2008 Ohio State Buckeyes Football Preview

2008 Ohio State Buckeyes season preview from Maddux Sports. Below you can find our official Ohio State Buckeyes football preview as well as the 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes Football Schedule. Dont miss Maddux's free college football picks on the weekly college football odds from the #1 sports handicapping team.

Coach: Jim Tressel (8th year at Ohio State)
Team Name: Buckeyes
2007 Overall Record: 11-2
Returning Starters: 19

In 2007, the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-2 overall, 7-1 Big Ten) looked destined to win it all. They took the Big Ten conference crown and made it to the BCS National Championship game. But the Buckeyes could not handle the LSU Tigers and lost the biggest game of the 2007 season 38-24.

Last year, QB Todd Boeckman (299 ATT, 199 COMP, 2,379 yards, 25 TDs, 14 INT) had two seasons. For the first seven games, he played extremely well, tossing 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions, but in the final three games he was spotty, giving up six interceptions, losing one fumble and throwing just two touchdown passes. Junior running back Chris Wells (274 CAR, 1,609 YDS, 15 TDs), who was a Heisman candidate last year, played with an injured ankle and broken hand. He’s healthy and ready to up his production. The receiving ranks and frontline both look good. Nine of 11 starters return on offense.

Eight of 11 starters are back on defense. OSU was first nationally in scoring, allowing opponents an average of 12.8 PPG. They were third in rushing yards allowed (82.8 YPG), first in passing yards (150.2 YPG) and first in total yards (233.0). MLB James Laurinaitis (121 tackles, 51 solo, 5 sacks), winner of the the Butkus Award, leads the solid and tough “D.” The linebackers are big and speedy. The secondary and frontline are stellar and deep.

The Buckeyes will play three toss-up games in 2008; all are on the road. The first is on September 13 versus the USC Trojans. Then on October 4 they travel to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers. Finally, on November 15 Ohio State will visit Illinois where they’ll try to avenge last year’s only conference loss. Win all three and State has a perfect season.

In seven years at the Ohio State helm, coach Jim Tressel is 73-16. Tressel and his veteran players have something to prove. The Buckeyes have lost the last two BCS National Championship games by combined scores of 79-38. Everyone at OSU is looking to ensure that this year ends differently. A National Championship is within their grasp once again.

Ohio State Buckeyes Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away
Aug 30	Youngstown St	Home
Sep 6	Ohio	Home
Sep 13	USC	Away
Sep 20	Troy	Home
Sep 27	Minnesota	Home
Oct 4	Wisconsin	Away
Oct 11	Purdue	Home
Oct 18	Michigan State	Away
Oct 25	Penn St	Home
Nov 8	Northwestern	Away
Nov 15	Illinois	Away
Nov 22	Michigan	Home

 

For more info on the 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football program, view their official website or read up on the rest of the Big Ten foes below.