Ohio State Football: 7 Things That Need Fixing for 2012

A 6-6 record (3-5 Big Ten) speaks for itself. The Ohio State football team squandered away its household name this year with its most losses since the 1999 season, and a poor performance in the Gator Bowl could land the Buckeyes their first losing season in 23 years.

However, things are looking up and expectations are beginning to rise once again after Urban Meyer decided to sign with OSU nearly two weeks ago. He surely has his hands full with a program under NCAA scrutiny and an underachieving team.

Nevertheless, he is also taking over one of the most prolific programs of all time and inherits young talent such as Braxton Miller and Jordan Hall.

Meyer will need to fix these seven things to put Ohio State back on the map and back to relevancy.

Special Teams

The Buckeyes clearly improved after last year's disastrous special teams campaign. That said, it's nowhere near where it needs to be to be considered a superior unit.

Drew Basil shook off a rocky start in which he missed his first two field-goal attempts in the first two games by completing every attempt moving forward (15-of-15). However, one of his extra points were blocked that ended up being the deciding factor in a loss to Purdue.

Jordan Hall provides a huge spark when returning kick and punt returns with his speed and overall athleticism. Still, he tends to get too excited before actually getting the ball and was seen muffing quite a few punts this season.

Ohio State has just a few kinks in this area to fix before the 2012 season begins.

Consistent Game Plan

In eight of 12 games this season, Ohio State found itself down early after the first quarter. This means the opponent had gotten a quick lead, carried momentum forward and forced the Buckeyes to play an all-too familiar game of catch-up.

OSU was outscored 92-51 in the first quarter this year, including a three-game stretch of being down 10-0 after the first 15 minutes to teams that include Indiana, Purdue and Penn State.

Urban Meyer will present a consistent game plan to the table so that situations such as this don't happen as often, which is a huge factor when trying to win a conference title.

Secondary

The picture provided above pretty much summarizes the performance of Ohio State's secondary in 2011.

In moments when a big play was needed, Buckeyes corners would much rather duck heads and hide their tails between their legs. OSU was notorious for missed tackles this season, and this unit was responsible for a good portion of it.

Not only was it not aggressive physically, but the secondary didn't create a whole lot of turnovers, either. Travis Howard, Bradley Roby, Christian Bryant and C.J. Barnett forced just seven interceptions as a group, which is unlike Ohio State defense.

The defensive backs and safeties need to improve for the Bucks to be successful next year.

Offensive Line

Let's be honest with ourselves: Ohio State has never been known for its offensive line. However, it was memorable for distinct poor play in 2011.

There wasn't one player on the O-line that didn't struggle at some point. Even center Michael Brewster, a senior team captain and supposedly one of the better prospects on the team, had numerous occasions of complete brain lapses where he'd snap the ball prematurely or off target.

The unit as a whole allowed 40 sacks this season, including giving up nine to Michigan State in Week 5. That's 3.3 per game and one for every 5.5 pass attempts.

Questions surrounding the offensive line will only continue to grow as starting seniors Mike Adams, J.B. Shugarts and Brewster graduate following this school year.

Intangibles

Have you ever heard the saying, "the little things matter the most"? Well, that's nearly the case here, with the adequate coaching decisions the Buckeyes have had thus far.

Don't get me wrong. Luke Fickell has done an outstanding job, given the circumstances. He was bound to make some mistakes down the road after abruptly being nominated the interim coach in May, following Jim Tressel's departure. But some of those inevitable bloopers became costly misjudgments.

For example, the most recent blunder was when Fickell called a questionable timeout late in the final drive against Michigan and then an ill-timed spiked ball call from the sidelines on 3rd-and-6 gave the Bucks just one last chance to move the chains.

If you watched the game, you know the decision didn't turn out very well.

Patience seemed to be the overused phrase when conversing about Fickell and the 2011 Buckeyes squad, which is all dandelions and lollipops. But when Meyer takes over, expect the "little things" like this to vanish.

Linebackers

Rob Reynolds, Larry Grant, Marcus Freeman, Bobby Carpenter, A.J. Hawk, James Laurinaitis, Austin Spitler, Brian Rolle and Ross Homan: all notable linebackers that have been drafted into the NFL since 2005.

Usually a proud, respectable asset to an Ohio State defense that would light up a pro scout's eyes, the Buckeyes' current linebacker corps is a complete mess.

Missed tackles and assignments were the highlight of the season as the group failed to grasp the concept of wrapping up opponents. Arm tackling was more existent than it ever needed to be and it showed on paper, as the Bucks allowed 20.8 points per game—7.5 points per game more than last year—which is good for 26th in the NCAA.

The only bright spot in this area was Andrew Sweat, who racked up 68 tackles in 10 games. He missed the final two regular-season games with a concussion. Sweat is a senior this year.

Pass Offense

This one is a given.

Ohio State averaged just 124.1 passing yards per game this year (116th), and true freshman Braxton Miller threw for more than 100 yards in only two of nine starts.

This pathetic statistic is the result of combining a young, inexperienced receiver corps, a first-year quarterback, a subpar offensive line and a ludicrously conservative offensive coordinator.

Miller showed flashes of brilliance in the 40-34 shootout against Michigan when his leash was loosened a tad; the gunslinger finished 14-of-25 with 235 yards and two touchdowns, while still getting 100 yards rushing and a score via ground attack.

Still, he missed two or three sure touchdown strikes that would have proved to be the game's difference.

The Buckeyes return an extremely talented group of young wide receivers with Devin Smith, Corey (Philly) Brown, Verlon Reed, Chris Fields and Evan Spencer, along with a solid pack of tight ends.

Not to mention Miller, who accounted for 50 percent of all touchdowns in just nine starts. Meyer has a tendency to favor dual-threat, athletic quarterbacks and has turned them into All-Stars.

Just look at Tim Tebow.