ESPN did a piece today on the Buckeyes practice session. Maybe the ice is thawing between the network and the Athletic Department at OSU. The article on their visit contains the latest depth chart, and that's why it's here.
By the way, the Buckeyes are loaded. The scary thing is how young they also are, on offense especially. It'll be tough to get through three games against highly ranked teams #2 Texas, #4 Michigan, and #10 Iowa, plus #16 Purdue without having a bad day. You have to play a tough Penn State team at Happy Valley at night, and The Game is at Ann Arbor this year. That's a damn tough schedule, but there are still real expectations in Columbus that this team could win all its games.
If the inexperienced kicking game comes through, and they get some pass rush from the DE's, the rest of the talent is there to make a run for it all. If I'm predicting though, I'll say 9-2, a BCS Bowl game, and a win in Ann Arbor. Whatever happens on the field, it's my considered take that the football talent currently assembled in Columbus is as good as or better than the 2002 team, but might be a year away offensively from kicking down the door for the NC.
Posted by dan at August 25, 2005 12:10 AMSo, in your estimation, where do the 2 losses come from?
How do you think the QB situation is going to play out this season?
I CAN'T WAIT!!!!
Posted by: jj at August 26, 2005 01:04 AMIf I knew that I'd be on a plane to Las Vegas.
I think it's likely they'll stumble somewhere, possibly even at Penn State. I really wanted to say 10-1, because if they do win in Ann Arbor, I can't really figure out myself where the two losses would come from. Hey, nobody said this had to make sense, did they? How was I to know people would come along and actually read this thing?
Sheesh!
Everything I'm hearing and reading says Troy Smith has a hammerlock on the starting quarterback job once his suspension is over, and that he probably won't start the Texas game, just as a final disciplinary slap, but he will play early and probably from that point on. Here's hoping. I think he's the spark for the whole offense.
Posted by: dan at August 26, 2005 02:02 AM