Music to listen to: Love and Memories by O.A.R
Last Season: Ohio State finished last year with a 12-1 mark, including a victory over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. However, what happened this past offseason has had a more significant impact on the Ohio State program than anything that happened on the field last year.
If you’re reading this post you know how head coach Jim Tressel was released from his position and Terrelle Pryor isn’t going to be the starting quarterback this season as well. There were also some other players suspended for several games this season as well and the impact will be detailed throughout this post.
Offense: Pryor is not with the program and even his detractors have to acknowledge that the Buckeyes just lost a senior quarterback with more than three years of experience with the school. There are up to four potential replacements but it seems like the battle will be between veteran Joe Bauseman and true freshman Braxton Miller. If the Buckeyes want a traditional passer, which has been more of the model of success for the program in the past, than Bauseman is the choice. For athleticism and a chance to start over with a clean slate, Miller is the call. Both men will see plenty of action in the first two games of the season and the decision should be clear from those contests.
The Buckeyes do return their leading rusher (Dan Herron) and receiver (Devier Posey) to this year’s team but both men will miss the first five contests of this upcoming season due to suspension. Ohio State usually finds a way to get production from different sources in these positions so the drop off shouldn’t be significant.
Three starting offensive lineman return as well.
Defense: The Buckeyes will miss defensive lineman Cameron Heywood but return Nathan Williams and John Simon to the unit.
Etienne Sabino (best name in college football) will lead a linebacker group that suffered significant losses in the offseason. The secondary must also show improvement from last season.
Coaching: Tressel won many games for the Buckeyes and fit the profile that the program likes to present in relation to what an Ohio State coach should be like. Obviously, he failed in several aspects of his job and was released from the post because of it.
Replacing Tressel is Luke Fickelll, who must pick up the pieces. He’s been in the Ohio State program since 1993 when he was a nose guard for the program. He’s someone that knows what will work at Ohio State and provide guidance during this transitional period for the school. However, he’s never been a head coach at any level and has to learn on the job at one of the five biggest programs in college football.
Schedule:
9/3 Akron
9/10 Toledo
9/17 at Miami
9/24 Colorado
10/1 Michigan State
10/8 at Nebraska
10/15 at Illinois
10/29 Wisconsin
11/5 Indiana
11/12 at Purdue
11/19 Penn State
11/26 at Michigan
Its good to see that the Buckeyes have kept the tradition of playing two MAC teams at home per season going despite the turmoil of this offseason. Why doesn’t Ohio State just replace Colorado with Ball State or Eastern Michigan to please the Midwestern fans even more?
The road test at Miami may be difficult because of the suspended players but the Hurricanes are going through transitions themselves. The Buckeyes get Michigan State and Wisconsin at home, which is good but have to head to Nebraska, which can be tough.
Best Case: The Buckeyes channel the negativity and get a major win at Miami to give the squad confidence heading into the Big Ten season. The lone loss comes at Nebraska but Ohio State gets revenge on the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten title game , win the conference and head to the Rose Bowl.
Worst Case: The distractions are too much and the Buckeyes drop the game at Miami, which leads to an inconsistent season where they beat teams that they’re supposed to (Illinois) but lose to teams of equal or better quality (Nebraska, Wisconsin), leading to a solid season but not double-digit wins.
Uniform grade:
It’s a traditional look that hasn’t changed in years and shouldn’t. I haven’t been a fan of the new Nike combat uniforms the past few years but fortunately those only appear once a year. The Buckeyes also get an extra half-letter grade for being the program to popularize the helmet sticker, something that many programs have tried to imitate but not be as good as them. Grade: B+
Favorite Football Alum & Crush for the Ladies and Non-Traditional Sports Fan:
I like Eddie George for a variety of reasons. He was a great player for the Buckeyes, spent the majority of his pro career with the Tennessee Titans, one of my favorite teams and is a good guy in the Nashville community, a place I lived for seven years.
Furthermore, he’s one of the five best looking guys I’ve ever seen in person. Even as a straight man, I have to give him respect in that regard and that’s why he also gets the honor of being the Crush for the Ladies and Non-Traditional Sports Fan.
Alumna Crush:
Melina Kanakaredes has been on my radar for years for her work in the television shows Providence and CSI: NY. Pretty easy choice for me.
Final thoughts: Only a program like Ohio State or Alabama can survive the issues of the offseason and still be considered a favorite in a major conference because the structure of the program and overall talent on the roster makes that possible.
The Buckeyes had a national championship-caliber roster before Tressel and Pryor left. Now, the team is still good enough to win the Big Ten.
Prediction: 8-4
The Sports Inquirer 
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