(Big Ten) The Buckeyes play on an artificial field (FieldTurf) at Ohio Stadium (seats 102,329)
- What would have been. Jim Tressel would have been in his 11th year as head coach of Ohio State. Terrell Pryor would have been a senior quarterback starting his 4th season as a Buckeye. The Buckeyes would have been looking forward to a potential chance for a national title coming off a 12-1 season with a win against Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.
- The tattoo parler that inked its way into Ohio State history. Tressel is gone—resigned amidst allegations that he covered up the wrongdoings of his players. Pryor is gone—signed with agent Drew Rosenhaus and off to the supplemental NFL Draft admist allegations that he received improper benefits. Critical players were already suspended for the first five games of 2011, along with Tressel, but now that Tressel and Pryor are not returning…ever…the hopes for this team have greatly diminished. And there are more questions than answers right now.
- Who is the head coach? Co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell, who
Ohio State Head Coach luke Fickell
was supposed to just be an interim head coach for the first five games. They removed the word “interim” from Fickell’s title. But without a long-term contract, this is far from permanent at the moment.
- Who will be starting at quarterback? It didn’t seem clear in the spring game. Perhaps it will end up being freshman Braxton Miller, who looked good in the spring game and will at least be in the mix of quarterbacks for 2010
- Other notable suspensions: their top rusher form 2010, Boom Herron will miss the first five games as well as their top returning receiver, DeVier Posey.
- The offensive line was already depleted by injuries in the
Center Mike Brewster
spring on top of losing two three-year starters and Mike Adams at left tackle for the first 5 games as part of the suspended group
. On the positive, they do return center Mike Brewster who looked good in the spring. - Defense returns just four starters. They lose the top four tacklers on the team. And they lose at least two players on each level of defense: defensive line, linebacker and defensive back. Because this is Ohio State, they have plenty of talent to re-load their defense. However, they will not be as experienced and it will be hard for them to match their numbers from the last two years. This is a unit that hasn’t given up 300 yards per game since 2004. It will be challenging for them to keep that streak alive.
- Speaking of 2004, that was the last time Ohio State had less than double-digit wins in a season. They were 8-4 and unfortunately, their 2011 season might be more like 2004 than any recent one or even 2001 when they were 7-5 during Tressel’s first year as head coach.
- And speaking of streaks, the most important one to Buckeye fans is their seven-game winning streak against arch-enemy Michigan (even though last year’s win has been vacated). Tressel had a way of beating Michigan with just one loss in his ten years as the head Buckeye.
- And what is a buckeye anyway? It’s Ohio State’s mascot and his name is Brutus. In actuality, a buckeye is a hard, poisonous nut that is impenetrable. If it’s in its true form, its best used as jewelry (with the help of a drill). But in it’s better, unnatural form, a buckeye is peanut butter dipped in chocolate.
- The schedule is not easy, of course, and September 17th this team travels to Miami, where Al Golden is the new head coach and will be desperate to get in the good graces of his new fans with a win over the Buckeyes. And yet with all of this, there is still a lot of hope for Ohio State for 2011. Despite everything that has happened, they are an extremely talented and durable football team and while no one seems to think they will go undefeated this year, the debate surrounds whether or not they will have two, three or four losses.
