Every year, I ask myself, “Am I a fan of the Big Ten Conference or simply just a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes? It’s a question that I annually reflect on prior to the opening kickoff of the college football season – albeit for maybe 17 seconds. And every year I remind myself that all I really care about is Ohio State, and it’s such a refreshing revelation, over and over again.

Maybe it’s a byproduct of #FirstWorldProblems – otherwise known as #BuckeyeNationProblems – but in the last decade or so, Ohio State fans have been able to enjoy the luxury of not caring about the well-being of our conference counterparts. How important is conference prestige when our own team has proven that it has the talent, coaching, training and depth to be the best team in the country? Dating back to the 2001 season (and including the vacated 2010 season), the Buckeyes have amassed a 151-32 record – including a 12-2 mark against Michigan, won two national championships in four title game appearances, won seven Big Ten championships, and tallied the most BCS bowl appearances (tying USC for the most wins) of any school during the BCS era. And the Scarlet and Gray did it all on their own, without any other Big Ten football teams reaching their arms out and offering to help OSU achieve that success.

All that conference “rah-rah” stuff is for fans of schools who can’t achieve elite levels of success for themselves; those fans who need to ride the coattails of other programs in order to feel like their own team is relevant on the national stage. Take Michigan fans, for example. Show me a die-hard Michigan fan that truly, genuinely rooted for Ohio State to beat Alabama and Oregon to win the 2014 national championship, and I will show you a liar – or a fool. A Michigan fan might say, “The championship is good for the Big Ten.” But is it really? No, the championship is good for Ohio State, period. Five-star prospects didn’t suddenly gain more interest in middle-tier Big Ten teams because Urban Meyer and company got to hoist the shiny new trophy. Other teams aren’t receiving an abundance of national TV and radio exposure because the Buckeyes brought the title home to Columbus.

Ohio State has reached a point where neither the program nor its fans need to have any concern about the well-being of the other 13 schools in the conference. That shouldn’t be interpreted negatively – it’s a sign that we’ve reached an elite spot in college football and can take care of our own business without any help.  Sure, it’d be nice, from a recruiting perspective, to point out to prospects the highly touted competition they’d get to test themselves against every week. A more competitive Big Ten – and the improved strength of schedule that would come from it – would also provide a larger margin for error in the event of a late-season Ohio State loss. Think about LSU in 2007 – the Tigers lost twice during the regular season, but because it was evident that they were the most talented team in the country – from the most stacked conference – it was as if the BCS committee and NCAA made excuses so that LSU could still play for the title.

The bottom line is this: the Buckeyes are in the midst of an era where they have the talent, coaching, training and depth to beat every single team in America. We don’t need help from other Big Ten schools in order for us to look good or make our case for a playoff berth. Regardless of how the rest of the conference performs in non-conference play, Ohio State has its own standards to play up to – standards that the Buckeyes, themselves, have created through years of pursuing excellence. It’s simple – if Ohio State handles its own business and wins games, good things will continue to happen. That’s why I don’t care about the Big Ten.

It is here. It is finally here. Ohio State gets to go for revenge and Virginia Tech gets to try and prove that last year was not just lucky. It’s time for Ohio State to take on the “favored to win it all” status. The journey to a repeat of the national title for the Bucks starts in Blacksburg. Whether it is the national spotlight, the best team in the country looking for revenge or just simply enter sandman, this game is full of must sees and excitement. In every big game, and every game in general, there are bound to be a few players who are play a big factor and are very important in their team’s success. Lets take a look at some of those players for both Ohio State and Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech:

Quarterback Michael Brewer– Brewer played a key role in the upset last year, throwing for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was playing in one of his first games as a hokie, due to his transfer from Texas tech the year before, so there were a lot of question marks as to how he would play. He came in and delivered a solid performance `and propelled his team to victory. If they want to pull off the upset again, Brewer will have to have an unbelievable game with mistakes being minimal.

Defensive Ends Dadi Nicolas and Ken Ekanem-

In my article last week, I mentioned these 2 players as the guys who could mess up Ohio State’s offense and give them trouble and I am sticking to that. a large factor in the game last year and what caused Ohio State so much trouble was the pressure the defense got on JT Barrett and how they forced him  to throw incompletions and commit turnovers. These 2 returners are key in attempting to get that same amount of pressure on Ohio State and forcing them to make the same mistakes to keep Virginia Tech in this football game

Cornerback Kendall Fuller-

Kendall Fuller is the returning star corner for the Hokies. He was First Team All-ACC and Third Team All-American last year and he was only a true sophomore. He has a large task ahead of him with stopping Micheal Thomas, but if he can do that and make Thomas a non factor, then it will put serious pressure on a very thin receiving core due to suspensions and injuries. Also. last year Barrett completed 9 passes and 6 of them were to Thomas so expect him to heavily utilized again this year.

Ohio State-

Tight End Nick Vannett-

As I stated in the above post, Ohio State is stretched very thin at the receiver position. That means that to take some pressure off Thomas and the running game, they will need to utilize the tight ends. This goes beyond Vannett and also to Marcus Baugh for production, but with Vannett being the number one guy this year, expect him to break out and be used quite often in this game.

Defensive End- Sam Hubbard-

With Joey Bosa being suspended for a game, Sam Hubbard is going to be able to step into a huge role very early in his Ohio State career. The freshman, who was a safety in high school, will take Bosa’s spot on the end and, with the high expectations to live up too, he will have to show up strong and ready. Also, with a line who last 2 starters to graduation last year and has one suspended, they will only have one returning starter in this game so some young guys are going to be tasked with getting pressure on Brewer and forcing him into mistakes.

Offensive Line-

This time last year, this O line was very young and inexperienced and during this game, it showed. Barrett was on the run all game and Bud Foster’s defense had them beat. Throughout the year however, that all changed. They gained experience, their skill grew and they ended up being a major factor in Ohio State’s national championship  run. Regardless of who Ohio State starts at QB, as long as this line plays like they did in the playoffs and how they are expected to play this year, this powerful OSU offense will have a good game.

Prediction: Ohio State-38, Virginia Tech-21

Even though some people *cough Mark May cough* think that Virginia Tech will pull it off again, OSU has way too powerful of an offense and defense for Va Tech to take this one. I expect it to be close at the half, but this offense will too much and overpower Virginia Tech. OSU takes this one and gets their revenge.

I was glued to my television Thursday night checking in on the fighting Harbaughs season opening loss at Utah with great interest.  Was it simply because it was the first action of College Football since the Buckeyes hoisted the crystal ball weirdly shaped, staff like trophy after beating the Ducks in Dallas?  Was it my morbid curiosity to see how the Michigan Football program had managed to “improve” upon another disappointing season?  Was it to check on that Mr. Harbaugh guy –  the unquestioned SAVIOR to Michigan football?  Let’s just say it was a combination of everything, and I savored every minute of it.

Just watching this new Michigan squad for the first time, (awful new uniforms aside) it didn’t take very long to see new life – new hope – a new program.  The players are more confident in the system and more importantly, the man behind it all.  Last year under Brady Hoke the team never looked energized.  Displayed no passion until they inevitably played up when the Buckeyes came to town.  Harbaugh is a different animal.  He’s a motivator, a tactician, a strategist and a mad man.  He has won everywhere and you’d be foolish to think he won’t turn this Michigan program around (and inevitably head back to the NFL much sooner than Michigan fans would hope after driving his co-workers and superiors insane).  Michigan will lean heavily on their defense this year.  It was good under Brady Hoke and is expected to perform even better this year – and it will need to.  The Michigan defense will keep them in most games, but there are some glaring issues on the other side if the ball.

Harbaugh has a desperate lack of playmakers on offense.  Amara Darboh had a career game against the Utes but he certainly doesn’t strike fear in the heart of  defensive coordinators.  Jake Butt is a fantastic receiving tight end, but he needs to improve his blocking to reach his full potential.  After that you have Jehu Chesson and freshman Grant Perry as your main receivers. Yikes.  No sign so far of the uber hyped Jabril Peppers on offense.  Same for Drake Harris.  They might be needed come mid-season and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them start stealing away some reps.

The offensive line continues to be a major struggle.  This is a topic that has been discussed ad nauseam for several years under Brady Hoke so I won’t delve into it much here.  The line brings back experience which has helped them, but they lack talent.  Their line play wont magically improve by seasons end – it hasn’t the last three plus years.  Thanks in part to their struggles at the line of scrimmage (29 car 79 yards rushing total week one), it’s hard to get a feel about their backfield situation.  De’Veon Smith is their number one back and he runs with great power but lacks breakaway speed and elusiveness.  Ty Isaac, the USC transfer, is another big talented back who could see some run later in the year.  Derrick Green is… somewhere on the depth chart. (two carries for one yard in week one) Let’s just be grateful that Urban decided to pursue some kid from St. Louis named Ezekiel Elliot instead of Green – there were more than a few Buckeye fans initially upset about that decision.

The quarterback situation is still nowhere near Michigan standards.  Jake Rudock, of former Iowa Hawkeye glory, won the starting job because of his ability to take care of the football and limit mistakes.  Three picks later and the Wolverines left the field in Provost with their tails between their legs.  Shane Morris appears he simply can;t put it all together at this level despite all the physical tools needed.  I believe he will see some snaps as the season progresses, especially if Rudock continues to turn the ball over.

The key point of the early season may well be when BYU travels to Ann Arbor later this month.  Michigan gas two easy wings upcoming against Oregon St and UNLV before the Cougars come to town.  BYU knocked off fellow B1G foe Nebraska this week in dramatic fashion.  If Harbaugh loses that game in the friendly confined of the Big House, it might be a telling sign for the start of conference play.  We could be in store for some hilarious/awkward halftime interviews with the man clad in khaki.

With the 2015 College Football season under way our Ohio State Buckeyes open their season against non other than the only team to beat them last year; the Virginia Tech Hokies. In watching this game there may be some players on the field that are having a big impact that you may have never heard of before, so let’s take a look at some of the new faces the coaching staff is counting on to come up big in the first game of the year.

The first guy that the coaching staff is counting on to make some plays Monday is WR Parris Campbell from St.Vincent-St. Mary. Yes, the same high school as Lebron! Parrris is a 6’1″ 205 lbs RS Freshman that has made a major impact this fall camp. So much that word as leaked out that he will start at the WR spot opposite of Mike Thomas. Coach Meyer believes Parris can be the guy to take the spot of Evan Spencer from last year as one of the best blocking WR’s in the country because of his size and strength. Don’t let that fool you though. Parris is much more than a blocker. As a 4 star recruit coming out of HS, Parris is a freaky fast athlete with great hands. He will be expected to make some plays catching the ball just as much as he will be blocking for Zeke. Parris will be wearing #21 so keep an eye out!

Another guy in the receiving core that will need to make an impact in with the suspensions is RS Freshman Johnnie Dixon 5’11” 195 lbs from Dwyer high school in Florida. Dixon was a big time recruit when he committed to OSU and was expected to make an impact last year as a true freshman, but due to injury he had to take a redshirt. Johnny is a guy that can flat out fly! As one of the fastest players on the roster. No doubt he will be in the game for much of the offensive plays and will get quite a few touches. The thing to keep an eye on is that Johnnie will be wearing #5 this year instead of #1. A certain senior that has changed positions asked Johnnie for his number and ,out of respect, Johnnie gave it up. So be prepared for the new #1 and #5 to have a big impact Monday.

On the other side of the ball there were not a lot of spots to fill after graduation. Tommy Shutt #90 will take over most of the snaps that Mike Bennett took last year, along with true Sophmore Raekwon McMillan #5 taking over for Curtis Grant. One guy that you may not have great memories about is the new #2 corner Gareon Conley 6’0″ 195 lbs from Massillon, Oh. Conley has changed his number to #8 and hopefully that will help people forget the one performance he had last year as RS freshman when Michigan State blatantly targeted him in the first quarter when he was filling in for injured Eli Apple. Since then Conley has grown leaps and bounds according to the coaching staff. Conley was not simply given the job either he was tested greatly by Damon Webb #7 another guy that will get time on Monday, but Conley stood strong and earned the right to be a starter Monday. Hopefully he lives up to his 4 star ranking and is able to give the Buckeyes a strong presence opposite of Eli Apple.

The last player that should have a major impact on Monday is RS Freshman DE Sam Hubbard 6’5″ 265 lbs from Cincinnati, Oh. Sam has changed his number to #6 this year and you should definitely expect to see that number on the field a lot, even when Joey Bosa comes back. Sam is a guy that the coaches can’t help but talk about. Coming to the program as a safety, Sam has come along way to be where he is today. Even as a true freshman he was playing so well that the coaches considered stripping his redshirt away and playing him in the National Championship. That ,of course, did not happen and obviously worked out just fine! But, this year we are going to need Hubbard along with many others if we want to reach our ultimate goal… another title!

A few other guys you might see make an impact could be true Freshman CB Denzel Ward #12, Sophmore DE Jalyn Holmes #10, RS Sophmore DE Typuan Lewis #59, RS Freshman WR Terry McLaurin #83, and finally Sophmore OLB Dante Booker #33. Let’s see what this season brings! Go Bucks!