2006 Ohio State Buckeyes

2006 Ohio State Buckeyes Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews

Jan. 8
BCS Championship
Florida 41 ... Ohio State 14
Florida dominated Ohio State on both sides of the ball holding the Buckeye offense to eight first downs and 82 total yards of offense while amassing 370 yards and scoring 21 straight points in the first 15:04. Things started out on a high note for OSU as Ted Ginn Jr. took the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, but the Gators responded with a big kickoff return, helped by a penalty, and a seven-play, 46-yard drive finishing with a 14-yard Dallas Baker touchdown catch. Percy Harvin ran for a four-yard score, and DeShawn Wynn ran for a two-yard touchdown for the big lead, but the Buckeyes appeared to have some life after an 18-yard Antonio Pittman touchdown run. That would be it as Florida got two Chris Hetland field goals and took advantage of a sack and Troy Smith fumble to go five yards in the final minute of the first half finishing with a one-yard Andre Caldwell touchdown catch from Tim Tebow. Tebow closed out the scoring with a one-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Player of the game ... Florida DEs Jarvis Moss and Derrick Harvey. The two Gator ends combined to make six tackles, five sacks, and came up with several hurries. Moss forced a key Troy Smith fumble at the end of the first half deep in Buckeye territory, and Harvey recovered it.
Stat Leaders: Florida - Passing: Chris Leak, 35-36, 213 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: DeShawn Wynn, 19-69, 1 TD  Receiving: Percy Harvin, 9-60
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 4-14, 35 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 10-62, 1 TD  Receiving: Anthony Gonzalez, 2-11
Notes & Thoughts ... - Quarter by quarter game notes ... Troy Smith didn't have anyone to throw to. That's not to say the Buckeyes would've beaten the Gators if Ted Ginn hadn't hurt his ankle, but it certainly didn't help. The Florida secondary swarmed all over Anthony Gonzalez and the OSU receivers, and the game was over. OSU's defense didn't do anything to shut down the Gator offense, and down 21-7, had to all but abandon the running game. ... Time of possession: Florida 40:48 - Ohio State 19.12. Third down conversions: Florida 10 of 19, Ohio State one of nine. The Gators pitched a near-perfect game. ... The Ohio State energy level never appeared to be there, even after Ginn's opening kickoff return for a score. Florida was always bouncing around and crisp, while OSU appeared to be going through the motions with no pop on either side of the ball. The Gators had a lot to do with that.

2006 Schedule CFN Prediction: 10-2 2005 Record: 12-1 Preview 2006 predicted wins
9/2	No. Illinois  W 35-12
9/9	at Texas W 24-7
9/16	Cincinnati W 37-7
9/23	Penn State W 28-6
9/30	at Iowa W 38-17
10/7	Bowling Green W 35-7
10/14	at Michigan St W 38-7
10/21	Indiana W 44-3
10/28	Minnesota W 44-0
11/4	at Illinois W 17-10
11/11	at Nwestern W 54-10
11/18	Michigan W 42-39
1/8	BCS Championship Florida L 41-14

2005 Schedule CFN Prediction: 10-1 2005 Record: 10-2 Preview 2005 predicted wins
9/3	Miami Univ. W 34-14
9/10	Texas L 25-22
9/17	San Diego St W 27-6
9/24	Iowa W 31-6
10/8	at Penn State  L 17-10
10/15	Michigan St W 35-24
10/22	at Indiana W 41-10
10/29	at Minnesota W 45-31
11/5	Illinois W 40-2
11/12	Northwestern W 48-7
11/19	at Michigan W 25-21
1/2	Fiesta Bowl Notre Dame W 34-20

Nov. 18
Ohio State 42 ... Michigan 39
Ohio State won a classic as Troy Smith threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers highlighted by a 39-yard pass to Ted Ginn off a fake for a 21-7 second half lead and an eight-yard strike to Anthony Gonzalez for a 28-14 halftime advantage. Michigan roared back with a stop on OSU's first second half possession to go 60 yards in five plays finished off by the second of Mike Hart's three touchdown runs. The Wolverines pulled within four on a 39-yard Garrett Rivas field goal, but the Buckeyes got their second big touchdown run of the game, the first coming in the first half on a brilliant, spinning 52-yard dash from Chris Wells, on an Antonio Pittman 56-yard dash. Michigan capitalized off a fumble with a short Hart scoring run, but head coach Lloyd Carr chose to kick the extra point rather than go for two allowing OSU to be up by four. With an 11-play, 82-yard drive that took five minutes and was kept alive on a penalty from a helmet-to-helmet hit on a third down misfire, Smith hit Brian Robiskie on a 13-yard touchdown pass for a 42-31 lead. Michigan marched back with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Ecker and the two point conversion, but the Buckeyes recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock. 
Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith completed 25 of 41 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions
Stat Leaders: Michigan - Passing: Chad Henne, 21-35, 267 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Mike Hart, 23-142, 3 TD. Receiving: Mario Manningham, 6-86
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 25-41, 316 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 18-139, 1 TD. Receiving: Ted Ginn, 8-104, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Quarter by Quarter Game Notes ... It's on to Glendale. Ohio State got everything Michigan had, but kept coming back with the big plays, at least on offense, when it absolutely needed them. Troy Smith was brilliant in the first half sealing up the Heisman, Ted Ginn had his best game of the season, and the backs came up with brilliant long runs. The defense struggled and the offense had a hard time putting the game away, but that was the number two team in the nation the Buckeyes just beat. How can anyone possibly find fault with cranking out 503 yards of total offense and 42 points on one of the best teams in the nation? Give credit to an offensive line that, once again, had a strong game. When Smith got time, it was a thing of beauty.

Nov. 11
Ohio State 54 ... Northwestern 10
Ohio State had little trouble getting out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and was up 33-10 at halftime helped by three Troy Smith touchdown passes, including two to Brian Hartline, and a 46-yard interception return for a score from Brandon Mitchell. Smith hit Ted Ginn with a 34-yard touchdown pass with three seconds to play in the first half to spark a run of 27 unanswered points. Northwestern scored on a eight-yard Tyrell Sutton touchdown catch and a 29-yard Joel Howells field goal.
Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith completed 12 of 19 passes for 185 yards and four touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Northwestern - Passing: C.J. Bacher, 17-28, 212 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Tyrell Sutton, 12-57. Receiving: Tyrell Sutton, 7-75, 1 TD
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 12-19, 185 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chris Wells, 11-99, 1 TD. Receiving: Brian Hartline, 3-47, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk about coming into the Michigan game on a roll, the Buckeyes took care of business against Northwestern like it was a light scrimmage spreading the ball around well and getting a nice bounce-back day from Troy Smith after the lousy Illinois outing. The backups got some good work in, the starters got their mojo back, and the defense was never really threatened. Now the team can finally turn its full attention on Michigan with the of the tunnel in sight.

Nov. 4
Ohio State 17 ... Illinois 10
Ohio State's high-powered offense was held to 224 yards surviving thanks to a big first drive going 80 yards in 14 plays finishing with a two-yard Chris Wells touchdown run while using a short field to finish with a one-yard Antonio Pittman scoring run. The Buckeyes finished off their scoring late in the first half with a 50-yard Aaron Pettrey field goal. Illinois hit a 37-yard Jason Reda field goal and got a three-yard Rashard Mendenhall touchdown run with 1:40 to play, but couldn't get the ball back until late with the ball on its two with only four seconds to play.
Player of the game ... Ohio State LB Jim Laurinaitis made 11 tackles and picked off a pass, while in a losing cause, Illinois LB J Leman made 19 tackles, one sack, forced a fumble and made 3.5 tackles for loss.
Stat Leaders: Illinois - Passing: Isaiah Williams, 8-18, 77 yds
Rushing: Pierre Thomas, 8-58. Receiving: Jeff Cumberland, 4-62
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 13-23, 108 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 32-58, 1 TD. Receiving: Ted Ginn, 5-26
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Forget about the Illinois game chalking it up to one lazy, down performance in an otherwise brilliant season. However, this can't be a start of a trend. If the Buckeyes struggle at Northwestern next week, then it's time to seriously worry about what the offense will do against Michigan. This was the first time all year the offensive line was lousy getting no room for Antonio Pittman to move. Illinois might be playing better lately on defense, but there's no excuse for a team as powerful as OSU to only gain 224 yards and only 144 after the first drive of the game.

Oct. 28
Ohio State 44 ... Minnesota 0
Ohio State had no problem with the Gophers cranking out 484 yards of total offense and getting two Antonio Pittman rushing touchdowns and Troy Smith ran for a score and threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Brian Robiskie. Minnesota was held to 47 rushing yards and lost three interceptions failing to ever mount any sort of a threat. Chris Wells and Justin Zwick added short touchdown runs in the fourth quarter.
Player of the game ... Ohio State RB Antonio Pittman ran 21 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Minnesota - Passing: Bryan Cupito, 13-25, 120 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Amir Pinnix, 14-46. Receiving: Jack Simmons, 5-48
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 14-21, 183 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 21-116, 2 TD. Receiving: Brian Hartline, 4-69
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It's all working right now for the Buckeyes. Minnesota wasn't even in the stadium and the Buckeyes were rolling. While Troy Smith got hit a bit, he's still getting plenty of time to make plays and more than enough time to find his third and fourth options. With everything working well, now it's time to start working on some new things and giving Michigan some things to think about. Even more deep passes wouldn't be bad, more running from Smith, and a few different blitzes would be nice. Of course, that's if the Buckeyes feel like getting creative instead of just winning every game in a blowout.

Oct. 21
Ohio State 44 ... Indiana 3
Ohio State got down 3-0 on a 34-yard Austin Starr field goal, and then scored 44 unanswered points with Troy Smith throwing four touchdown passes to four different receivers, including a 31-yard throw to Ted Ginn, who also threw a scoring pass connecting with Rory Nichol for a 38-yard pass. Chris Wells capped things off with a 12-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. OSU outgained IU 540 yards to 165.
Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith completed 15 of 23 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns and ran four times for 38 yards
Stat Leaders: Indiana - Passing: Kellen Lewis, 15-28, 106
Rushing: Demetrius McCray, 12-13. Receiving: James Hardy, 6-45
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 15-23, 220 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 16-105. Receiving: Ted Ginn, 5-72, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It took Ohio State a little while to wake up against Indiana, and then it looked like a number one team is supposed to with a dominant performance on both sides of the ball. The defense held IU to seven rushing yards, while the offense had perfect balance with 270 yards rushing and 270 yards receiving. It's now to the point where Troy Smith can come up with a sluggish game and still throw four touchdown passes along with a couple of highlight reel plays. DB Antonio Smith had a huge game with 12 tackles, a sack,  forced fumble, and four tackles for loss.

Oct. 14
Ohio State 38 ... Michigan State 7
Ohio State won in a walk as Troy Smith threw two touchdown passes, including a Heisman-reel play to Brian Robiskie on a seven-yard strike, and Ted Ginn returned a punt 60 yards for a score. Antonio Pittman started the Buckeye scoring with a two-yard run to cap an 80-yard, 12-play drive, and Chris Wells ended it with a five-yard score. MSU finally got on the board with just over a minute to play with a six-yard A.J. Jimmerson run. The Spartans were held to 198 yards of total offense with 69 of them coming on the final drive.
Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith completed 15 of 22 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Michigan State - Passing: Drew Stanton, 8-16, 54 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Jehuu Caulcrick, 15-45. Receiving: Terry Love, 4-44
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 15-22, 234 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Chris Wells, 12-53, 1 TD. Receiving: Anthony Gonzalez, 7-118, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Ohio State is a machine. Michigan State never had a chance with the way the Buckeyes were playing on both sides of the ball. The offense was balanced and nearly flawless with Troy Smith coming up with yet another fantastic game, and Ted Ginn, for the second game in a row, started to show off the explosiveness and ability that brought him so much hype. Quinn Pitcock doesn't get a ton of national exposure, but he might be playing better than any defensive tackle in America. Everything's working; there's no touching this team until the Michigan game.

Oct. 7
Ohio State 35 ... Bowling Green 7
Ohio State got a near-perfect game from Troy Smith and Ted Ginn's best game of the season, but it took an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ray Small and a 57-yard touchdown from Ginn in the fourth quarter to finally put the game away. Bowling Green hung around with a 12-yard Corey Partridge scoring catch in the third quarter, but there was no answer for Ginn or Smith. Antonio Pittman ran for two first half scores for the Buckeyes and Rory Nicol caught a three-yard touchdown pass.
Player of the game ... Ohio State WR Ted Ginn caught ten passes for 122 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Bowling Green - Passing: Anthony Turner, 16-24, 179 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chris Bullock, 21-72. Receiving: Corey Partridge, 4-49, 1 TD
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 17-20, 191 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 13-61, 2 TD. Receiving: Ted Ginn, 10-122, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ohio State doesn't put up a bazillion points a game under Jim Tressel, but how is it that Troy Smith is lights out, Ted Ginn comes up with a fantastic game, and yet the game was still close into the fourth quarter. Bowling Green should've been knocked out far earlier. Obviously, the Buckeyes were able to turn up the pressure when needed, but it would be nice to see a 55-7 romp at some point.

Sept. 30
Ohio State 38 ... Iowa 17
Ohio State took the raucous Iowa crowd out of the game early with a 12-yard touchdown catch from Anthony Gonzalez 2:24 into the game, and stayed ahead the rest of the way. Troy Smith threw four touchdown passes and Gonzalez scored again on a brilliant, weaving 30-yard touchdown catch. Iowa got a four-yard touchdown catch from Andy Brodell and a 15-yard touchdown run from Albert Young, but the Buckeyes always stayed one step ahead turning a Marcus Freeman interception of Drew Tate into a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brian Robiskie.
Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith completed 16 of 25 passes for 186 yards and four touchdowns  and ran seven times for 20 yards
Stat Leaders: Iowa - Passing: Drew Tate, 19-41, 249 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Albert Young, 11-48, 1 TD. Receiving: Scott Chandler, 6-87
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 16-25, 186 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 25-117, 1 TD. Receiving: Ted Ginn, 7-69
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk about your cold, efficient performances, Ohio State played like a team that had seen it all and done it all. It had already dealt with a crazy road atmosphere at Texas, so Iowa's Kinnick Stadium wasn't going to be a problem. Troy Smith continues to get time, and he continues to deliver with clutch play after clutch play finding all his targets to take whatever's given to him. The defense gave up some yards to Drew Tate, but it also came up with more than its share of big plays to kill any Hawkeye momentum. Now, only the road trip to Michigan State stands in the way of an 11-0 start before the Michigan game.

Sept. 23
Ohio State 28 ... Penn State 6
Penn State had the ball with just over two minutes to play and down eight points in a tight defensive game, and then the Buckeye secondary took over as Malcolm Jenkins stepped in front of an Anthony Morelli pass for a 61-yard score. Antonio Smith rubbed salt in to the wound taking another Morelli pass 55 yards for a touchdown. The Buckeye offense had a few good moments with a 12-yard Antonio Pittman touchdown run in the third quarter, and Troy Smith came up with a Heisman highlight play in the fourth scrambling out of danger before throwing a 37-yard strike to Brian Robiskie for a touchdown. Penn State only managed two Kevin Kelly field goals.
Player of the game ... Ohio State RB Antonio Pittman ran 20 times for 110 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Penn State - Passing: Anthony Morelli, 16-25, 106 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Tony Hunt, 24-135. Receiving: Jordan Norwood, 5-30
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 12-22, 115 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 10-110, 1 TD. Receiving: Brian Robiskie, 3-51, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It wasn't Ohio State's best game, and the run defense was surprisingly soft against Penn State, but team came up with the plays when it needed to in the hard-fought win. While Troy Smith struggled to get into any sort of a rhythm, Antonio Pittman kept on chugging averaging 5.5 yards per carry and providing some semblance of consistency to the attack. Where was Ted Ginn? He was all but erased by the Nittany Lions from the game plan, but he wasn't bad returning punts. He has to have the ball in his hands more than twice on offense.

Sept. 16
Ohio State 37 ... Cincinnati 7
Ohio State started off slowly, but kicked it in over the final three quarter scoring 34 unanswered points and running over the Bearcats in the second half highlighted by a 48-yard Antonio Pittman touchdown run and a nine-yard Maurice Wells scoring dash. Ted Ginn caught two short touchdown passes to all but put the game away after Cincinnati took a 7-4 lead on a 22-yard Jared Martin touchdown catch. Aaron Pettrey hit field goals from 47 and 43 yards out for the Buckeyes, but the big bomb came on a 52- yard shot late in the fourth quarter by Ryan Pretorius. Cincinnati was held to -4 rushing yards.
Player of the game ... Ohio State RB Antonio Pittman ran 16 times for 155 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for seven yards
Stat Leaders: Cincinnati - Passing: Dustin Grutza, 18-22, 202 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Greg Moore, 3-14. Receiving: Derrick Stewart, 5-64
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 21-30, 203 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 16-155, 1 TD. Receiving: Anthony Gonzalez, 5-85
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Call it a hangover. It's hard to fault the Buckeyes from coming out a little flat after the dominating win over Texas, but when they had to get things moving against Cincinnati, they did. This might be the theme all season long; the offensive line is the key to the team. It's giving Troy Smith all day to throw and powered over the Bearcat defense in the second half to give the running game room to move. Ted Ginn Jr. will get all the headlines, but Anthony Gonzalez continues to kill teams for not paying enough attention to him.

Sept. 9
Ohio State 24 ... Texas 7
Ohio State got two touchdown passes from Troy Smith, a late two-yard scoring run from Antonio Pittman to put things away, and a wonderful defensive performance coming up with the big plays when it absolutely had to. The Longhorns had an early chance to score getting down to the OSU seven, but Buckeye LB Jim Laurinaitis forced a Billy Pittman fumble which was returned to midfield by Donald Washington. The OSU offense capitalized with a 14-yard scoring grab by Anthony Gonzalez. Texas came back to tie it on a two-yard Colt McCoy pass to Pittman for its only points of the night. It was a relatively dead even game, but Texas couldn't come up with the big offensive plays Smith was able to produce.
Player of the game ... Ohio State LB Jim Laurinaitis made 13 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception and forced two fumbles.
Stat Leaders: Texas - Passing: Colt McCoy, 19-32, 154 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Selvin Young, 11-94. Receiving: Selvin Young, 6-41
Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 17-26, 269 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 16-74, 1 TD. Receiving: Anthony Gonzalez, 8-142, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Ohio State sure looked like a number one team against Texas. Troy Smith was cool, calm and collected appearing to be way too comfortable throwing the ball. His -13 rushing yards shows how the coaching staff must have thought that the offense could move the ball best if Smith hung in the pocket and found his receivers, and they were right. The Buckeyes did a great job of finding Anthony Gonzalez and getting the ball to him with all the attention paid to Ted Ginn, and Ginn once again appeared polished as a first round caliber wide receiver and not just a first round caliber athlete. While the O will get the publicity, Jim Laurinaitis and the defense stole the show by not letting the Longhorn ground game dictate the tempo.

Sept. 2
Ohio State 35 ... Northern Illinois 12
Ohio State looked like the number one team from the opening drive as Troy Smith threw three first quarter touchdown passes hitting Ted Ginn for scores from six and 42 yards and Anthony Gonzalez from 15 yards out. The blowout was all but complete when Chris Wells scored from eight yards out on the first play of the second quarter. NIU kept fighting thanks to RB Garrett Wolfe, who racked up 286 yards of total offense, but it wasn't nearly enough.
Player of the game ... In a losing cause, Northern Illinois RB Garrett Wolfe ran 26 times for 171 yards and caught five passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Stat Leaders: Ohio State - Passing: 18-25, 297 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 19-111, 1 TD. Receiving: Ted Ginn 4-123, 2 TD
Northern Illinois - Passing: Phil Horvath, 15-26, 186 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 26-171, 1 TD. Receiving: Garrett Wolfe, 5-114, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Is it possible to get off to a hotter start than Ohio State did over the first 16 minutes of the blowout over Northern Illinois? There has to be some concern about all the new faces on defense after Garrett Wolfe ran wild for 171 yards. If Wolfe and the Huskie offense could do that, then Texas and Jamaal Charles could go nuts. The key to the NIU win was the OSU offensive line. Troy Smith might have been great, but he got ten days to throw allowing his receivers to run any routes they wanted to.

2006 Ohio State Preview

Ohio State Preview | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart | Further Analysis

If you were wondering what kind of a monster Ohio State has become under head coach Jim Tressel, take a look at the respect the 2006 team is getting after losing an array of future NFL stars.

Seriously, who loses five number one draft picks, the entire defensive back seven, the number one receiver, and two tremendous offensive linemen and is supposed to be better than the year before?

It's partially due to the lack of a true number one team to start the season, and it's partially due to quarterback Troy Smith and an offense that should light up most defenses like a Christmas tree, but it's mostly due to the recruiting. Ohio State is one of the select few that can lose players like A.J. Hawk, Donte Whitner, Bobby Carpenter, Santonio Holmes, Nick Mangold, Ashton Youboty, Anthony Schlegel, Nate Salley, and Rob Sims, and immediately replace them with athletes just as strong, just as fast, and just as talented.

Of course, it's asking too much for all the new starters to immediately play like first round draft picks, but the expectations have gone out of control after winning fifty games, including four of the last five against Michigan, a national title, three BCS games, and four straight bowl games under Tressel. Simply put, anything less than a national title will be seen as a disappointment in Columbus.

No pressure there.

But the makings are there for this team to get the job done. If it's not the number one team going into the season, it'll be in just about everyone's top three. It has a high profile showdown at Texas which could mean a rock-solid number one ranking with a win, and a loss would come early enough that a national title shot would still be a possibility by winning out. The secondary is full of big, fast athletes that looked like seasoned veteran throughout spring ball. The linebacking corps replaces the legendary trio of Hawk, Schlegel and Carpenter with seven talented options to form a great rotation. And then there's the offense.

Smith is expected to be this year's Vince Young. After two years of clutch performances in several big games, and with his knowledge of the Buckeye offense that will allow for more spread formations, it's all there to have a Heisman caliber season. He has Ted Ginn Jr. to throw to, and Antonio Pittman along with superstar recruit Chris Wells in the backfield. To make Buckeye haters even more nervous, the line might be the best yet in the Tressel era with two tremendous tackles and enough depth to form a solid second team.

Of course, with everything going for them, the Buckeyes will have to avoid a 2004-like letdown if there are problems early on. That team was much like this year's version; it was loaded with talent, but it had to replace a slew of stars. Experienced teams loaded with veterans win close games; teams with plenty of new starters, even talented ones, tend to have issues when things get tight.

And that's where Smith is supposed to come in. If he really is VY part two, he'll be the leader who gets the team out of jams and makes all the big plays he has to. Fortunately for OSU, he won't have to do it too often because of ...

The Schedule: Let's cut to the chase here. Games against Northern Illinois, Cincinnati, Bowling Green, Indiana, Minnesota, at Illinois, and at Northwestern will be mere formalities unless all the planets are aligned absolutely perfectly. Considering Wisconsin has beaten the Buckeyes in the last two meetings and that Purdue should be better, missing those two from the Big Ten slate isn't a bad thing. At Texas on September 9th is the one the world is waiting for, and at Michigan State will be much tougher than expected. The other two potential battles are in Columbus against Penn State and Michigan. In other words, if the Buckeyes can get by the Longhorns and survive a trip to Iowa, things are as favorable as can be reasonably asked for.

Best Offensive Player: Senior QB Troy Smith. Michigan fans liked to joke that Smith was the second best pro quarterback in Ohio behind Carson Palmer after the Buckeye star got suspended for taking money from a booster. Ohio State has had all the laughs recently in the last two wins against the Wolverines thanks to Smith after he completed 40 of 60 passes for 541 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, 282 rushing yards, and two touchdowns.

Best Defensive Player: Senior DT Quinn Pitcock. While he doesn't get a lot of headlines and his stats are hardly eye-popping, the 6-3, 295-pound senior is one of the nation's best tackles. He's strong enough to occupy two blockers without a problem, and quick enough to force the action in the backfield.

Key player to a successful season: Sophomore PK Ryan Pretorius and redshirt freshman PK Aaron Pettrey. Ohio State hasn't had to worry about field goals for several years with Mike Nugent and Josh Huston among the best in the nation. Can Pretorius and Pettrey be as clutch? If not, the offense might have to open it up just a little bit more in close games.

The season will be a success if ... the Buckeyes play for the national title. The schedule is too favorable and the Texas games comes just early enough that anything less than a game on January 8th, 2007 in Glendale, Arizona will be a major disappointment.

Key game: Sept. 30 at Iowa. Of course everyone is jacked up for the Texas game on September 9th, and the Michigan game is always one of the must-see games of the year, but Iowa has the type of team that can win the Big Ten title, and has a good enough schedule that it can reasonably dream about playing for a national title. If the Buckeyes aren't razor-sharp, national championship and Big Ten title dreams can go bye-bye.

2005 Fun Stats: 
- Sacks: Ohio State 44 for 291 yards - Opponents 18 for 110 yards
- Second quarter scoring: Ohio State 111 - Opponents 41
- Time of possession: Ohio State 32:00 - Opponents 28:00

The Last Time Ohio State…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Fiesta Bowl vs. Notre Dame)
…missed a bowl game…1999
…pitched a shutout…2003 (Northwestern)
…was shutout…1993 (Michigan)
…scored 50 points…2002 (San Jose State)
…went undefeated…2002
…won a conference title…2005 (share, Big Ten)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…1998 (Joe Germaine)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2005 (Antonio Pittman)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2002 (Michael Jenkins)
…had a first-round draft choice…2006 (LB A.J. Hawk, DB Donte Whitner, LB Bobby Carpenter, WR  Santonio Holmes and C Nick Mangold)