The Ohio State Buckeyes became the first team to make the College Football Playoff without winning their conference last season, and while their ultimate goal is to return to the top of college football as national champions, their first goal is to re-claim the Big Ten. Here are four reasons why that will happen this season:
3) Favorable schedule
Ohio State's two toughest games this season (Okahoma, Penn State) will be at The Horseshoe, meaning both will be wins for the Buckeyes. After that, the next two tough tests are road trips to Michigan and Nebraska, but those aren't as daunting due to rebuilding years for those teams. For the second year in a row, Ohio State's schedule sets up very well - they should be favorites in every single game they play.
2) J.T. Barrett's leadership
Barrett and Ohio State's passing attack really struggled last year - especially late in the season - but new offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson should help fix that. And, let's stop pretending like Barrett is a slouch. His running ability is capable of shredding defenses on it's own, but he has shown deadly accuracy and excellent decision making throughout his career.
It certainly won't be a shock if he wins his second career Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Award.
1) Urban Meyer
Let Jim Harbaugh have the headlines over there in Ann Arbor. There is no more calculated manager of talent and egos in college football than Urban Meyer. Meyer gets his players' respect by allowing them to function as individuals on their own time, while commanding respect and solidarity when it comes to the locker room and the field. His track record speaks for itself. He's easily worth a couple victories on his own just by standing on the sidelines in Columbus. Easily. And, with a more experienced group who finished last season with a bad taste in their mouths, Meyer will channel that into on-field domination.
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