2. Ohio State

Rivals says: Ohio State

I say......

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

Since I'm down to the last two, I will write today instead of referring you to rivals link. The Buckeyes look, feel, and sound to me like the best team in the nation. Why then do I have them at number two? I'm sure some would say bias (if you have figured out my number 1), or some may say I'm just stupid, but the reason is a team can only be as strong as it's weakest link. Tyrelle Pryor was terrible for twelve games last year, then he looked great against Oregon, and now people are listing him as a frontrunner for the Heisman. I don't get it. Pryor had over a month to prepare for the 47th ranked pass defense in the nation, and we are just awed that he threw for nearly 300 yards. Pryor has a TON of potential but hasn't proved he is capable of playing to it, one game proves nothing, and I can't put a team at number one if they have such an important and glaring weak spot. That being said, I think this team is too good to let Pryor lose more than one no matter how bad he is, the Buckeyes will be a top five team and a national championship contender all year.

On offense, the Buckeyes are led by the aforementioned Pryor, they can be as good as he is. If he is last year's Pryor, they'll have to win on defense and the run. Pryor should no doubt be improved, he is too talented not to, but he won't be the projected all-american. He won't need to be, the running backs are outstanding, as many as four of them could be 1000 yard runners on other teams but at Ohio State they are only good enough to split carries. The line is also great but not dominating, it will need to improve to handle a nasty Iowa pass rush on the road in November. There is more than enough talent here to play for it all if Pryor is great.

The defense should be top five in the nation, at least. DE Cameron Heyward is a dominant force up front and should help the Buckeyes to be the best against the run in the entire country. There are no weak areas, some concerns are there about replacing a single corner, but no unit is weak. Ohio State quite simply has a defense good enough to win games by itself, just like last year.

The schedule is just perfect for paying for a national title, not too tough, certainly not a joke. After a few laughers early, the Hurricanes will visit Columbus before Big 10 play starts. An October 16 match-up at Madison against the Badgers will decide how far this team goes. After that game, they get Purdue and Minnesota, two teams they should beat handily. The season ends with a nasty stretch of Penn State, at Iowa, and Michigan. With a tough stretch down the end, I could see this team jump an undefeated Boise State to get in the title game even with a loss to Wisconsin.

Prediction: 2nd Big 10. Sugar Bowl