Ezekiel Elliott is a Lindy’s first-team All-American. (Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — After an amazing run to the first College Football Playoff national championship, Ohio State enters the 2015 season as the No. 1 team in the early rankings and the odds-on favorite to repeat its impressive feats from last year.
As good as the Buckeyes were in 2014, they could be even better this fall. With so much talent returning in Columbus, optimism is bursting through the high ceiling for coach Urban Meyer’s program.
The hype surrounding the Buckeyes is certainly justified.
With a team this gifted, where do you start to name its strengths?
Well, there’s Heisman Trophy candidate Ezekiel Elliott, who went on a tear in the postseason and ran wild for 696 yards and eight touchdowns in the Big Ten championship and the two CFP games.
There’s the ridiculous abundance of talent at quarterback with J.T. Barrett, who set Big Ten records in his first season as a starter last year before suffering an ankle injury against Michigan in late November, and Cardale Jones, the howitzer-armed gunslinger who replaced Barrett and led the Buckeyes to the national title.
That’s not to mention the return of Braxton Miller, a two-time All-Big Ten quarterback and player of the year who is coming off shoulder surgery and decided this summer to move to wide receiver to allow more time for healing. Miller has some learning to do at a new position, but he’s a superb athlete who’s needed right away after H-backs Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson were suspended for the opener.
The question that everyone in college football wants to know is who will be the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes? Meyer insists the public won’t find out until the opener at Virginia Tech game on Labor Day night.
“Basically, we’re keeping score of everything (in practice),” Meyer said. “And everything, obviously, multiplied when you start adding seven-on-seven, mini-field, third-down periods and all that. So it’s going to be, when I say there’s not a gut instinct involved, there will be. But there’s also going to be a lot of statistical data that we chart and watch very closely.”
Everyone does know now, though, that Miller is no longer in that competition after opting to play receiver.
“He’s full time, yeah, he’s full time,” Meyer said. “I don’t want to say I completely left it up to him, but I just want to see how he pushed and he’s a full-time receiver.”
Ohio State’s offensive line, led by senior left tackle Taylor Decker, returns four of five starters and senior tight end Nick Vannett is on the preseason Mackey Award watch list.
Then there’s a defense equally loaded for bear, starting with All-American defensive lineman Joey Bosa, one of four starters suspended for the opener against the Hokies. Fellow defensive lineman Adolphus Washington is a returning starter, linebackers Darron Lee and Joshua Perry are two of the best in the country, and the defensive backfield lost only one starter.
The two areas to watch for the Buckeyes heading into the season are defensive line and wide receiver. Gone are defensive tackle Michael Bennett, drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and big-play wide receiver Devin Smith, picked in the second round by the New York Jets. The coaching staff is looking for playmakers to fill those roles but have no shortage of candidates.
Since Meyer’s first season in 2012, the Buckeyes have reeled off 24 consecutive Big Ten wins without a loss. No team on the schedule except Michigan State would appear to be a threat to end Meyer’s unbeaten conference run — and that game will be played in the Horseshoe in late November.
Ohio State also plays Penn State and Minnesota at home and ends the regular season at Michigan, which should be an interesting first meeting between Meyer and new Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh.
The Buckeyes have embraced the challenge of attempting to repeat as Big Ten and national champions. This team appears more than capable of pulling off back-to-back-titles, but Meyer is taking nothing for granted and telling his players to forget about defending and focus on 2015.
“Nothing is going to be easy just because of what you did last year. That’s the old team, that’s gone and over with and done,” Decker said.
NOTES, QUOTES
SPOTLIGHT ON SEPTEMBER: The Buckeyes open at Virginia Tech on Sept. 7 in a rematch with the Hokies. Ohio State’s only loss last year came at home to Virginia Tech in the second game of the season. This year, the Buckeyes go to Blacksburg without four starters suspended for the opener because of team violations. With All-American defensive end Joey Bosa and wide receivers Dontre Wilson, Jalin Marshall and Corey Smith among the missing for Ohio State, the game becomes a little more challenging. But the Buckeyes are motivated to avenge last year’s loss and pursue perfection in the regular season. After the opener, Ohio State returns home for games against Hawaii, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan before beginning the Big Ten season at Indiana on Oct. 3.
KEYS TO SUCCESS: With so much talent on the roster, the Buckeyes face the challenge of making all the parts work together and keeping everyone happy and engaged. It’s almost a given that the quarterback who emerges as the starter — J.T. Barrett or Cardale Jones — will be highly productive. If the receiving corps is equally effective and running back Ezekiel Elliott picks up where he left off last season, there’s virtually no stopping an offense that scored 42 points or more 11 times in the final 13 games last season. Defensively, if the Buckeyes are able to stuff the run, that will force opponents to pass against Ohio State’s stellar secondary and likely lead to more turnovers. Maybe most important of all is avoiding complacency after the opener against Virginia Tech until November arrives with games against Minnesota, Michigan State and Michigan.
AREAS OF CONCERN: The Buckeyes enter the season working on their depth in the defensive line and at running back and identifying deep threats at wide receiver. Ohio State has few weaknesses, but the development of the defensive line will bear watching. Sophomores Jalyn Holmes and Tyquan Lewis are candidates for a starting spot and inconsistent senior Tommy Schutt is hoping to step into a starting tackle role vacated by NFL draftee Michael Bennett. Junior Mike Thomas is locked in at one of the receiver spots, but after that a host of candidates could see playing time. The game-breakers appear to be at H-back. Converted quarterback Braxton Miller and sophomores Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson and Curtis Samuel all are worthy of significant touches. At running back, senior Brionte Dunn is running behind standout junior Ezekiel Elliott in camp, freshman Mike Weber is making early strides and Samuel was the No. 2 back a year ago. A solid rotation is needed there to take the burden off Elliott.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I think being the preseason No. 1 team can kind of spark some complacency and that can be dangerous. Obviously, you don’t want to forget what got youth where you’re at, you don’t want to forget what it feels like to not be on top or No. 1. You work a a lot harder then than you probably ever will.” — Ohio State offensive tackle Taylor Decker on dealing with preseason expectations
