You are right, scarlet -- it does take that confluence of positive factors and a bit of luck.

But......it has become the new standard, and for the foreseeable future, there is no looking back.

If we win the Natty, I honestly would not care if we lost all 22 starters to the NFL --  or to their chosen careers after this season!!!

It's one thing to have freakish abilities like Haskins.....but it's another thing to have good QB chops, which I think Burrow has.  This is a huge setback for at least the month of September.  Better keep JTB upright and healthy, O line!

Very few mentions about Clemson in this thread, but despite losing Watson, it wouldn't surprise me if they won the ACC.  Regardless,  I don't see the ACC missing out of the CF Playoff rotation whether it's Clemson or FSU.  And as Miami buck said, the Big Ten rep, assuming we are it -- or regardless, will have to win the conference.  With Sparty and our Buckeyes getting curb stomped the past 2 years, our conference has some street cred to regain. 

I hope not. Themes have a way of getting stale. 

# 2 ranking is pretty lofty and impressive....when you consider what happened to this team on December 31st of last year.  Coaching changes and a stacked roster will do that for you, I guess!

You could be right about that, 13, but I still maintain that if we can't score 30+ points against IU, that is pause for concern -- with OK coming to town the next week.  And if I read posts that say "we just didn't want to show OK anything" I will go batshit, LOL!

Normally I am a glad half-empty guy, but I am having a hard time seeing this game closer than 21 points....and despite all the arguments for sanity and "Indiana has some talent"......this game, after the 1st quarter, better not be close. 

No disrespect to Indiana, but frankly, there are teams I would be more worried about for which even away, Thursday night, first game jitters, etc. that I could see a closer game, but not them.  Despite  IU's penchant for giving us fits, you can't graduate players to the NFL like Ohio State has and will continue to do.....and say you are concerned about this game. The two....do not add up. 

Bucks 44 -  IU  14

Such is the bittersweet legacy of Jim Tressel. 

For all that he brought us, he could have cost us even more

No offense meant, but: when the tally is done, Jim Tressel brought more to the Ohio State program than he ever "cost it". Period.  

Maybe.  But if we are comparing the two....Alabama has never in recent memory, had a game like that.  I can never imagine Saban fielding a team so pitifully unprepared as Ohio State was on NYE vs. Clemson. 

I did not hear Finebaum's remarks, but while he is overdoing it, his theme is not without merit.  Do we really want to compare OSU and Meyer to Bama?  While we beat Alabama to finally lift the curse of the SEC off our backs, they have been to the National championship game in 4 of the last 5 years.  Meyer's team has not even won it's division since beating Alabama -- while Saban has practically yawned his way to the title game. 

As for the Alabama being the king of what has now become a weakened SEC and in essence, the only beast in  that jungle, I'd be careful with that theme.  It was only a few short years ago people were referring to OSU and the Big Ten in similar and totally unflattering tones.  Conference teams were routinely getting tea bagged in bowl games -- while we bitched about "bad matchups".   

Let's wait and see what Meyer does this year before calling him underachieving.....but no matter what offense we take at the idea, it is a debate worth having. 

To say he is too small to be successful in the middle might be an unfair statement as Brian Rolle, who started two years at middle linebacker for Ohio State, stood just 5-foot-11 and weighed around 220 pounds. 

And although B Rolle was one of my (and a lot of fans') favorite all-time Buckeyes, I do recall he was trucked all too often by Wisconsin RBs (Clay) in that ill-fated game.  I think Worley will be fine, but I am a little nervous since the WI game of 2010 scarred my memory.

5 Concerns?   

1.  O line development

2.  Passing game improvement.....drastic improvement

3. Defensive secondary development; will they be ready for Baker Mayfield?  

4. Agree on kicking game 

5. Can this offense score enough points in November when the weather gets lousy?

Haha.  Okay, you got me there, Collins. 

1.  Let's worry about winning our Division first.

2.  Then worry about winning the Conference.

3. Forget about Alabama for now.  We've been Clemson's bitch in my lifetime and in many of yours depending on how old you are.

Might want to refocus here boys and girls.

So.......you think a natty with this team is nearly guaranteed?  There are plenty of "won'ts".   I am 60 years old and seen 3 Nat Champs in my lifetime.......with countless teams that were thought of a "National Title teams" that didn't make it, the most obvious and recent being the 2015 team.  You can be as positive as you would like.  But history has shown that "won't" prevails over "wills" with Ohio State football and most other teams.  So, it's a fair analysis, balancing why we will and why we won' even if that offends you.

I didn't hold it against him for saying that.  He was simply telling the truth.  Doesn't change the fact that we dominated Alabama in many areas of the game, but part of the reason points to the fact (or at least the appearance of) they didn't take our Buckeyes seriously. 'Simple as that. 

Fact is, you could say much of the Ohio State football team for the entire 2015 season was thinking ahead to the NFL and did not have the hunger they had in 2014.....hell, they have already said as much. 

You're quite the numbers guy, navy! 

Of course, you know the old saying, "statistics lie and liars use statistics"......or something like that.

But let's not kid ourselves.  By season's end, our Buckeyes were not among the 4 best teams in the country.  December 31st proved that like an ice cold shower.....percentile or no percentile.  

Considering the spite with which Dantonio seems to hold for Meyer.....I see Dino shoveling shit on a farm before playing second fiddle to Meyer. 

Tressel?  Dino would come back in a heartbeat.  Meyer?   As we like to say..."not so much".

It's funny how things switch in sports. Last year was the least fun two-loss season in history, and I realize that makes me a a prick for typing that sentence.

Nope.  Not a prick.  Just a realist.  Most programs would be ecstatic with 2 losses.  But when you are the marquee college program on the first two nights of the NFL draft, 2 years in a row, 2 losses are not fun or acceptable.  Or at least, they shouldn't be.  

McSorley certainly had a magical year last year but he will not come close to being as good this year.

And you base that on ....what?   That he threw some lucky home run / jump balls deep last year?  When Cardale Jones did that in 2014, did we not have the same expectations of him the following year.....until we saw that his O line was not as good and neither were his receivers.  

At least McSorley had faith in his WRs to get the ball and he had the arm to get it there.  Phil Steele may rank their QB position group at that level, but their composite skill team on Offense is arguably the Big Ten's best.....which is all we can concern ourselves with right now.

We can (and Finebaum) can woof on Dabo and Clemson all we want.  But the fact is, they are about 3 or 4 plays away from being back-to-back National champs.  Nobody else in college football can say that no matter how much a given fanbase hates to acknowledge it.  Losing Watson is huge, but I see Swinney having them back in the race this year.  If they lose their Division to FSU, it's hard to kill him for that.....considering it's been 3 years since Meyer and OSU have won theirs. Saban is the only coach in his conference who year-in and year-out has made his division his bitches.

I hope (heck, we all do) hope you are right about OK, but I just don't see it.

Other than the usual suspects (Rutgers, UNLV, Maryland) I see few blowouts this year.....until the Offense finds its identity and the DBs grow up quickly.  

Assuming that we will curb stomp OK presumes we are playing the equivalent of a Kansas, Texas Tech or another B12 patsy.  Last year's comfortable margin guarantees us nothing for this year.  They lost some players, we lost some players.  I see a Buckeye win, but a narrow one.  From September through December.....they progressed....we regressed.  

The last game I saw our Buckeyes play left a real mark that hasn't healed.  I need to see proof before I predict this team will just roll over teams of the caliber of Oklahoma. 

Ha ha.  I guess you didn't catch the theme of the thread.

Our DBs will go from this team's highlight reel strength in 2016 to its glaring weakness this year; Baker Mayfield will torch them.

Not sure if these are written tongue-in-cheek, but if serious, I will just say Hubbard is (much) better than you give credit.

In fact, what the hell.....Hubbard for Heisman!  Kind of has a nice ring to it!