have beaten Miami three out of four times in their short history.

Everyone remembers the 2002 National Championship game in which the underrated Buckeyes beat a stacked Hurricanes team, 31-24.

Last year both teams met each other in Ohio and the Buckeyes won 36-24 as Jacory Harris threw four interceptions.

Buckeye's Special Teams, Not so Special

The only two Buckeye games I watched last year were against Miami and Wisconsin. That was all I needed to see to determine they had a less than stellar special teams

In the first half of the Miami game last year, Lamar Miller returned a kick 88 yards for a touchdown and Travis Benjamin returned a 79 yard punt return for a touchdown.

A few weeks later Wisconsin's David Gilreath returned the opening kick 97 yards for a touchdown.

This year Akron's Antoine Russell almost took one to the house against the Buckeyes.

Miami will have a chance to expose Ohio State's special teams again as both Miller and Benjamin will be licking their chops for more chances.

Suspensions Lifted for Four Players

The Buckeyes had eight players suspended in their opening win against the Akron Zips.

Earlier this week they got news that four of the suspended players, Jordan Whiting, Jordan Hall, Travis Howard, and Corey Brown, will be able to play against Toledo this Saturday.

When Ohio State comes down to play Miami on September 17 though, they will still be without running back Dan Herron, receiver DeVier Posey, left tackle Mike Adams and defensive lineman Soloman Thomas.

Miami had nine players suspended for their game against Maryland, but get them all back but Ray-Ray Armstrong, Olivier Vernon, and Dyron Dye.

Update: Coach Luke Fickell originally stated on Tuesday that Jordan Hall, Travis Howard, and Corey Brown would all play against Toledo, but the NCAA has said otherwise on Friday and denied those players eligibility for Saturdays game.

Deep Depth at Running Back

Ohio State was missing their top two running back, Jordan Hall and Dan Herron.  That didn't stop the Buckeye running backs from torching Akron with 162 yards rushing.

Granted the Akron Zips aren't the best team in the country, but it still is impressive when you can use your third and fourth string running backs and gain that many yards on the ground.

Although Herron will not be playing against the Hurricanes, Hall may be back, depending how long the NCAA suspends him, as of Friday, he was still ineligible for the Toledo game.

Miami must be able to control the ground game or they are in trouble.

The O-Line Is Very Good

Mike Adams and Corey Linsley were both suspended for the opener against Akron, yet they were able to run with third and fourth string running backs.

Well that begins with the offensive line and the Buckeyes apparently have depth.

When Ohio State comes down to Miami they should have Linsley back, but will be missing Adams.

With Miami getting all their defensive linemen but Olivier Vernon back, this could only help the Hurricanes defense.

Jake Stoneburner Is a Handful at Tight End

Jake Stoneburner was the third leading receiver for the Buckeyes last year catching 21 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns.

This year in the very first game of the season, he notched four catches for 50 yards and three touchdowns.

Stoneburner has very good size, listed at 6'5 245 pounds, and is very agile for a tight end.

With the problems the Hurricanes showed against the passing attack of Maryland last Saturday, Stoneburner could be a very difficult person to cover.

Buckeyes Young Freshmen Receivers Look Impressive

Want to hear something insane?

Four out of the five reception leaders in Ohio State's win over Akron last Saturday were freshman.

Verlon Reed led the Buckeyes with three catches for 66 yards, Devin Smith had three for 52 yards, T.Y. Williams had two for 34 yards, and Evan Spencer made an amazing 33 yard catch (see video).

With the graduation of leading receiver Dane Sanzenbacher and suspension of DeVier Posey, they really had no choice but to throw the freshmen to the wolves.

They didn't disappoint.

Ohio State Has a Quarterback Controversy as Well

Miami and Ohio State have a similar problem, which quarterback to start?

As everyone is well aware of Terrelle Pryor left Ohio State after his junior year to play in the NFL leaving question marks at quarterback.

In their first game against Akron, both Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller got playing time.

Bauserman got the better of two as he went 12 of 16 for 163 yards and three touchdowns.

Miller, freshman, held his own as well completing 8-12 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown.

Head coach Luke Fickell has said that both quarterbacks will play against Toledo in a similar role, Bauserman will start while Miller will play the second half.

Although It Was Akron, OSU'S Defense Line Looks Superb

I am not sure if Akron was missing any offensive linemen, but they looked liked like boys going up against men.

The Buckeyes defense held Akron to 90 total yards, including 35 rushing yards on 27 carries.

The defensive line seemed to know the snap count as they were in the Zips backfield even before the quarterback got the ball.

Soloman Thomas (suspended against Miami) would help the depth on the defensive line, but they may not need it.

This Is Not Your Typical Jim Tressel Offense

I know it was just the first game of the year, against Akron, but Ohio State seemed to look a little different on offense.

Ex-Buckeye coach Jim Tressel was a legend, there is no doubt about it, but he was a very conservative coach.

There wasn't much flashiness when it came to watching Tressel's Buckeyes, but after watching just one game in the post Tressel era, everything seemed different.

I actually seen them run a no huddle? In all the years of watching "Tresselball", I don't think I have ever seen that.

New head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Jim Bollman have seemingly opened up a restricted area of the playbook, which could make the Buckeyes even more dangerous.