centralbucksfan;862217 wrote:Miami, Nebraska, Wisconson, and possible another IMO. Too many losses on defense to LEAN on them like they have in the past. Defense will be good eventually. But not as good as last few. Dline is big question. And that is HUGE. Oline has questions as well. Even when they were good/experienced...they were often not very good. Bohlman is still the coach. And of course, the big question is QB. No matter who it is, there are going to be struggles. Add in the VERY inexperienced WR's until Posey returns..and that is not a good combo. Yes, loaded at RB..no question. But teams will load the box. Then you have a new coach and all the drama around the program. Sure they could rally. But with all the above questions...they will have their struggles.

Teams load the box all the time against OSU. And for the defensive line, I think that unit could be one of the best in the country. Williams, Simon and Hankins could all be All Big 10. They may lack the depth on paper but I have a feeling someone will step up.

But again, I think 3-4 losses may be realistic.

LB is always a strength for OSU. This year is as bad as I can remember for them. That's what's scary. I'm thinking at least 1 loss wouldn't be shocked by 3/4 losses. I would be shocked by an undefeated season if for no other reason than the youth in key areas and the habitual underachievements of the oline under Heacock.

thedynasty1998;862375 wrote:Teams load the box all the time against OSU. And for the defensive line, I think that unit could be one of the best in the country. Williams, Simon and Hankins could all be All Big 10. They may lack the depth on paper but I have a feeling someone will step up.

But again, I think 3-4 losses may be realistic.

Yeah, but this year loading the box against OSU will probably be plenty more effective than in years past when you've had great Wr's and QB play

I wouldn't be surprised if Fickell decided to let Bauserman start game 1 and rotate the other 2 or 3 QBs in periodically. I hope that's not the case, however, and he instead picks the best (Miller) and allows him to get those precious live game snaps. I'm afraid the #2 QB is very important, as Miller has a history of being bit by the injury bug. As dynasty said, the OL and RB positions are loaded. Having Posey out those first five games will be the biggest loss out of the tat 6. It sounds like freshman Devin Smith is getting a real good look at WR during camp. Smith is an exceptional athlete and I'd love to see him work his way into the lineup. It sounds like T.Y. Williams still has trouble catching the ball. Bold prediction - Stoneburner will be one of the elite TEs in the nation this year.

I think the defensive losses are overrated. Saying only 4 starters are back on offense is deceiving. The DL has a slew of experienced, talented guys who will rotate in. John Simon may be on the verge of a JJ Watt-type break out year. The secondary will have familiar names as well. I really look forward to getting Barnett and Moeller (Star) back. Clarke, Howard and Bryant also are back after getting time last year. Howard looks to be the next big-time talent at CB for the Buckeyes. The LB position is the main question mark. Plenty of talent there with Sabino, just needs to put it together. Wouldn't be surprised to see Shazier and/or Grant work their way into time this year, too. I feel safe in saying the defense will be very, very good this year.

All in all, I think 9-3 is the most likely outcome. But I do not share the same skepticism as others, as I think 10-2 is more likely than 8-4 (barring injury at the QB position).

I absolutely cannot disagree that 3/4 losses is very realistic, but at the same time I will also say that 1/2 losses is realistic as well given the amount of pure talent on the team.

I don't see Wisconsin as an automatic loss, 1 it's in Columbus and 2 if Russell Wilson is so great then why didn't NC State ever win anything? His passing numbers are inflated because they could not run the ball. Nebraska will be tough out there but what does Miami have that would scare any decent team? Same crap QB's (27 ints) that they had last season plus a defense that just is not that good. The Bucks could win them all but I don't see them losing more than 1-2 games at most.
Fickel will start the QB that gives him the best chance of winning, I don't see that guy being Joe Bauserman. I think it will come down to the 2 mobile guys Miller and Guiton and whoever it is the choice needs to be made as soon as possible. The defense could be better than last years with more overall team speed especially if Grant and Shazier can get some playing time. Sabino will be fine and I've read where Kline is working in the middle. I don't like Sweat on the outside (too slow) but he does have a years experience over Grant and Shazier (who I see playing more minutes as the season goes on. The secondary will be at least as good as last year and the D-Line has plenty of depth back, in addition to Williams, Simon and Hankins, Bellamy played very well in the Sugar Bowl and a couple of the Freshmen are real good also. With the quantity and Quality of RBs on the roster, I'll be surprised if Herron ever gets the starting job back, my pick is Smith with Berry being used a lot also.
Even ESPN who everyone says hates OSU says that the Buckeyes will not play a team all season with more talent than they have.

0311sdp;862639 wrote:I don't see Wisconsin as an automatic loss, 1 it's in Columbus and 2 if Russell Wilson is so great then why didn't NC State ever win anything? His passing numbers are inflated because they could not run the ball. Nebraska will be tough out there but what does Miami have that would scare any decent team? Same crap QB's (27 ints) that they had last season plus a defense that just is not that good. The Bucks could win them all but I don't see them losing more than 1-2 games at most.
Fickel will start the QB that gives him the best chance of winning, I don't see that guy being Joe Bauserman. I think it will come down to the 2 mobile guys Miller and Guiton and whoever it is the choice needs to be made as soon as possible. The defense could be better than last years with more overall team speed especially if Grant and Shazier can get some playing time. Sabino will be fine and I've read where Kline is working in the middle. I don't like Sweat on the outside (too slow) but he does have a years experience over Grant and Shazier (who I see playing more minutes as the season goes on. The secondary will be at least as good as last year and the D-Line has plenty of depth back, in addition to Williams, Simon and Hankins, Bellamy played very well in the Sugar Bowl and a couple of the Freshmen are real good also. With the quantity and Quality of RBs on the roster, I'll be surprised if Herron ever gets the starting job back, my pick is Smith with Berry being used a lot also.
Even ESPN who everyone says hates OSU says that the Buckeyes will not play a team all season with more talent than they have.

NC State really didn't have much around Russell Wilson to do very much. Shut him down and you pretty much won the game every year. Plus they would always get some easy wins in the ACC like Duke, Maryland, Wake recently, etc

0311sdp;862639 wrote:I don't see Wisconsin as an automatic loss, 1 it's in Columbus and 2 if Russell Wilson is so great then why didn't NC State ever win anything? His passing numbers are inflated because they could not run the ball.

Yeah, haven't understood the hype about Wilson. He's decent, but of all the guys who threw for a lot of yards, he had one of the worst Passer Ratings, Completion %, and Yards Per Attempt. The fact that NC State was one dimensional, though, can negatively affect some of those things just as much as it can inflate his raw yards. The fact that Wisconsin is known for its ability to run the ball might be the fit he needs to maximize his talent. I don't think he's great, but I do think it'll work out pretty well for Wisconsin; he's probably better at this stage than the guys they have - you just don't typically get this kind of experience after losing a successful multi-year starter.

Fickell should play whoever is the BEST. Not the oldest. I think he will too seeing as how his future at Ohio State depends on winning. He isn't getting job unless he does something special.

If Bauserman is the best, then we are in big big trouble.

jordo212000;862866 wrote: If Bauserman is the best, then we are in big big trouble.

Doesn't seem like Fickell is convinced he's the best guy, according to his comments in the Dispatch:

"I think he can do pretty much most of it." - Not quite most of it, but pretty much most of it. He thinks. Not a real vote of confidence there.
"He is decently athletic."
"He can stand back there (in the pocket) at times."

Is it just me, or would anyone else have absolutely no issue with Bauserman not seeing the field at all? I cringe at the thought of him being our full time #1.

jordo212000;862866 wrote: If Bauserman is the best, then we are in big big trouble.

/thread

Braxton will be QB1 under center by the time the team shows up in Lincoln, NE. Before that who cares...3 gimmes and 1 confidence builder. Defense will have had 4 games to make tweaks and replacements too. The remaining Tattoo 4 won't even be missed (Posey maybe...). Buckeyes go on to do some tattooing of their own on Conhuskers making them second guess leaving the easiest conference in the nation.

Ty Webb;861576 wrote:Doing it againist 2nd teamers is a whole hell of alot different than doing it againist Miami,Wisconsin,and Nebraska

Miami lacks secondary so idk what you were trying to out of that fast and athletic yes football smart not.

^^^^

wtf did he just try to say?

Steel Valley Football;863162 wrote:^^^^

wtf did he just try to say?

potato

Automatik;862914 wrote:Is it just me, or would anyone else have absolutely no issue with Bauserman not seeing the field at all? I cringe at the thought of him being our full time #1.

Makes two of us. I have no confidence in Bauserman at all. As I said, even when we had a good offensive line, they still haven't been that good. Bollman is still the Oline coach..lets not forget that. I think Bauserman, with no experience at WR, is a sitting duck.

DYNASTY..yes, they did still stack the box. But OSU also had an unbelievable athlete behind center who often made something out of nothing.

Bucknuts Steve Helwagen was on Common Man today. He said when OSU started practicing, Bauserman was obviously looking the best. As he should being 26yr old 5th yr QB. But Helwagen said Miller has progressively gotten better as time goes on as he becomes more comfortable and is gaining confidence. Coaches said he is much further along than Pryor was at this point in careers. With Pryor, they had to teach him mechanics as well as footwork. Coaches said Miller has all of those down. Its just a matter of him learning the plays, reading defenses and gaining confidence.