"That's why they play the games."
A common sports cliché. Ordinarily, it's used to illustrate the notion that in sports, anything can happen, and that punditry, for all its allure, is pure conjecture. The only way to know whether Ohio State will win on Saturday is to watch them do it.
Well, it's here. No more banter. No more conjecture. They'll tee up the ball, someone will kick it off, and we'll be off and running. The 2013 Buckeyes will take the field, and even a grouchy, admittedly jaded Buckeye fan such as yours truly will feel the familiar warmth.
This is the first installment of 4Sight, a pre-game article meant purely to pose questions, elicit discussion, and - ever so softly - make a prediction or two. Going forward, expect new 4Sights every Thursday during game weeks.
Unless everyone hates it.
In which case I'll do two a week.
ONE: I'm not charting new ground when I say that Braxton Miller is the lynchpin, but it is worth keeping an eye on what he chooses to do with the ball in his hands. Taking nothing away from his brilliance as an ad-libber, it is less than ideal to have no. 5 skittering around the field all the time. Then again, if Miller's Heisman campaign is to have legs, he'll probably have to use his more than the more skittish among us would prefer. Not that seeing "The Old Righty" enter the game is a problem for me. Just saying. The receivers should have improved. Miller should have plenty of check-down options with the additions of Dontre Wilson and Jalin Marshall and the emergence of Chris Fields. The line is salty. Aaron Rodgers runs sometimes, too, but there's a reason he's only missed two starts in five years: he runs intelligently and actively avoids contact. I vote we do that.
TWO: Speaking of Dontre Wilson, I know fans are all a-flutter still over Meyer pumping the kid up. We've all had visions of a Percy Harvin clone in scarlet and gray, of a new Teddy Ballgame over whom we can fawn. Maybe Wilson's it. But it wasn't that long ago that Jordan Hall was 'the guy' for 'that spot' in Meyer's scheme. And perhaps he still will be. For my money, that's going to be one of the more interesting elements to watch, especially in a game against a team like Buffalo. No disrespect to the Bulls, but history (perhaps not recent history) would indicate that there's going to be a lot of opportunities for UM to play with the pieces in the offensive backfield. If Warren Ball finishes the game with 100 yards and a couple touchdowns, you owe me a shot. There is no other end to that wager.
THREE: You know how a goldfish will grow only as big as the bowl you put it in will allow it? I'm reminded of this when I think of the Ohio State defense. Maybe that's a stupid analogy. Whatever. Basically, I feel like the days of the defense completely neutralizing the opposition without regard to offensive support are at least a few years gone. Here are some numbers for you: in 2007, back when Luke Fickell was young and hungry (kidding) and the defense featured guys like James Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins, OSU did this:
2007: 233 yards allowed per game, 3.64 yards per play.
Last year, albeit with considerably less NFL-ready talent, OSU did this:
2012: 359 yards allowed per game, 5.08 yards per play.
Both schedules were pillowy-soft (pilloughy?)--the big non-conference challenge in '07 was unranked Washington. Ho-hum. Is it just the disparity in talent, or is real demolition football permanently in the rearview? Can a brother get a little neck-stepping anymore?
FOUR: And then there are the Bulls. They've got this kid (man) Khalil Mack who might be the result of some government experiment to make the ideal linebacker. He's 19 TFLs away from the NCAA record. Can you dig that? He had 20.5 as a sophomore. The 6-foot-3, 245 pound force of nature already has the attention of every pro scout on record, and now he gets to strut on national television. He's probably not cool with playing doormat. Stud sophomore signal caller Joe Licata probably isn't either. I don't know--this team could be pesky. Or OSU could win 45-6. Did I just say that?
-vrb
