Vegas oddsmakers have made Ezekiel Elliott the pre-season favorite to win the Heisman Trophy for good reason. 

He'll actually have the use of both hands, for one thing.  And he'll be a main cog in what could be an absolute offensive juggernaut.  That potentially overwhelming attack will also feature four returning starters on what could surely be considered to be one of the best offensive line in the sport.

However, there are some factors that could hurt Zeke's chances.  Eventually, he would almost certainly "split votes" with whoever winds up starting at quarterback - particularly since, as incredible as it may seem, all three candidates for the job are currently among the top thirty on the same (Heisman odds) list.

It has also been suggested that in more than a few games, the Buckeyes may quickly build virtually insurmountable early leads.  The effect that could have on every starter's playing time is obvious.  There's no way the same coach that instituted the 2,000 Rep Club is going to keep his star running back (and/or quarterback) in a game that's already gotten out of hand.  Plus, Urbz can rest assured he has plenty of depth at those positions to substitute freely.

This is where the Silver Bullets come in to play.  There probably won't be nearly as many "points allowed" this season.  Due to the defense's steady improvement over the course of last year, teams (like Virginia Tech, Maryland, Penn State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Indiana and ttun) that scored more than twenty points on them in 2014 may struggle to put much of anything up on the board this time around.

It is my contention that Ohio State's defense will roll in to the 2015 season, barely skipping a beat from where they left off during the championship run.  Why wouldn't they? 

They shut out Wisconsin (and the nation's top rusher) and played very well against two of the best offenses in the country in Alabama and Oregon.  Who will they play, especially early in the season, that even approaches that level?

Unlike last year, when adjustments were clearly still being made well in to the season (Indiana, anyone?), in their second year under Chris Ash's system, it would actually be somewhat surprising if the defense wasn't dominant from the start.

Sure - there'll be a few new starters.  It's college football - that's almost always going to be the case.  But this year, it's only a few.  And for the most part, the new starters are looking very promising. 

Of course, they could always start out a little rusty.  But typically, in college football the defenses are a little ahead of the offenses at the beginning of the season - so that may not matter so much.  Again - there doesn't appear to be an elite offense in any match-up over the first part the schedule, in any case. 

Incidentally, Virginia Tech may be "elite" defensively - but they're probably not going to be in that category offensively. 

Along with our defense, our offense should also be considerably better early this season than they were over the first few games last year - allowing them to hit full stride much sooner. There's no reason to think that teams (like Maryland, Rutgers, Illinois, Michigan State, Indiana and ttun) that could not hold our offense under forty points last season should fare any better this season.

Combine that kind of offense with that kind of defense - and it adds up to blow-outs.  Blow-outs that could easily prevent any of our offensive stars from logging the kind of playing time that would be necessary to accumulate Heisman-caliber stats.

With any luck at all it'll be another fifteen game season.  Surely, anyone reading this can appreciate the fact that Urbz is going to rest his starters at every opportunity.  That's what's best for the team.  After all, what's more important - Heismans or Championships?

-

And - oh, by the way - after the way the defense played during the championship run, I don't think it's too soon to start referring to them as the Silver Bullets -