By Mike Castiglione(SportsNetwork.com) —
Philadelphia, PA - 2007 SEASON IN REVIEW: For the second year in a row, the Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a loss in the BCS National Championship Game. After another 11- win season, Ohio State was outplayed by LSU for the BCS title (38-24). It was the second straight year an SEC school blew the Buckeyes out of the water in the title game, and it dropped the Buckeyes to 0-9 against the SEC in bowl games.

That loss overshadowed a third straight Big Ten Championship. It also quickly erased the jubilation of beating arch-rival Michigan for the sixth time in the last seven years. OSU was 10-0 when it got upset by Illinois, 28-21 in early- November. However, the Buckeyes responded with a 14-3 win at Michigan which, combined with key final-week losses by the top two teams in the BCS, propelled OSU to the title game. Still, any success OSU enjoyed in 2007 took a backseat to the final against LSU, feelings that Jim Tressel and the rest of the Buckeyes are eager to put behind them.

2008 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: In his first year as a starter, quarterback Todd Boeckman put up big numbers (2,379 yards, 64-percent completions, 25 TDs), garnered First-Tteam All-Big Ten honors and led his team to the BCS Championship game. Still, most of the offseason talk revolves around ultra-talented quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the top-rated high school player in the nation, who is waiting in the wings and will likely see the field in some capacity. Either way, the Buckeyes are in good shape at quarterback, although Boeckman’s experience certainly tips the scales in his direction right now, as Tressel has all the confidence in the world in his signal-caller.

“There’s no price tag on experience and he (Boeckman) can now evaluate things from a whole different perspective. I think it is a lot easier for him to step up and take charge of a football team.”

The team is also pretty well off in the backfield. Tailback Chris Wells, after rushing for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore despite a few nagging injuries, is among the top candidates to hoist the Heisman Trophy this year. OSU is set at wideout, with top receivers Brian Robiskie (55 rec., 935 yds, 11 TDs) and Brian Harline (52-694-6) back in the fold. Even the offensive line is flush with veteran leaders, highlighted by All-American tackle Alex Boone (6-8, 312).

DEFENSE: Two-time All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis (also last years Dick Butkus Award winner, Nagurski Award winner and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year) will be playing on Sundays soon enough. So will All-Big Ten cornerback Malcolm Jenkins. Much to the delight of Buckeye fans, both decided to return to campus rather than leave early for the NFL Draft, likely becoming first-round selections next year. The Buckeye defense ranked No. 1 last season, allowing just 233 yards and 12.7 points per game.

The most significant departure is defensive end Vernon Gholston, the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the year, although there is a wealth of depth to replace him. Cameron Heyward came on to accumulate 10 tackles for loss in place of injured starter Lawrence Wilson, who is back after being forced to redshirt the final 12 games. All-Big Ten linebacker Marcus Freeman (105 tackles) will once again team with Laurinaitis (121 tackles, five sacks in 2007) to form a nasty tandem in the middle of the field, while the entire secondary returns, including Jenkins (47 tackles, four INTs).

SPECIAL TEAMS: It almost isn’t fair that the Buckeyes even have an abundance of capable kickers, three to be exact. The reliable A.J. Trapasso will handle the punting duties for a fourth consecutive season. Special teams aren’t without any concerns, though as the team allowed several blocked kicks, and also ranked 117th nationally in kick returns, as they clearly missed Ted Ginn, Jr.

OUTLOOK: Still in search of that elusive BCS title, Tressel and the Buckeyes are hopeful that the third time is a charm. With 18 starters returning, they figure to be in the BCS conversation. Just being in the conversation won’t be good enough for an OSU program that continues to raise the bar for itself. Although it’s a pretty harsh double-edged sword, it’s also a reality in Columbus these days. Even a fourth consecutive Big Ten Championship may not appease Buckeye Nation. At media day, Tressel didn’t sound like a guy who is ready to assume a rite of passage into the nation’s elite just yet.

“One of the things we’ve discussed a lot is making sure that you continue to challenge guys and not have them come into preseason camp thinking it’s the same-old-same-old,” he said. “So we’ll challenge them intellectually, we’ll challenge them physically. We’ll try to get a handle on where we are. I think an assumption that you make with 20 returning starters (including special teams) is that you’re already at a certain level. I think that would be a false assumption. You have to go back and make sure fundamentally we are very, very good.”

OSU’s struggles against the SEC have opened the Big Ten up to criticism, but the only way to for the Buckeyes to quiet the critics is to get over the hump. The Buckeyes are incredibly talented on both sides of the ball, perhaps more so than any other squad in the nation. Aside from possible injuries, the only real question is, how bad do the Buckeyes want it?

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