Alright, so nothing I am going to talk about really is anything mind-blowing or of that nature about the Ohio State Buckeyes football campaign of 2008. Yes, they are going to be very good and yes they are loaded. Yes, they have one of the nation’s most exciting prospects in Terrelle Pryor, and yes they still have Butkus shoo-in James Laurinaitis. And yes—they will more than likely perch themselves at number 1 when the season begins. The question is—will they be able to hold it?

For most teams, having the distinction of being the number one team in the preseason is usually the kiss of death, but don’t put that label on the Buckeyes quite yet. They are talented and deep, and with being in the national title game two years running, despite not winning those games, this team is still very hungry and knows what it takes to get to the brink.

Todd Boeckman leads a great offense that will feature Chris Wells at running back and Brian Robiskie at wideout. With Pryor in the mix, while he may not do much at the quarterback position quite yet, there are hot and heavy rumors that he may be used a la Tim Tebow for his freshman year. If he is and he’s effective, watch out.

The conference is down overall and the Buckeyes should win the conference, save a big year from Wisconsin or if Illinois can continue to build their momentum. The biggest question comes in a package that is absolutely huge to open: a September 6 showdown with USC in Southern California. Yikes. If the Buckeyes can pull that game out, I don’t see any reason to not forecast them in a third straight national title game. The question is—which SEC team will they face this year? ? (It will be Georgia or Florida, mark my words)