You are most definitely NOT optimistic. As recounted above the national media, national coaches, wise guys, and posters here all generally see tOSU as a NC Contender.
Therefore, that is a reasonable expectation. Your projection of basically "I just hope they beat ND" is pessimistic.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the defense but for this game I'm not sure how much it matters. Last year's team went 11-2 with a crap defense and I think this year's offense will be better so even with no defensive improvement they should beat a Notre Dame team with a brand new first-time HC.
It isn't a different opinion that grated on me, it was the presentation. As I said above, I read your response to my first post in this thread as:Maybe that wasn't how you meant it, but that was how I read it and it bothered me specifically because it inverts reality. In reality my view is the consensus of the national media, the national coaches, the board members here, the wise guys, etc. You are the one with a view wildly different from all of us.
You might turn out to be right and your opinion certainly doesn't bother me. What did bother me was the implication that I was living alone in some fanatic's fantasy land. The national consensus is by definition NOT a lone fanatic's fantasy land. It could certainly end up being wrong (it usually is for between one and three of the preseason top-10) but it isn't irrational or unrealistic.
You obviously disagree with the national consensus but please don't state that in a way that implies that I am the outlier. In fact YOU are the outlier.
If you disagree with the consensus then say so. Say "I think the AP voters, the Coaches poll voters, the Wise Guys in Vegas, and most members of this board are wrong. I think the Buckeyes are probably a 7-5 (or whatever your projection would be) team this year."
Ok. I will say it differently
as I have told you on numerous occasions- I absolutely love your analysis, and not just Buckeye stuff. Big ten trends, records, road records, remaining schedules, all of it. I look forward to it!
I am OPTIMISTIC that all the national talking heads are right this season, since they were all wrong last season due to substantial deficiencies on defense. And those deficiencies were present in the NC game the year before.
I have identified - as has everyone else- the main reasons for those deficiencies, bad, super predictable scheme with very young players.
I am very Optimistic that those 2 issues are massively improved this season, which- as I have said here NUMEROUS times- would make OSU a tough out for ANYONE!
I am OPTIMISTIC we will see signs of it in game 1 Saturday.
I am extremely OPTIMISTIC that we will see it more and more through the season.
lastly- as I have said on NUMEROUS occasions- ND is loaded on both the offensive and defensive line( so much so that the talking heads said several times last evening that this will be possibly the best offenses and defensive line on the buckeyes schedule!) With a running quarterback, and a strategy to play Tressal ball,
They might have the ability to slow the game down, Chew up lots of clock thereby limiting Ohio states offensive possessions, and keep this game relatively close. A friend of mine texted me and asked me for my prediction. I said it’s nothing but I best guess because you don’t really know what these teams have but my prediction was 34 to 24 in favor of the buckeyes.
