OSU FOOTBALL BRIEF PREVIEW

Contributor: Adam Kiefaber
Web address: Buckeye Lane
Last Year Record: 12-1
Last Year Summary: Ohio State won all 12 of their regular season games and was the favorite to win the National Championship. In the first 11 games, the Buckeyes out scored their opponents 394 to 86. Then in a classic match up, #1 Ohio State defeated #2 Michigan 42 to 39. The Florida Gators shocked the non-SEC football world and dismantled the Buckeyes by a score of 41 to 14 in the BCS National Championship. The question mark coming into the ‘06 season was the defense, which returned only two starters and lost stars OLB A.J. Hawk, SS Donte Whitner, OLB Bobby Carpenter, CB Aston Youboty, ILB Anthony Schlegel and FS Nate Salley to the NFL draft. However, MLB James Laurinaitis emerged and won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. Also, CB Malcolm Jenkins and OLB Marcus Freeman were impressive. The offense was the strength of the team, led by QB Troy Smith, RB Antonio Pittman, WR Ted Ginn Jr., WR Anthony Gonzalez and true freshman Chris “Beanie” Wells.
Returning Starters: 4 Offensive - 6 Defensive
Players to Watch (possible awards) This Season: RB Chris “Beanie” Wels, MLB James Laurinaitis, OLB Marcus Freeman, CB Malcolm Jenkins, DE Vernon Gholston, OT Alex Boone, OT Kirk Barton
Players to Watch (breakout players) This Season: A QB? (Todd Boeckman, Ron Schoenhoft or Antonio Henton), WR Raymond Small, OLB Larry Grant, DE Robert Rose, SS Jamario O’Neal, DT Doug Worthington, RB Maurice Wells
Offensive Strengths: Running backs Sophomore Beanie and junior Maurice Wells will carry the load while the Buckeyes look for a consistent starting quarterback. Beanie is the power back and Maurice is the speed. Maurice Wells should have his best season yet. Also, Ohio State added two great RB recruits this year in Brandon Saine and Daniel “Boom” Herron.
Offensive Weaknesses: Ohio State is losing their best quarterback of all-time in Heisman winner Troy Smith. Junior Todd Boeckman is the projected starter and knows the offense the best. Sophomore Rob Schoenhoft has the strong arm, while freshman Antonio Henton has the scrambling ability. All three should get snaps early on, but look for head coach Jim Tressel go with one by midseason.
Defensive Strengths: Linebackers James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman and Larry Grant will start for a loaded line-backing core. Laurinaitis and Freeman are on Bednarik watch list for this season. Grant, who was a big-time junior college recruit last year, is expected to have a breakout season. In the spring game, Grant had two sacks and forced two fumbles (One of those fumbles he recovered and returned 80 yards for a touchdown). Backup seniors Curtis Terry, Curt Lukens and sophomore Ross Homan are more than ready to step in.
Defensive Weaknesses: The defensive line production could be down a little, but there are many highly recruited players that are ready to step up. Three starters DT Quinn Pitcock, DT David Patterson and DE Jay Richardson are now in the NFL. Little is known about sophomores Doug Worthington and Todd Denlinger, but both are expected to start at DT. The DE position is loaded with talent that includes junior Vernon Gholston, junior Lawrence Wilson, sophomore Robert Rose and junior Alex Barrow.
2007 Season Summary: The Buckeyes are blessed with a relatively easy schedule that includes Wisconsin and Michigan State at home. The challenging road games include Washington, Purdue, Penn State and Michigan. Ohio State should easily win home games against Youngstown State, Akron, Northwestern, Kent State and Illinois. If the Buckeyes get good production from their quarterback position it isn’t hard to believe that they could run the table and make a run at the National Championship. Coach Jim Tressel will try to run it down his opponents throats with the Wells duo. If I was to make an objective prediction for the Buckeyes in 2007: I predict OSU to start the season 8-0 before a loss at Penn State. Then Wisconsin will best OSU for the fourth straight time at the Horseshoe. The Buckeyes will follow that up with wins at home against Illinois and on the road against Michigan.
Big Games of the Year: Oct. 27 @ Penn State, Nov. 3 vs. Wisconsin, Nov. 17 @ Michigan.
2007 Projected Record: 10-2
2007 Projected Bowl (if applicable): Capital One Bowl or Orange Bowl

Projected Victories and Conference Standings:

OSU Schedule 

Youngstown St. (Win)
Akron (Win)
@Washington (Win)
Northwestern (Win)
@Minnesota (Win)
@Purdue (Win)
Kent St. (Win)
Michigan St. (Win)
@Penn St. (Loss)
Wisconsin (Loss)
Illinois (Win)
@Michigan (Win)

Conference Standings (projections) 

1 Ohio State
1 Wisconsin
3 Michigan
4 Penn St.
5 Iowa
6 Purdue
7 Michigan St.
8 Illinois
9 Indiana
10 Northwestern
11 Minnesota

(I’m going to email my fellow OSU bloggers and have them post a preview, which will be seen on both sites)