Not sure if it's just me, but it feels as though OSU isn't getting the benefit of the doubt it usually has when reloading its roster from year to year. For example, take this response to "how much do we beat OSU by and why" from Inside Texas writer Eric Nahlin:

10+.

They have much more than Texas to replace. The Horns already have a good plan on Jeremiah Smith. Julian Sayin making his first career start is going to beat one of the top 2-3 defenses in the country? I'm not buying it.

The fact it's the first game of the season offers some volatility but the Horns are more stable given OSU's player and coaching turnover.

I could do an entire deep dive on this alone from Nahlin, who also rated his confidence in beating OSU at an 8.5 out of 10. Further concerns exist about OSU potentially losing at Illinois, Washington, and....Wisconsin???

The general gist seems to be that OSU's replacements for its departed starters may not be at a similar level of play. My question...haven't we done this before? Hasn't OSU proven, year after year since 2012, that it can reload with talent that's comparable to what it had on the field the previous season? Surely it has some credibility there.

A few other general thoughts headed into the season:

• QB concerns? The braintrust of Day and Hartline went 11-1 in 2023 with Kyle "Honda" McCord at QB. The floor for QB play at OSU is very, very high, regardless of who starts. It's highly unlikely that THIS is the first year in Day's tenure that QB play somehow falls off a cliff.
• Even if we were concerned about potential QB and RB play, the talent, depth, and experience of OSU's OL room (the best it's been in YEARS) will help both of those other positions. It was a huge part of their success last year and will continue to be this year.
• New coordinators? Also a general concern, but on offense, Hartline was a big part of game-planning last year. Matt Patricia is a new face, but he's drawn rave reviews so far for his scheme's simplicity and also has Caleb Downs (basically a coach on the field) to help everyone get aligned and know their assignments.
• Under Ryan Day, OSU has NEVER lost a game in the regular season in which its opponent didn't have a similar level of talent on the field. For folks to be suggesting that Washington and Illinois are potential losses, history does not agree with you. 
• The biggest question to me is still defensive line quality and depth. We won't really know how this will turn out till the games start being played, but the talent is certainly there. 

Thoughts?