*** NCAA Football Preview - Ohio State Buckeyes ***
From The My Sportsbook
By Frank Haynes, College Football Senior Editor
2003 SEASON IN REVIEW: Despite a major distraction, Jim Tressel's Ohio State Buckeyes turned in another highly successful season in 2003. The Maurice Clarett debacle placed a dark cloud over Columbus for much of the year, but the Buckeyes battled through it and staked their claim to an impressive 11-2 record and subsequent BCS victory over Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. It was the team's fourth straight postseason appearance and its second straight in the BCS following its national championship run in 2002. The season began with a solid win over a quality opponent in Washington, followed by a narrow victory over San Diego State. A triple-overtime thriller against North Carolina State resulted in OSU's third win of the year and the team would win its next two tilts before tasting defeat for the first time. That loss came at Big Ten foe Wisconsin, but the Buckeyes bounced back to win their next five games before suffering a 35-21 loss at hated rival Michigan.
2004 ANALYSIS:
OFFENSE: With Clarett out of commission, junior Lydell Ross established himself as the Buckeyes' top option in the run game. Ross, who returns for his senior year, rushed for 826 yards and 10 TDs, helping the Ohio State offense average just 126.1 ypg on the ground (84th in the nation). The passing game, under the direction of QB Craig Krenzel, finished 71st after putting up just 206.1 ypg. Krenzel is gone, leaving the signal-caller's job to either sophomore Justin Zwick or redshirt freshman Troy Smith. Zwick is a former high school sensation with a strong arm, while Smith is the better athlete and adds the threat of running the ball to his game. With respect to the receiving corps, sophomore Santonio Holmes leads the way after pulling down 32 balls for 549 yards and seven TDs in '03. He averaged better than 17 yards per reception and will surely see his share of double-teams this year. The offensive line will take some time to gel as there is only two returning starters, and when you consider the line averages just 290 pounds across, it may have trouble opening holes and protecting the quarterback on a consistent basis.
DEFENSE: The Buckeyes owned the nation's No. 2 rush defense last season, permitting just 62.3 ypg. Against the pass, the team had much different results as foes put up more than 234 ypg. There are just four starters back in the fold, but the unit as a whole is athletic and should be in decent shape. The loss of Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Will Smith will surely be felt, and senior Simon Fraser is the lone returnee up front after tallying 34 tackles, including 7.5 TFLs, last season. Junior A.J. Hawk led the team in tackles a year ago with 106 and he heads a linebacking corps that also features another couple of juniors in Anthony Schlegel, who transferred over from Air Force, and Bobby Carpenter, who is a natural playmaker and can wreak havoc in the opposing backfield. The secondary has a pair of returning starters in senior CB Dustin Fox and junior FS Nate Salley. Each had 77 tackles last season, with Fox matching former Buckeye great Chris Gamble with three INTs. Overall, any success Ohio State achieves this season will depend on whether or not the defense can rise to the occasion and keep the team in games.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Buckeyes have the luxury of having one of the top kickers in the nation back in senior Mike Nugent. Named a First Team All-American in '02, Nugent nailed 16-of-19 FG attempts, including a long of 53, last season. In fact he hit both of his tries from 50+ yards and was 6-of-7 from 40+ yards. Senior Josh Hamilton will likely handle the punting chores now that Ray Guy Award winner B.J. Sander is gone, but he played in just one game last year and his lack of big-time game experience may cause problems at some point.
OUTLOOK: With a sparkling 25-2 record the last two years, the Buckeye faithful have come to expect near perfection from their beloved squad. While the pieces were in place during that stretch, the team will be hard-pressed to match that kind of production this season. Still, this is Ohio State we're talking about and it shouldn't surprise anyone if the Buckeyes make a run at the Big Ten title and find themselves among the nationally ranked all season long. The conference slate is filled with as many as six potentially tough games so getting up a head of steam and playing well in those contests will be very important. If all goes according to Tressel's plan, OSU could go into the regular-season finale against visiting Michigan with something to play for. That of course being the conference crown and another shot at getting to a BCS bowl game.
