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Ohio State on the offensive
June 28, 2006
Is there a better big-game coach than Jim Tressel?
I think not.
Why? Because he's not afraid to think outside his sweater vest.
Big games with Texas, Penn State, Iowa and Michigan lurk. And so might a national title.
I think 1,000 more Ted Ginn jerseys were just sold. Oh, and I know Brutus' heart is beating a little faster, too, after reading that.
No doubt, this is the biggest season at Ohio State since . . . well, since last year. Hey, it's like this every year in Columbus. OK, maybe the hype-o-meter is registering two ticks past "berserk" instead of just one tick. Now I'm gonna test the limits of the hype-o-meter: Sporting News has your Buckeyes ranked No. 2 in the nation with an 11-1 record and 8-0 Big Ten mark. (Honestly, I would have ranked OSU No. 1.)
Here's why Sporting News has given Ohio State two big scoops of love.
<TABLE class=v10 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width="50%" align=left bgColor=#cccccc border=0><TBODY><TR style="COLOR: #ffffff" bgColor=#000000><TD>More Big Ten Previews</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff><TD>Bookstore: Big Ten Preview Magazine </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff><TD>Illinois: Not much fight in these Illini </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff><TD>Indiana: Facing a stacked deck </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff><TD>Iowa: All hail King Kirk </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff><TD>Michigan: No hails for Lloyd </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff><TD>Mich. State: Smith walks the line </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff><TD>Minnesota: Nontitle town </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff><TD>Northwestern: Walker, Big Ten guru </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The offense looks incredible. No, make that stupendous. Wait, maybe it's fabulous. Forget it. I'm not gonna try to label it. I'm just gonna watch quarterback Troy Smith, Ginn, Antonio Pittman, Chris Wells and a knock-out line and let my mind drift to 1995. You remember that year, when Bobby Hoying, Terry Glenn, Eddie George, Rickey Dudley and Orlando Pace helped the Buckeye offense set the nation on its ear.
I know what you're thinking, Michigan Man: What about the Ohio State defense? There are nine starters to replace. It's been reloaded. Let me introduce you to the latest and greatest BMOCs: linebackers Larry Grant, Marcus Freeman and Jim Laurinaitis, tackle Quinn Pitcock, end Lawrence Grant,cornerbacks Kurt Coleman and Malcolm Jenkins and safety Jamario O'Neal.
Yeah, pretty sweet, huh?
OK, now take a deep breath, Brutus. The first "i" won't be dotted for a couple months. But it's difficult not to develop a facial twitch when thinking about how great the Tressel era has been. Let me count the ways.
ONE national title.
TWO Big Ten crowns.
THREE wins in three BCS games.
FOUR wins in five tries vs. "that school up north."
FIVE bowl appearances. I'll stop there so you can go dig out your buckeye necklace and No. 45 jersey. (What am I thinking? You probably already have them on!) You have some dreaming to do.
From Tom Dienhart's blog...
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=104163
I hope that I didn't "curse" the Bucks into an 8-5 season....LBJ, it's very impressive that you picked the exact record the last two seasons. But, you also picked the upset over scUM in 2004 and the exact two losses last year?!?! That's insane!
Obviously, I should have followed your lead here, but I went with two losses this year. Too many new faces on defense to not get burned a couple of times.
By the way, I would say the two losses are Texas and Iowa.
I voted for 13-0. In truth, each season part of me would vote for an undefeated year. That is because I spend enough time reading these various tOSU boards that I fall into the trap of believing a lot of the rose-colored glasses hype I see there each year.
But, this year I see undefeated as a real possibility. Certainly more so than I did going into '02. For starters, I believe that a superior offense can overcome some uncertainties regarding the experience level of the D. I accept that the D will be good, if not great, and if not featuring the star level that the Hawk, Carpenter era featured.
But, my real optimism centeres around the belief that Tress and staff must and will evolve an offense that effectively features both Pittman and C. Wells. Done properly, and EARLY, and assuming the OLine is as awesome as everyone seems to think it will be, I can't picture any defense we will play as capable of stopping such a combine. Turnovers will have to be improved over last year, but I think of those as an abberation the last couple of years.
What I am less confident of, not being an expert on formations, is how such a tandem approach focus might affect the passing game. But, despite not being expert, it seems to me there would be an effective way to interface the two. No doubt it would mean that Wells would have to get up to speed in a hurry on pass blocking, but I can think of no reason why he could not...I suspect he is that special. I can't really picture rushing Ds as blowing through him, once he knows who to block, when.
All this optimism hinges on Wells indeed being super special. If he is just routinely very good, then my extreme optimism is unsupported. But, I have this vision that at the end of the year we will be saying, MC who? I also expect some of the incoming frosh to be special pretty early, and have other visions of Wilson and Rose bringing a bull rush D effectiveness that hasn't been up to speed in recent seasons. Hope so.
Not long before the '02 season I admitted as an old guy to hoping to see one more national championship season before I went looking for Woody. Of course, I was surprised that the '02 triumph happened as quickly as it did. But now I am optimistic that this bunch has the same potential, and hope that in mid-January we will be basking in the afterglow of a stupendous season...one to remember!
Go Bucks!
how can anyone say we will have a loss this year??!! we have our own vince young, actually, a better passing vince young. what did vince young do last year? maybe a national title.....troy smith will be our savior all season long. no one can stop him!! lets be realistic here people. when has tressel not had a defense? be faithful, stop knocking on the young defense cuz itll be just as good as previous years. i say 13-0 and a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!
Points for enthusiasm, but it's tough to win 13 straight in any league.how can anyone say we will have a loss this year??!! we have our own vince young, actually, a better passing vince young. what did vince young do last year? maybe a national title.....troy smith will be our savior all season long. no one can stop him!! lets be realistic here people. when has tressel not had a defense? be faithful, stop knocking on the young defense cuz itll be just as good as previous years. i say 13-0 and a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!
THIRTEEN AND OH BABY!!!!