my assestment of tOSU
Strenghts ---
Talent and LOTS of it..... tOSU has depth at almost every position and some positions the 3/4th guy on the depth chart could suit it up and play at any schooland produce.....
Experence.... Last years team was suppose to be the young team, and also the year that was the "reloading" year....to get to the title game I believewent past everyones honest expectations....
Up and Comers that could have a huge impact...... with the #4 recruiting class last yr (per rivals.com) there are some players that could really make an impactthis year... the likes if T.Pryor, D.Posey ( I though he would possible redshirt, however the more and more I read up on him I think he will play rightaway....also Lamaar Thompson.
Speed.... tOSU has some guys that can flat out FLY..... guys like Ray Small Jr, Lamaar Thompson, Brandon Saine, TP is a burner as well along with a handful ofothers that can fly in football pads....
Options..... With so much talent and incoming freshman Tress and staff have the luxary to really put some nice formations out there... with Boeckman at QB youknow he will stand in the pocket and pass the ball... but with TP, you could also have guys in the backfield like Saine/Lamaar, Posey, some crazy formationsthat could keep the D on their toes.....
tOSU's D............The D is stacked as always.... Lil' Animal, Jenkins, Washington, Lawrence Wilson (if he stays health could be a 1st round draftpick..).... new guys like Etienne Sabino will contribute early and often...
the O Line..... one word... DEEP...... this group of guys are NICE... they will give Boeckman plenty of time and make some holes open up for Beanie/Saine andwho even ends up running the ball.. and the new guys who are coming up can be even better than this current line, and thats saying a lot....
Big Key Players....
Beanie - over 1600 yards rushing on a bum ankle and a hurt wrist.. he is a Heisman front runner, he is a beast of a runner, and I think he gets close to 2000this season behind the O Line that will be blocking for him.....
Boeckman....
Senior Experenced QB who is a very gutsy and accurate passer.... he has experience now, and will be fine behind the solid O Line... it will give him more time,and he shouldnt be rushed to throw the deep ball....
Lil' Animal.... He will be a beast again this year, and he will also put up big #s.. I would like to see him make alot more bigger plays this season.. likethe cause Fumble against Texas 2 years ago, and the INT he got... and he had alot of big stops last season but I would like to see him play even better thisyear.. and I think with the supporging cast he will....
Malcolm Jenkins..... Dude is a straight up Cover Corner... he had a few moments last season that he looked less than stellar, but he is a workhouse and I thinkhe comes out and really shows his talent this year....
now the Weakness of the team....
Boeckman - He really needs to have worked on the Deep ball... last year he really struggled in the last few games, and had a tendency to disapper from thegame.. this year he really needs to step up and take some pressure off the D and not play just to advoid mistakes but he needs to make some big plays......
playing u$c on the road... I really think tOSU can pull off the win, but they will need to score points EARLY and will need to cause TO's to get the Win onthe road....
"Tressel Ball"....... tOSU is so deep at skill position, tress really needs to open it up and take adv of the talent that have in Columbus.. hereally needs to play TP early in the first 2 games to get him ready for the u$c game in case we need him to throw off the D and pick up some big plays.... ifthe coaching staff really does what is needed then tOSU could run the table and play for the title for the 3rd straight year...
Be Agressive on D....stop playing Zone and RUSH like crazy you have the talent to do it, so do it... be aggressive instead of just always trying to advoidgiving up the big plays.. the CBs are nice, let them prove it....
The Current Image..... IMO this dont mean crap.. I dont think its a big deal at all for the current players.... yes they lost 2 years in a row, and anyone whosays "I rather see my team win a bowl game (other than the title game.), then lose in the title game" is either not intellegent when it comes tosports, of they are lying... tOSU has the #4 recruiting class in the nation, nabbed the #1 Player in the nation, this year alone ALREADY has 23 Commits, andranked #1 so far for recruiting so far, but with the media all over the buckeyes for losing in the title games in 2 consecitive years (yet they are stillranked #2 in pre season polls) just show those boys in Columbus are doing something right....
get over the SEC hump.... the SEC is the only conf that tOSU has a losing record against (7-11-1) and the big # everyone brings up is 0-9(in bowl games)...with a title game victory this year it would be sweet against an SEC team.. but I think OU gets to the title game since they have an easier road than UGA...
playing in the BIG 10...... the big ten had a down year last year.. normally you have 4-5 solid teams in the big ten and usually 1-2 powerhouses... we all knowwho those teams are... top to bottom the big ten is not as weak as ppl try to make them out to be... the SEC is the best conf when it comes to team by team..in a perfect world it would be a 10 games round robin season with all the best teams playing each other.... this year I see the big ten as a better conf thanlast year... tOSU does not have to worry about anything but playing who is in front of them....
with all that said....
my prediction is this... tOSU will do one of two things.... run the table and get to the title game or will finsh with one loss to either u$c or Wisc... T.Pryor has a breakout year and ends up getting a ton of playing time.. he wont replace Boeckman but he will be used alot more in crazy formations that keeps theD honest..Beanie is Beanie and will have a HUGE season putting up Crazy #s behind that O LINE and will win the Heisman IF and only IF they beat u$c or if theylose, he still puts up crazy #s and by Dec. tOSU is 11-1........