How good is Ohio State going to be this year? I have just a few reasons why Ohio State should (and I think will be) great this season.
1. Chris Wells. IF he recovers and is back soon, he will be the powerhouse of the POWERHOUSE. Wells is one of the top returning running backs in the country after rushing 1,600 yards and scored 15 touchdowns last year. Not to mention he is only a junior which leaves him time to mature and improve. Today Jim Tressel said Wells hurt his big toe. My opinion, don't let him play this week...rest up and get him ready to play #1 USC in week 3. But OSU needs Beanie...he just scares the defense away.
2. Even without their all-star RB Wells, the Buckeyes still have four stable backups: Maurice Wells, Brandon Saine, Dan Herron and Marcus Williams...and all of them have potential to put up good numbers.
3. James Laurinaitis. Defense wins games. And the Buckeyes will do it with the help of their star linebacker and captain. Let's just list his accomplishments shall we?
-National Defensive Player of the Year
-2007 Butkus Award winner
-Last 2 seasons:
-236 tackles
-9 sacks
-7 interceptions
wow.
4. Performance against Youngstown State: 43-0.
The Buckeyes played dominate football on both sides of the football. The defense proved themselves not letting Youngstown cross midfield until the games final play. The offense...well the score speaks for itself.
5. History. Saturday could very well mark Ohio States 800th win. Only four other schools have accomplished that (Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas and Nebraska). This doesn't have to do with just this season and how good the Buckeyes could be, but I think this record for OSU deserved a shout out.
6. Jim Tressel. Once again, let's list a few accomplishments.
-Back-to-back Big Ten titles
-4 Big Ten Conference Championships
-National Championship game appearances
-73-16 record in seven seasons
-National Title
-5 BCS Bowl appearances
7. USC. This will be a big factor on Ohio State's team this year. Week 3 of the season they are matched up with the number one team in the country. They are on the road, but if they pull of a W, OSU will really turn heads this season. They've got a solid defense and depending on the return of Beanie Wells, overall the Buckeyes have a solid offense as well. Even if they lose to USC, it won't be the end of the world but how they play will determine how good they really are...
As much as I know Ohio State tends to be overrated and is always projected to have a incredible season, I think this year everything is true. What other factors are going to lead Ohio State to be the powerhouse of the Big Ten?
5 comments:
Megan, terrific look atop the blog, and a strong format for this post. If they lose to USC and run the table in the Big Ten to earn a BCS bid, the rest of the country will roll its eyes yet again at the Buckeyes and dub them undeserving. But if they somehow beat USC, watch out. You'll have a legit national title contender to deal with.
ASSIGNMENT --
OK, we get it. Ohio State is the Big Ten's 1,000 beast. Now shake it out more and tell us which teams will be fighting for second place, and why.
That all OSU has to do this year to be the powerhouse of the Big Ten is to stay healthy (get healthy in Beanie's case) and play smart. They have far and away the most talent of any team in the conference and they should literally run away with it. The only way they won't play for another national championship (sigh...yawn) is if at least two other BCS conference teams have one loss or less. OSU will have at most one loss at the end of the regular season. Can they win the national championship? That depends on how they handle not playing anyone except for USC this season and how they can stack up against track speed. We all know what track speed did to them the last two years. They've been left in the dust. USC is the early test and it will be give the ball to Joe McKnight and catch him if you can.
I cite USC as a reason why OSU will be annoying this season.. not great. They can lose that game 1,000-0 and then go undefeated through a weak Big 10 and get a bid to the National Championship against, perhaps, USC. As long as YSU, Ohio, AND Troy are on the Buck's schedule, they will never be thought of as sick.
How bad is the Big Ten? How bad is Ohio State?
I mean if the Buckeyes are supposed to be above and beyond every other team in the Big Ten then the league is awful.
After watching the entire 2nd half of the Buckeyes game against Ohio (I had to leave the Iowa-FIU game at half because it was so boring) the Buckeyes were lucky to escape with a victory.
If the Ohio punt returner doesn't drop the punt right into the Ohio State guy's lap it's a different game. Ohio State scored 3 plays later after recovering the muffed punt to go up 19-14 and then held off Ohio to win the game.
Ohio State is going to get destroyed at USC, mark my words. It'll be close until half time and then USC will win the game by 20+ points. The only thing SICK about Ohio State is how SICK they looked against Ohio, similar to an ill person bedridden with a 103 degree fever.
Post a Comment