the Buckeyes...

[IamLEGENDsince87]

Buckeye fans (me included)/college football fans in general, what are realistic expectations for this years team?

[kayfngee]

Re: the Buckeyes...

I think first or second in the Big 10 should be a realistic goal for the Buckeyes this year. Pryor should be better as a passer and they have the whole spring to work on finding ways to use him better. I look for the defense to take a step back. It should be ok, but not as good as the last few years. I'm guessing they lose to USC at home and lose anywhere from zero to two games in Big 10 play.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: the Buckeyes...

At this point, who really knows.

I expect the offense/passing game to be much better now that Robo and Hartline are gone. Posey, IMO, is going to be the next great OSU WR. If Berry and Hyde live up to the hype, we could have a good running game as well.

That POS Boone if finally gone, so hopefully our QB's are not going to get pounded from the weak side anymore. I'm not too confident about our guards, although I don't know if Cordle is still there or not. The transfer from Michigan, Zach...something should be able to help out as well. Brewster getting another year under his belt will help.

The real wild card for the offense is if Tressel gets creative or if he continues with the 3 yards and a cloud of dust he's been using as of late.

For defense...who knows. The just graduated class took a lot of problems with them, ones that Tressel and Heacock refused to fix *Little Animal.* The secondary may be alright, although Anderson Russell needs to get back to being at least above average. I really like Sabino, Hines, and a few more LB'ers and hopefully they give Sweat a decent shot at winning the job.

Defensive line is...who knows. Lawrence Wilson I think is back again, as are a couple of others, but the real problem is up the middle. If we can get a push/speed at DT, then we will see the return of a great OSU defense. If we continue to be slow, "strong" run stuffers up the middle, then we are in some big, big trouble.

Again, it all comes down to coaching. I really think that Heacock and Bollman needed to be fired this year. If we have another year where we are embarrassed in the big game *USC* then we need to seriously start thinking about getting some new coaches in here that can coach.

Personally, I think Tressel is a few years away from getting canned if he keeps doing what he is doing. We are the running joke of NCAA football right now for our inability to win the big game, and that reminds me of John Cooper a little too much.

[Sportsbuck]

Re: the Buckeyes...

Personally, I think Tressel is a few years away from getting canned if he keeps doing what he is doing. We are the running joke of NCAA football right now for our inability to win the big game, and that reminds me of John Cooper a little too much.

Are you joking?

Over the past four years we have won four consecutive Big Ten titles, played in four consecutive BCS bowl games with two of those being National Championship appearances, and had a Heisma winner. He's got Ohio State on his best streak ever against Michigan and is 7-1 overall.

The man has won over 80% of his games and has a national title on top of all that... and you think he should be fired if he continues that?

[OSUFan_88]

Re: the Buckeyes...

Are you joking?

Over the past four years we have won four consecutive Big Ten titles, played in four consecutive BCS bowl games with two of those being National Championship appearances, and had a Heisma winner. He's got Ohio State on his best streak ever against Michigan and is 7-1 overall.

The man has won over 80% of his games and has a national title on top of all that... and you think he should be fired if he continues that?

Yep.

He has gone to four consecutive BCS Bowl games, and has won....how many? His Heisman winner decided to suck in the biggest game of his career. Winning the Big Ten for four consecutive years is fine, but when there was literally no one to challenge you, it's pretty easy.

If I was the AD, I would have told him to fire his coordinators a long time ago. Tress is just way too loyal to his old buddies.

[Sportsbuck]

Re: the Buckeyes...

That POS Boone if finally gone, so hopefully our QB's are not going to get pounded from the weak side anymore. I'm not too confident about our guards, although I don't know if Cordle is still there or not. The transfer from Michigan, Zach...something should be able to help out as well. Brewster getting another year under his belt will help.

Justin Boren is the name your looking for, he was the biggest standout performer of bowl practices, no one could beat him and he blew everyone off the line.

The real wild card for the offense is if Tressel gets creative or if he continues with the 3 yards and a cloud of dust he's been using as of late.

You don't think that having a true freshman quarterback may have contributed to that basic offense? Or the fact that the oline couldn't block to save their lives?

Again, it all comes down to coaching. I really think that Heacock and Bollman needed to be fired this year. If we have another year where we are embarrassed in the big game *USC* then we need to seriously start thinking about getting some new coaches in here that can coach.

There's only so much coaching you can do, the players have to do their part as well. It doesn't matter what play you call when Rey Malalauga is eating everyone's lunch up the middle, nor when Clay Mathews is destroying Alex Boone off the edge.

Bollman I can understand... how poor of a job he's done coaching the oline as of late is not acceptable at a school like tOSU. But Heacock? The man completely changed the defense for the better following the USC game. He flustered McCoy in the Fiesta Bowl and held one of the nation's most potent offenses to just 24 points.

The difference between the USC game and the Texas game is day and night as far as the defense goes. Against USC, our blitzes were extremely predictable and we didn't put any pressure on them and got destroyed. Against Texas we have a completely different defense that is coming at McCoy from all angles and just putting the heat on the man all night.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: the Buckeyes...

If Heacock coaches every game like he coached that Texas game, then he'll be alright.

Bollman should be gone. He's the offensive coordinator AND offensive line coach...and the offensive line has been horrible the last few years.

He's been given talent, he just cannot coach it. I seriously doubt that Bollman can coach in the new College Football that has spreads and relies on quickness.

[buckeyefan78]

Re: the Buckeyes...

Two losses: USC and at Penn State

Then you never know with Michigan

[jsquigg]

Re: the Buckeyes...

As a Michigan fan, I agree with the poster who said Jim Tressel should be fired, LOL.

[IamLEGENDsince87]

Re: the Buckeyes...

is the spring roster out N if so, wat freshmen r on it???

[mmorg]

Re: the Buckeyes...

Personally, I think Tressel is a few years away from getting canned if he keeps doing what he is doing. We are the running joke of NCAA football right now for our inability to win the big game, and that reminds me of John Cooper a little too much.

Ohio State hasn't lost a game to an opponent who didn't make it to a BCS bowl since Purdue in 2004. Since then they have been 45-8.

Oklahoma hasn't won a BCS game for a while now and I don't hear people trying to get Stoops fired. In fact they've gotten blown out a couple of times too.

He really does need to find a better Offensive Coordinator though. The O-Line has sucked for a while and the best way to improve it I think is to shake things up.

[IamLEGENDsince87]

Re: the Buckeyes...

I hope Pryor switches to 11 like he said, so Carter can get 2...thatd be sweet

[OSUFan_88]

Re: the Buckeyes...

According to the Media, the coaches and Pryor, we are going to see a completely different offense this year.

Supposedly, the spread has landed in Columbus. We'll see.

[davin]

Re: the Buckeyes...

Here is what I see:

Competing for the Big Ten Title, PSU and OSU being interchangable at first and second.

A more creative offense. Lining up in the I with a healthy Beanie and running was good enough to beat a lot of teams (not the elite ones, but even some of the top 25 it was good enough for). No real "big" names on offense except for Pryor. The way this offense is built should be great for the spread or some variety of it. OSU has great talent at WR (though untested). OL should continue to improve without Boone. We will see if Adams is up to the billing. Look out for Boren, the guy has been tearing it up in practice.

Defense. This defense won't be as good as last years in terms of star power, however the DL is coming together, and that is what hurt the defense the last couple years. Replacing JL and Jenkins will be difficult (especially Jenkins), but having two three year starters at safety coming back should help the defense out, plus great recruiting.

Overall, I see a loss to USC (furious about the student ticket fiasco that occurred for that game, i had tickets, then OSU's wireless kicked me off...and lost tickets), though not as bad as the last time. Penn State may be a loss, but games with them are always hard to predict. If Morelli were still there, then OSU would win easily, but alas, he moved on. I miss that guy. I think we beat Michigan, as I don't think Forcier can stay healthy a whole season, so it will be Sheridan time again. Other than that, the Big Ten is still down and PSU is the only real threat on the conference schedule, as MSU is off and Illinois is still recovering from last year. I am predicting a 10 or 11 win season. Who knows though, if Pryor goes down, we would be screwed. This team has something that previous years didn't have across the board: fire. I remember reading after the USC game, Marcus Freeman putting things in perspective saying that it didn't matter if they lose, because football is just a game (which it is, however that kind of lack of anger at a loss like USC was kind of sad).

[Sportsbuck]

Re: the Buckeyes...

I hope Pryor switches to 11 like he said, so Carter can get 2...thatd be sweet

Carter has said he wants to create his own legacy with his own number, I believe he'll be #4.