Buckeye Bits: Saying goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012 for OSU

At 7 a.m. Tuesday, new Ohio State University football coach Urban Meyer held a team meeting.
Welcome to the 2012 Buckeyes.

Let’s not forget 2011, although most OSU would like to after finishing 6-7. It was the first losing season since 1998 and first time the Buckeyes lost seven games since 1897.

Let’s face it, OSU was primed for a fall right after what was found out about a tattoo-for-memorabilia scandal was announced in Dec. 23, 2010.

They tried to surge ahead, with an interim coach and without key players from last season’s team.
But, in the end, the Buckeyes were just not good enough to overcome the problems.

They played hard.

They competed (six of the seven losses were by seven points or less).

The fact remains, however, that OSU finished 3-5 in the Big Ten Leaders Division, lost to Michigan (40-34 for the first since 2003) and lost yet again to an SEC team (0-10, the 31-26 win over Arkansas in the 2011 Sugar Bowl was vacated as par of NCAA sanctions).

Those are the facts.

With a full compliment of players, this is a different team, but there were too many multiple suspensions involving key players (including Terrelle Pryor, who eventually left for the NFL) who were successful in a run of Big Ten championships and BCS wins.

Three of the areas that were disappointing are three areas OSU usually has All-Americans and/or NFL players were offensive line (allowing 46 sacks), wide receivers (the leaders were Devin Smith, Corey Brown and tight end Jake Stoneburner all with 14) and secondary (OSU gave us 2,366 yards passing).

Then, there’s special teams, which has been an issue before.

They reared its ugly head again, especially against Florida in the Gator Bowl with a kickoff return for a touchdown and a blocked punt for another score.

Also, a blocked extra point that probably would have won the game at Purdue Nov. 12.

The positives for Meyer and his coaching staff was OSU played a lot of young guys and those are the ones that are going to have to get the Buckeyes on track.

They’ve found their quarterback in true freshman Braxton Miller, who led the team in rushing with 715 net yards and seven touchdowns.

His legs helped OSU to the success it had.

The passing game was another story.

It showed potential, like in a 33-29 win over Wisconsin Oct. 29, but it was way too inconsistent, especially with line that didn’t play up to par and receivers who didn’t emerge.

Still, if OSU is to get back to championship status, the passing game will need to get better.

The Buckeye defense also was a little off this season. They allowed 21 points per game and didn’t have the domination of past seasons. The line was the strength, but the linebackers and secondary was suspect.

We already went over special teams.

What is the first order of business for Meyer? Forget 2011 and concentrate on 2012.

He has the task of trying to convince the team they are still good and can be great and their is still something to play for in 2012, despite not being able to compete for a Big Ten title and not play in a bowl game later this year or in 2013.

In other words, he has to get the swagger back.

The next object is to find players who will fit into the system.

Meyer has the quarterback, but now needs the other parts. And they are important parts — from running back to wide receiver to tight end to offensive line.

Every player will be evaluated.

It will be interested to see how long the system will take to implement with new players and a new coaching staff.

The hope for OSU fans is a more exciting offense, while still being able to mix in some of the tradition.

The key on defense is to put pressure on the ball and swarm.

The third order is to keep the fans interested. That shouldn’t be a problem, since OSU football is a large part of what Columbus is on a given Saturday.

The hiring of Meyer certainly has been well-received by both the locals and nationals. He’s also made an impact with verbal commitments from top-notch recruits in the last month or so.

That’s not to say it won’t be easy.

Meyer has also banned Twitter for his players, so the hammer has already come down.

More changes could follow, but this program needs an overhaul.

What happened in the past has happened. There’s nothing that can be done about what the OSU self-imposed and more penalties from the NCAA.

Other schools — like Southern California and Michigan in particular — have had their share of problems over the years both on the field and with the NCAA, but already have or appear to be on their way of bouncing back.

It may take some time, but the Buckeyes will be back in national prominence sooner rather than later.