(Big Ten) The Buckeyes play on an artificial field at Ohio Stadium (seats 102,329)
- Urban Meyer is in his 1st year as head coach at Ohio State. Last year the Buckeyes finished 6-7 under interim head coach Luke Fickell. Fickell was the defensive coordinator under Jim Tressel and became the interim head coach when Tressel was fired during the off-season in 2011. Meyer has actually retained Fickell as co-defensive coordinator with Everett Withers (previously DC at UNC).
Head Coach Urban Meyer
- Until the tattoo-for-memorabilia scandal that inked its way until OSU history happened, the Buckeyes were expecting to be national title contenders in 2011. Tressel was entering his 11th season as head coach. They were coming off of a 12-1 season with a win over SEC opponent Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. Terrell Pryor would have been a senior quarterback in his 4th season in the starting position. Tressel resigned, Pryor went into the supplemental NFL Draft and several other critical players missed a significant amount of playing time. As a result of the NCAA investigations, the bowl win over Arkansas and all of the 2010 season wins were vacated.
- Unlike last year, this year the starting quarterback situation is clear heading into the season. It is Braxton Miller (6’2, 210 lbs) who won the job as a true freshman last year. He completed only 54% of his passes but threw just 4 Interceptions. He led the team in rushing with 715 yards, 7 TDs. But if this offense is going to be any good they will need to improve from their last year ranking of 115th in passing offense. And speaking of passing offense, this team suffered 46 sacks last season (3rd worst in the nation at 118th)—perhaps a more experienced receiving group will help Miller find someone to throw the ball to this year.
Quarterback Braxton Miller
- Last year there weren’t many receptions to go around so the top three returning receivers this year tied for 14 catches a piece. Devin Smith, Corey Brown and Tight End Jake Stoneburner are all back and should expect to see more passes coming their way but so far no one has surfaced as the go-to-guy.
- None of the running backs surfaced last year as the go-to rusher. This year it could be Rod Smith who is now a sophomore and has the highest expectations on him, if he can get into the starting position. Until then it will be Carlos Hyde and Jordan Hall (who is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season due to foot surgery). The success of the running game will depend a lot on how quickly a running back can step up in addition to Braxton Miller (although in Meyer’s offense at Florida, he used Tim Tebow as a QB/RB) and how quickly the offensive linemen can gel. They are much less experienced than they’ve been in the past with just two starters returning so it could take some time for them to learn how to work together.
- Defense is in great shape as the Buckeyes return all but 2 of their top 15 tacklers from 2011. They return 9 starters, which is a huge contrast from last year when the defense only returned a total of 4 starters. It was the first time since 2004 that the Buckeyes defense allowed more than 300 yards of total offense game. They also gave up a lot more points. But the rushing defense suffered the most in 2011 as they gave up 50% more yards on the ground than they were used to.
- Last year the Buckeyes suffered their first losing season since 1988. It was certainly a season of the unexpected and a lot of change as they struggled to find an identity amongst chaos. This year with Ohio-native Urban Meyer as their leader, they are expected to get back on track. Although they won’t be eligible for the Leader’s division title, the Big Ten title or a Bowl game due to their one-year post-season ban. And it’s probably best because they won’t be ready for it. Of all things, this team needs to focus on beating Michigan as they lost to the Wolverines 40-34 last year for the first time since 2003.
- Love the nut? The Buckeye is Ohio State’s mascot and the live, costume version is named 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 nut"
