Ohio State Buckeyes
(East Division)
Location: Columbus, OH
Stadium: Ohio Stadium (104,944)
Coach: Urban Meyer (4th year): 38-3 at OSU/142-26 overall, 28-2 v
B1G
2014 Ohio State Buckeyes (14-1)(9-0) 2015 Ohio
State Buckeyes
34 at Navy (Baltimore) 17 S7 at Virginia Tech
21 Virginia Tech 35 S12 Hawaii
66 Kent State 0 S19 Northern Illinois
50 Cincinnati 28 S26 Western Michigan
52 at Maryland 24 O3 at Indiana
56 Rutgers 17 O10 Maryland
31 at Penn State 24 (2OT) O17 Penn State
55 Illinois 14 O24 at Rutgers
49 at Michigan State 37 N7 Minnesota
31 at Minnesota 24 N14 at Illinois
42 Indiana 27 N21 Michigan State
42 Michigan 28 N28 at Michigan
59 Wisconsin 0
(B1G Championship)
42 Alabama 35
(Sugar Bowl)
42 Oregon 20
(National Championship)
The
defending national champions took to the field on Monday for the start of
preseason camp to begin the process of defending their title. There is little doubt they appear to be the
team to beat this season. With most key
players back, Ohio State is the preseason number one team.
The question
on everybody’s mind is at quarterback.
Last year, redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett started the year for the
injured Braxton Miller and became a Heisman candidate, accounting for a B1G
Conference record 45 touchdowns (34 passing, 11 rushing). Barrett was lost for the rest of the year
against Michigan, and “the next man up”, Cardale Jones finished that game and
was instrumental in leading the Buckeyes to wins in the two biggest games of
the year and the national title. With the quarterback battle now between
Barrett and Jones (Miller moving to an H-back role), the coaches have a tough
choice between record-setting Barrett and a title winning Jones. As of now, Barrett is penciled in as the
starter, but by a slim margin. Last
year, junior Ezekiel Elliott inherited the RB position from the departed Carlos
Hyde. Starting the season off slowly, he
had just 76 yards in the first two games and didn’t even start against
Illinois, but over his last seven games, Elliott went on a tear, averaging 167
yards and getting over 200 each game against good rush defenses in Wisconsin,
Alabama, and Oregon. He ended with the
second-highest rushing total in Ohio State history with 1878 yards (just behind
Eddie George’s 1927 in 1995). There is
no question Elliott will be a leading candidate for the Heisman in 2015. Returning to back up Elliott are juniors Bri’onte
Dunn and Warren Ball. Coming off of
limited playing time, look for them to get a lot more carries as Elliott’s
backup, Curtis Samuel, moves to WR. Also
looking well in the spring was freshman Mike Weber. This should provide ample depth at running back
which leaves the offensive coaching staff free to experiment on the edges at
the H-back position, with Braxton Miller, Samuel, freshman Parris Campbell, and
sophomore Terry McLauren. These four
provide breakneck speed to an already fast offense. Jalin Marshall will thus move from his H-back
position a year ago and take over a WR spot when he returns from his suspension
for the Virginia Tech opener, while senior Corey Smith and junior Dontre Wilson
are due to split time at another receiver spot.
Junior Michael Thomas, OSU’s leading receiver in 2014 (54 catches, 799
yards, 9 TDs) will also return and provides lethal speed and excellent hands as
a downfield threat, with sophomore Noah Brown and redshirt freshman Johnnie
Dixon providing depth at that position.
Despite losing Devin Smith and Evan Spencer, this could be one of the
most dynamic receiver corps OSU has ever had.
The Buckeyes also look very strong up front, returning four starters to
an offensive line that pushed around the likes of Alabama and Oregon. Anchored by senior center Jacoby Boren and
guards Billy Price and Pat Elflein (sophomore and junior respectively), this
line started out slowly last year, giving up seven sacks against Virginia Tech,
but recovered to enable the offense to average 264 yards on the ground by the
end of the year. Senior LT Taylor Decker
will start his fourth year at that position, while senior Chase Farris, who
played extensively as a backup last year, starts at RT.
At least for
the first game, depth at defensive line could be a concern. Joey Bosa’s suspension for the first game could
open the door for redshirt freshmen Sam Hubbard and Dylan Thompson at DE. The other DE, Tyquan Lewis, played very well
as a backup last year and the defensive coaches say he has made great strides
in the spring. All eyes will be on
senior Tommy Schutt who takes over for one of the MVPs of the postseason,
Michael Bennett, at DT. But, Lewis and
Schutt are hardly strangers to playing time, as last year, Lewis managed nine
tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack.
Schutt was right there with Lewis, with ten tackles and a tackle for
loss. There is more good news on the
defensive front, as senior DT Adolphus Washington will be there. He had 48 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and
five sacks and is listed on some all-B1G teams.
The future also looks bright at linebacker, as the Buckeyes return three
experienced players, led by last year’s leading tackler, senior Joshua Perry
(124 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 3 sacks).
Speedy sophomore Darron Lee, with his all-around athletic ability, will
be back at one outside LB position. As a
true freshman, Lee garnered 81 tackles with a whopping 17 tackles for loss,
eight sacks, and two fumble returns for touchdowns. Sophomore Raekwon McMillan returns in the
middle, with 54 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and three sacks and is one of
the most athletic MLBs Ohio State has had in a long time. The secondary also looks solid, returning
three experienced starters. Juniors Vonn
Bell and Tyvis Powell return at the safety positions. Bell was the second leading tackler on the
team with 92 tackles last year and Powell was fourth with 76. Not only were they sure tacklers, but
improved in pass coverage as the season wore on. Bell led the team in interceptions with six
and Powell added four picks. Sophomore
Eli Apple returns at one CB spot.
Probably the most improved in the secondary from the beginning to the
end of the season, Apple turned in 53 tackles and six tackles for loss. Redshirt freshman Marshon Lattimore and
sophomore Gareon Conley were battling it out for the other CB position. Lattimore appeared to have a slight edge in
the spring, but Conley started several games last year, coming up well in run
support and ending up with 16 tackles.
Special
teams, a strength of Urban Meyer-coached teams, is once again a strength
here. Both specialists return in
sophomore kicker Sean Nuernberger and junior punter Cameron Johnston. Nuernberger started out slowly at the
beginning of the season, but improved as the season wore on to finish 13 out of
20 on field goal attempts with a long of 49.
Johnston was solid all year, punting for an average of 45 yards per punt
with a long of 73. The return game looks
solid, once Dontre Wilson and Jalin Marshall return from suspensions and Meyer
may let Conley take a crack at returning punts.
Last year’s
team featured six freshman All-Americans (Barrett, McMillan, Lee, Apple,
Marshall, and Price) and are stronger overall than last year’s team, returning
14 starters (seven each on offense and defense), plus their two
specialists. History has shown how hard
it is for a team this loaded, coming off a national title, to repeat, but this
team stands the best chance in recent history to do just that. Honestly, the only team in the country that
can beat Ohio State this year is themselves.
2015 Projection: 12-0 (8-0) 1st
in East Division
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