Ohio State Should Contend in 2008

Ohio State Should Contend in 2008

For the second year-in-a-row, the Buckeyes failed to deliver the BCS Championship to Columbus but, often overlooked in the Buckeye Nation’s agony over those two penultimate losses, is the realization that, for the second year in a row, the Buckeyes played in that championship game in the first place.  Given the paltry number of starters lost from their 2007 model, odds are strong that Ohio State could find themselves in that position for an astounding third-consecutive time.

Ohio State’s schedule will be more difficult in 2008, given the addition of a road-trip to Los Angeles in Week 3 to take on USC as well as conference road-trips to Wisconsin and Illinois.  They host Penn State and close the season by welcoming arch-rival Michigan into The Horseshoe.

It is not the schedule that raises the prospects of a third-straight trip to the BCS game, though.  It is, instead, the sheer number of returning starters who will don the Buckeye jerseys in 2008.

Ohio State’s offense loses only two starters, All-Big Ten RT, Kirk Barton, and team captain, FB, Dionte Johnson.  Every skill player will return next season, including Chris “Beanie” Wells, as will four of the starting linemen (and 8 of 10 of the line’s two-deep roster).

Maurice Wells was a quality backup at tailback for the past two seasons (Career: 737 yds, 5 TD’s) but Ohio State faithful are chomping at the bit to see how rising-sophomore Brandon Saine will do with the increased snaps he is sure to see with “Mo’s” graduation.  Saine made a name for himself with the offensive staff through his receiving skills and his ability to create plays in space will be a certain focus of game-plans next season. 

Wideouts Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie were solid in 2007 (107-1629 yds, 17 TD’s).  Robiskie led the duo with 55 catches for 935 yds and 11 TD’s but 235 of those yards came in the opening two games against Youngstown State and Akron. 

The fact is that OSU simply had no dependable deep threat last year.  Deep threats stretch defenses vertically which opens up space for underneath routes and the running game.  The Buckeyes are hoping that rising-sophomore Taurian Washington, a burner who consistently hauled in deep balls in practice this season, adds that vital ingredient to their offensive mix in 2008.  In mop-up action last year against Youngstown State, Washington flashed his potential by turning his only catch into a 37-yard score. 

On defense, the only senior starter lost by the Buckeyes was SLB Larry Grant.  Super-freak DE Vernon Gholston declared early for the NFL draft and will certainly be missed but he is the only player listed on OSU’s two-deep defensive line roster who will not return next season.  Backup Alex Barrow, a rising-senior, who has seen action in 29 games over the past three seasons is certainly no “green” replacement.

Ohio State received a late Christmas present in the form of declarations by their other two super-juniors, MLB James Laurinitis and CB Malcolm Jenkins, that they would both return for their senior campaigns.  Laurinitis is the defending Butkus-Award-winner (a curious decision over Colorado’s Jordon Dizon, who had 11 more solo tackles than Laurinitis had total tackles – but that’s another article) while Malcolm Jenkins represents the lockdown corner which every defensive coordinator covets.

Ohio State returns more starters than the other four teams which rounded out 2007’s final top-five.

LSU loses most of its defensive backfield (both outstanding cornerbacks, Jonathan Zenon and Chevis Jackson, as well as SS Craig Steltz) as well as the top defensive lineman in all of college football, Glen Dorsey.  Gone, too, are two of the Bayou Bengals’ starting linebackers, Ali Highsmith and Luke Sanders.  Highsmith and Steltz led the team in tackles with 101 tackles, apiece. 

Offensively, the Tigers lose QB Matt Flynn and their top receiver, Early Doucet, as well as OT Carnell Stewart.  And while LSU fielded one of the deepest set of running backs in the country in 2007, they will nevertheless feel the void from the loss of do-everything back Jacob Hester (1,103 yds, 12 TD’s in ’07) to graduation.  LSU has a tough five-game stretch in the middle of the season which includes road trips to Auburn and Florida and ending with a home game against Georgia.  Upstart Mississippi State and Spurrier’s Gamecocks insulate those three contests and could provide upset-ambush material.

Testament to the quantity and quality of lost starters for USC this year is the fact that they tied a Senior Bowl record by placing no fewer than eight players on the North roster (OT Sam Baker, OG Drew Radovich, DT Sedrick Ellis, DE Lawrence Jackson, LB Keith Rivers, CB Terrell Thomas, RB Chauncey Washington, and QB John David Booty).  Still, it is the Trojans’ athletic pair of safeties which made their backfield so dangerous and they both return while few teams are better equipped to deal with the loss of Washington at tailback.  And, even with the loss of Rivers, USC will still boast two of the nation’s top linebackers in the country (Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing) when they debut their 2008 edition on the road against Virginia (followed immediately by a home game against Ohio State).

Finally, there are the Georgia Bulldogs.  Their season-ending demolition of Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl was evidence that, polls notwithstanding, they may have been the nation’s top team at the end of 2007. 

The Dawgs lose three starters on offense, including their center and right tackle, as well as their leading receiver and most dangerous deep-threat, Sean Bailey (39-615, 5 TD’s).  Plus, while not technically a starter, Georgia will definitely miss the services of TB Thomas Brown (Career: 2,646 yds, 23 TD’s).  Still, QB Matthew Stafford returns as a third-year starter and reuniting with him in the backfield will be former freshman-sensation, Knowshon Moreno, at tailback (1,396 yds, 14 TD’s). 

The Bulldog defense loses just two starters (DE Marcus Howard and SS Kelin Johnson).  But, while both players were leaders on and off the field, they are imminently replaceable. 

Georgia starts their schedule off with warm-up games against Georgia Southern and Central Michigan (though, they better beware of Chippewa QB Dan LeFevour).  Two challenging stretches follow, though, starting with a Week 4 trip to Arizona State, followed by home games against Alabama and Tennessee) and then a four game stretch which features road games to LSU, Auburn and Kentucky with the annual Florida game sandwiched in there as well.

Finally, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri should be well-stocked in 2008 – all three return their starting quarterback from 2007 – and there is little doubt that one of them will make a run at the Championship from the Big 12 Conference.  Mizzou must replace the most quality starters heading into next season while KU loses its best defensive lineman and one of the top cornerbacks in the nation (Aqib Talib).  Oklahoma returns most everyone from their ridiculously-efficient 2007 offense but they did lose their TB Allen Patrick and their most dangerous receiving threat, Malcolm Kelly (Career:  144-2,285 [15.9 ypc], 21 TD’s), to the NFL Draft.  They must also make up for the loss of several talented defenders, including MLB Curtis Lofton and versatile DB and return-man, Reggie Smith. 

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