Buckeye Fact or Fiction '06 Edition Pt.2

[NFBuck]

1. Ohio State will have a 1000+ yard reciever.

2. Troy Smith will rush 500+ yards.

3. The 12 game schedule is only a plus for the Buckeyes.

4. The defensive line will finish the year a stronger unit than last years.

5. Pittman will reach 1500+ yards.

1. Fact- I think we will see a very open passing game, and with Teddy's speed and with him stepping into the #1 reciever roll, I think he'll get there. He's too fast and skilled, and with added maturity and dedication to being a better reciever, I don't see how he doesn't get to 1,000. On top of that, I don't see PSU, or Iowa's D being as good as last year, and we took Iowa to the woodshed this year.
2. Fact- as has been said, Troy only needs to average a little over 40 a game to get this. With his proclivity to improvise, and our "spread" offense, this is a no brainer.
3. Fact- Damn bye weeks.
4. uh...I'm gonna go with fiction- Regardless of the talent we have, they will not have the benefit of those three remarkable LB's we had this year. Now that said, if this young defense jells...it is not out of the realm of possibilty.
5. Fiction- The sheer depth we will have, plus the fact that we will probably be blowing some opponents out this year makes this unlikely. I see it going somewhere along the lines of...Pittman-1250, Smith-750, CWells-750, MWells-300, Haw-250. On top of that, not to be pessimistic, but if Antonio did sustain a hamstring injury...those can be VERY pesky, hopefully he'll rest up and let it heal.

 

[bucknut11]

haw tested off the charts in a hand-timed 40 in HS... faster than anything Teddy had. Now there is obviously no comparison in football speed, but that is where his comments are coming from.

Oh, I know exactly where the (speed) comments are coming from, but after watching Teddy play for 2 years, anyone who believes there's another guy on the team faster than him is crazy.

 

[AJHawkfan]

1. Ohio State will have a 1000+ yard reciever.

2. Troy Smith will rush 500+ yards.

3. The 12 game schedule is only a plus for the Buckeyes.

4. The defensive line will finish the year a stronger unit than last years.

5. Pittman will reach 1500+ yards.

1. Fiction - 1500 is a LOT of yards. Ginn is going to be the focus of a lot of double teams, now that Holmes is gone.

2. Fact - He WILL be a true double threat and burn a lot of teams with his legs.

3. Fact - One more game for the younger guys to gel can't hurt.

4. Fact - The speed and athleticism on the DLine is awesome.

5. Fact - I look for Pittman to have a big, big year - especially late in the game when Tressel likes to pound the ball and sit on leads. 125 yds/game is not out of the question.

 

[Zurp]

1. Ohio State will have a 1000+ yard reciever.

Fiction. I think that no one receiver will consistently be the go-to guy, and opposing defenses will do what they can to stop the deep pass. This will open up the running game, which Tressel will definitely take full advantage of.

2. Troy Smith will rush 500+ yards.

This one is tough. I'll say fiction. If he plays like he did the second half of last year, his scrambling will be to get more time to pass, and only occasionally for yardage. I think he will have many 50-yard games, but I don't think it will add up to 500 yards.

3. The 12 game schedule is only a plus for the Buckeyes.

Fact. I think its more superstitious than anything, but that bye-week tends to bone Ohio State. The 12th game this year is during the scheduled bye-week, making it so there is no bye-week to bone the Bucks.

4. The defensive line will finish the year a stronger unit than last years.

I don't know how you can lose Kudla from any team and expect them to be stronger the next year. I have to say fiction.

5. Pittman will reach 1500+ yards.

1500 yards. That's quite a lot. I have to fiction this bitch, too. I think that Pittman will get enough carries to average 100 a game. He'll get 1300 or so yards. But after those 20-25 carries, I think Wells and Wells and Haw will get the ball too much for Pittman to get to 1500 for the season.