Lindy’s Preseason Magazine: High Praise, Yet No Faith
Having all the talent in the world can’t win a National
Championship. You need support, great
coaching/strategy, and faith. That’s
what separates analysts between fans. It
is difficult to believe that this 2008 team will not accomplish great things.
By Ryan Leonardo
Big Ten Preview
Preseason
magazines try their best to uncover the mystery of the college football
season. When reading the Big Ten Preview
version seen above, I wasn’t shocked to read that the magazine has Ohio State
ranked in the top 5 in almost every category.
Vernon Gholston’s departure was a huge part of why they weren’t on top
of the defensive line list. The magazine
ranks Ohio State # 3 overall, behind Georgia and
USC. The publication also praises the
backfield 3rd in the nation, and defensive backs 2nd. Only USC’s offensive line received a better
rank than the stacked Buckeye front.
Beanie Wells
Beanie
Wells is 3rd on their Heisman list, behind Moreno of Georgia and
Tebow from Florida. The magazine also states that Wells has
committed to staying for his senior year to make a run at Archie’s all-time
record. James Laurinaitis is a heavy
favorite to bring home even more hardware this year, and Lindy’s predicts he
will win defensive player of the year.
There is talk about Pryor, but no too much considering he hasn’t
played. The speculation of new recruits
is left out of this magazine, which is a good thing.
Southern
California
Lindy’s
also says that everyone will be pulling for the Trojans on September 13th
because they know that OSU can run the table after that. They state that people don’t want to see a
mockery of the BCS. Well, tough
luck. When Georgia missed out last year, is
already proved inconsistent. With Kansas, Missouri, WVU,
and LSU dropping in the final weeks, Georgia should have moved up. (Most could argue that the committee won’t
select a team that didn’t win their conference)
So all of this talk boils down this; The SEC is tough. The Big Ten is top-heavy with OSU and Wisconsin. But why penalize for conference strength when
there are tough non-conference games being played? Tressel is building a league of his own, and
it is called a dynasty.