Ed. note: Chat Sports has conducted interviews with five prominent Buckeye bloggers and writers from several different websites to help preview the upcoming season, which will be published in a series on our Ohio State Buckeyes news page. Up next: the pressure is on, can the Buckeyes compete with the Crimson Tide?
Do you think that Ohio State could have beaten Alabama last season? Is there more pressure on the team now that this season can result in something?
Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts.com (24/7 sports)
Uh, no, they would not have beaten Alabama last year. I think they would have beaten Notre Dame, though, so they were probably a solid No. 2. That Alabama team was very good on both sides of the ball. As far as this season, there will be more pressure on the Buckeyes because championships are now at stake for them. They had nothing to lose last year, so it was easier to gamble and take chances. It wasn’t like they were a dominant 12-0 anyways, with six tight scrapes and two overtime wins.
I will be interested to see how they respond the first time they get into a tight spot. Of course, maybe that day never happens and I’m just sounding the cautious tone because that is my nature.
Kevin Noon, BuckeyeGrove.com (Rivals)
I probably am not going to make a lot of friends back home when I say that Ohio State would have faced a very difficult challenge last season with the Crimson Tide. But I will also anger most of the people who love to hate Ohio State when I say that the Buckeyes would have given Alabama a much better test than Notre Dame did.
As we look back at 2012, let's not forget that the Buckeyes were playing with a fullback at linebacker, had a limited passing game and had to pull several games out of the fire in the closing minutes. Sure, you can say that a good team does what it needs to in order to win, and Ohio State won every game it was in. But I just feel that Alabama was too fast and too deep for a depleted Ohio State roster on the biggest of stages in the championship game. The passing game still was not where it had to be to give the Buckeyes both dimensions of offense needed to compete in that type of game. Ohio State's run game was very good but after a couple of Alabama scores, you have to move from the clock-management run game to trying to get back even on the scoreboard.
Is there going to be more pressure on Ohio State this year? Absolutely. Ohio State is supposed to go to Pasadena. The schedule is weak. Urban Meyer is a genius in secondseasons with a team. Ohio State won its last national championship in Jim Tressel's second season. Ohio State should be favored in every game until the bowl game. Last year people thought Ohio State could be good, but could have easily been an 8-4, 9-3 team as well. They had no bowl to play for; no final prize. Undefeated was out there but most people didn't believe that it was obtainable. Now all of the trappings are not only on the table, but most people expect them to get to the title game. The pressure is ramped up 100-fold on Ohio State.
Marcus Hartman, BuckeyeSports.com (Scout)
I would have picked the Crimson Tide over the Buckeyes if they played last season. That big Alabama offensive line could really lean on people, and the stable of running backs and sneaky-good play of quarterback A.J. McCarron would have kept the Buckeye defense's hands full. No doubt Braxton Miller would have kept Nick Saban and his defensive assistants up late trying to game plan for him, but I tend to think they would have mimicked the game plans of Michigan and Wisconsin that slowed Miller at the end of the season.
Pressure mounted as the season went on for the Buckeyes last year. They were committed to the idea of going undefeated and making history. They believed they could still get a piece of the national title but knew they had to be perfect to do that, so there might not be a lot more pressure this season even with the ability to play in the postseason. Only time will tell.
Jeff Svoboda, BuckeyeSports.com (Scout)
Ohio State could have beaten Alabama last season, but I wouldn't have bet on it. Urban Meyer has said a few times that the Buckeyes need to shore up some holes on the roster before they are ready to compete with the Tide, and I cannot disagree with the head coach on that.
But in a one-game setting, anything is possible, and the way Ohio State's defense was playing at the end of last year, they could have slowed down the Crimson Tide, I believe. The offense was pretty inconsistent, though, at the end of the year, and likely would have had a hard time versus Bama's staunch defense. So yeah, maybe the Buckeyes could have won a low-scoring game, but I still think the team is a recruiting class or two away from being on Bama's level on a game-to-game basis.
As for pressure, I think there is some. They might not feel it when they step on the field for game one, but as the team's winning streak keeps going, it becomes harder and harder to win every game.
Other roundtable questions:
Will the Buckeyes win the National Championship?
What can stop the Buckeyes this season?
Top freshman to look out for on the 2013 Buckeyes
Depth chart battles to look out for
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