Pia Pete's 2012 Silver Bulletin Preview
August 11, 2012 8:00 pm EST
The 2012 season brings an overstuffed mixed bag of emotions for many Buckeye fans. Knowing in advance that Ohio State’s season will be over after the Meatchicken game is disheartening but the hiring of Urban Meyer as the new head coach is still making my head spin. Also on the horizon, the NCAA has finally banged out a play-off system to decide the national champion. It’s far from a perfect formula but it’s a first step in the right direction. 2012 will be an amazing preview to the 2013 team that should be ranked in the top 10 if not the top five. A new offensive strategy and a more athletic defense will confuse Buckeye fans that have grown accustomed to Tresselball but I promise the results will make us all very happy. The following is a preview into the 2012 season through heavily Scarlet and Gray colored sunglasses.
09/01/12 -- Miami (Ohio) 12:00 pm Big Ten Network
Four starters return from an offensive line that gave up 47 sacks in 2011. It also seems they were unable to block their way out of a damp paper bag as the ground game averaged an embarrassing 2.36 yards per carry. Still, quarterback Zac Dysert somehow racked up 3,513 passing yards and 23 touchdowns. No one, including the players and coaches, is fooled into thinking this is nothing more than a warm up for the Buckeyes and payday for Miami.
Buckeye Record: 1-0
09/08/12 -- Central Florida 12:00 pm ESPN2
A quarterback controversy will not help the Black Knights when they visit Columbus. Look for a Buckeye stomping.
Buckeye Record: 2-0
09/15/12 -- California 12:00 pm ABC
This should be interesting. Cal has a great receiving corps and an impressive attacking defense but the Golden Bears are lousy on the road and an early kickoff (8am California time) in Columbus will be tough. I think Urban gets his first win over a good team as a Buckeye.
Buckeye Record: 3-0
09/22/12 -- UAB (Alumni Game) 12:00pm
With the help and cooperation of the Athletic Department, the Alumni Band has moved its reunion to the fourth game of the season in hopes that the weather isn’t so darn hot. The Blazers of UAB are bad enough on defense that the alumni band could score 21 in the first half before the quad Script Ohio. The Bucks will be going into the Big Ten season undefeated.
Buckeye Record: 4-0
09/29/12 -- at Michigan State
TBD
TBDThe Spartans need to replace their quarterback and nearly the entire receiving corps. The defense remains intact and should be among the best in the Big Ten. The Bucks lose a tough game in Sparty-land.
Buckeye Record: 4-1
10/06/12 -- Nebraska 8:00 p.m. TBD
Last year’s embarrassing fourth quarter collapse still burns my britches. The Buckeyes will return the favor to Nebraska as the Huskers make their first visit to Columbus since 1955.
Buckeye Record: 5-1
10/13/12 -- at Indiana 8:00 pm Big Ten Network
Indiana might not be the door mat of the Big Ten this year. A junior heavy receiving corps with an improved quarterback and a decent running back seems to have the Hoosiers on the upswing in 2012. Too bad Indiana has to play defense.
Buckeye Record: 6-1
10/20/2012 -- PurdueTBD
TBDI don’t hate Purdue, in fact I really like the school and its fan-base but man are they a pain in the rear end. There was no reason to lose to the Boilermakers last year but the Bucks blew it. This one’s in Columbus and the Bucks will not let Purdue get two in a row.
Buckeye Record: 7-1
10/27/2012 -- at Penn State 6:00 pm
All joking aside, should there even be a game? The NCAA handed down their sanctions and punched the program in the gut. It’s not for me to decide if it was enough or too much but what I do know is that the program is in shambles and will be for some time to come. I don’t see too much competition from the Nittany Lions for the foreseeable future. The only comment I have on the PSU sanctions is that if it was anyone other than JoePa/Penn St knowingly protecting and providing a venue for the evil that Jerry Sandusky committed, that person and their program would be tied up and burned at the stake. Imagine for one second if this happened at any MAC school and then tell me the program would have gotten off so easily.
Buckeye Record: 8-1
11/03/2012 -- IllinoisTBD
TBDIllinois is a legitimate contender for the Big Ten Championship with a scary good defense and an emerging spread offense. The Buckeyes have them at home but Illinois has a tradition of success in Columbus. I have this one earmarked as the game of the year.
Buckeye Record: 8-2
11/17/2012 -- at WisconsinTBD
TBDBy this time Wisconsin will be done breaking in a new quarterback and the running game will be hitting on all cylinders. In Madison and probably at night, it looks like the Bucks drop two in a row.
Buckeye Record: 8-3
11/24/2012 -- Michigan 12:00 pm ABC
I’m only going to say this once; do you honestly think Urban Meyer is going to lose his first home game against Meatchicken as head coach? Me either.
Buckeye Record: 9-3
Wrap-up
I realize that 9-3 is drinking the Buckeye Kool-Aid to excess. Nebraska, Purdue and Michigan are definite speed traps and no one knows anything about Penn State. I don’t think the Bucks will lose all of these games and if OSU at least splits these games the record is 7-5 which is really a more realistic expectation. However, I am not a respected journalist nor do I have much of a reputation to uphold (just ask my wife). I am a Buckeye fan writing for Buckeye fans and yes I drink lots of Kool-Aid usually laced with appropriate adult themed fortifications. I suggest you do the same because the future is very bright for Ohio State.
Pia Pete
Lindy's Barely Recognize The Buckeyes
July 24, 2012 5:30 pm EST
I like to review ALL the pre-season magazines. I have always enjoyed the feedback from Lindy's writers, however historically Ohio State is a top rated team and is mentioned favorably. This year they hardly got any mention. According the this publication, if the Buckeyes are going to succeed this year, it will be with over-achievers.
The disrespected started right at the beginning of the magazine. They decided to list the top five BCS champions. I would have thought that the 2002 team would have to be near the top. However, the '02 Bucks are not even in the top five. This is in spite of the fact that the #1 rated team was the '01 Hurricanes, which is basically the team the Scarlet & Gray defeated in 2002 in the desert.
Nationally they pick LSU to repeat in the championship game facing the now 'not on probation' USC Trojans.
They did pick OSU as the #4 recruiting class behind Alabama, Texas and Florida. Yet they only had Noah Spence (#9) and Adolphus Washington (#25) in the list of Top 100 recruits.
No one from OSU appears on their 1st or 2nd team All-American.
Overall nationally, the Buckeyes appear #14 on the Lindy's rankings. As you look at their 2012 slate only Michigan (#7) and Michigan State (#12) rate above OSU. The rest of the schedule rated as follows according to Lindy's: Wisconsin (#17), Nebraska (#25), Penn State (#27), UCF (#38), Purdue (#42), California (#50), Illinois (#62), Indiana (#87), Miami (#104) and UAB (#114). And yes I am sure all of you out there are saying "how can the Hoosiers be ranked so high?"
As for the conference, Lindy's has Ohio State first, which of course is a hallow victory as they are not eligible for post season play this year. There is no on from the squad rate 1st team Big Ten offense, but John Simon, Jonathan Hankins and CJ Barnett can be found on the defensive team. Jack Mewhort appears on the 2nd team all conference along with Braxton Miller, Drew Basil and Travis Howard. The future looks better though as OSU landed 5 of the top 10 and 9 of the top 20 Big Ten recruits coming in this year.
Other notes of interest nationally, Big 12 newcomers WVU and TCU are picked #2 and #3 for the conference. FSU is picked to play Virginia Tech in the ACC championship, Oregon and USC in the PAC-12 and Georgia and LSU in the SEC, so no new surprise there.
OSU Should Do Well in 2012
May 29, 2012 7:00 pm EST
The preseason magazines are starting to hit the newsstands which will start the summer long conversation.
The talk will be much better for Ohio State football this year over last year, no matter where the 'experts' place the Scarlet and Gray. As for Athlon, they have the Buckeyes rated 6th in their 2012 magazine. It may seem a bit high for a team coming off a 6-7 season, but what may be more surprising is they are rated over so many of the strong teams in the Big Ten. Michigan coming off their BCS victory over Virginia Tech is rated 7th. Nebraska will be returning their two year starting quarterback is rated 14th. Wisconsin and Michigan State, the two teams who played each other last season for 1st ever Big Ten Championship come in at 17th and 18th respectively.
Will continue to watch over the next few weeks to see where the Buckeyes land in the other magazines and polls.
Preview:
2012 Pre-Season Predictions
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