After they were told they would just be playing for fun in 2012 and then went on to go undefeated the expectations is Columbus, Ohio can't be any higher for the Buckeyes in 2013.  A tough and awkward transition year from Jim Tressell's meltdown in 2011 Urban Meyer took over and sailed his ship to an embarrassment of riches which now has his team more confident than ever.  Ohio State is notorious for it's high expectations year in and year out so why is 2013 any different?  Well, coming off a 12-0 season, having a Heisman candidate at quarterback, and being ranked the number two team in the country, everyone knows what their capable of.  How will they play now that each game counts and gets them closer to what they felt was there's last year: a National Championship.  

Personnel

Ohio State returns 13 starters from their 12-0 season last year.  That includes four of their five starting offensive linemen (all seniors) who have a collective 80 total starts under their belts.  Although Carlos Hyde is suspended three games, he will be back for the tougher part of the schedule when they need him the most.  Team him up with junior quarterback and Heisman candidate Braxton Miller who is likely to only get better from last years campaign and Urban Meyer has the power to run his highly effective option-run game effortlessly.  On defense they lost a great piece in defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins but return two of the best players in the nation at their respective in All-American linebacker Ryan Shazier and stud cornerback Bradley Roby (suspended first game).  Add in Urban's typical wave of four and five-star recruits and this lineup looks like "Goliath" against the rest of the Big Ten's "David".

Schedule

It wouldn't surprise me if the NCAA sent some cupcakes with the schedule they mailed out to Ohio State because its sweet and easy to take down.  An easy first four games against non-conference teams the Buckeyes should be 4-0 when Wisconsin comes into town.  Along with the Badger game, a trip to Northwestern should be an interesting test but nonetheless they should be 11-0 heading into their finale against the Michigan Wolverines.  The Wolverines have won that match-up only once (2011) in the last nine years.  No question they won't go through the season with out some close calls similar to last year (Purdue 29-22 OT - Indiana 52-49) but there's no reason to assume with the talent on their roster that the Buckeyes won't have every opportunity to repeat their undefeated season like last year. 

Heisman Bound

After throwing for 2,039 yards and rushing for another 1,271 with a total of 28 touchdowns, sophomore Braxton Miller quietly finished fifth in last years Heisman voting behind super stars Johnny Football, Manti Teo, Collin Klein, and Marquis Lee.  This year with a better grasp of the offense as a junior, Miller is set to exceed those numbers and increase his production.  With stiff competition Miller just may need a BCS championship to seperate himself from his opponents.  A large majority of the voting process comes down to how successful each candidates team was during the season.  Insinuating that with out that one player their team would not have achieved the amount of victories with out them.  What would look better than a 12-0 record for Miller in his Heisman run? How about a 25-0 record and a national title on his resume. 

2014

I'm not here to predict the future.  If I could I would.  Actually, if I could, I would have already used that power selfishly, inherited a bunch of money, and would be sitting on my recently purchased secret island drinking Mojitos listening to Jimmy Buffet.  What I can do though, is make an educated guess based off of the facts at hand.  Fact:  the Buckeyes will likely lose their top defensive play makers Shazier and Roby (along with many others) to the NFL draft next season leaving them with gaping holes and numerous questions on that side of the ball.  They may also lose quarterback Miller who is the most dynamic player on the team, although Shazier and Roby are almost certain not to return where MIller is a coin-flip as of now. 

Fact:  Next seasons schedule will be far more daunting and difficult than the current one in regards to not only their non-conference opponents but their in conference opponents as well.  Safe to say their schedule this year is as easy as it could get.  Fact:  There are other teams in the Big Ten that are progressing at a quick rate and will be stiffer competition than the Buckeyes have seen in awhile.  Teams like Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, and Northwestern have recruited well as of late and have solid pieces in place to be future conference contenders.  All these facts build up to put more pressure on the now for Ohio State to make sure they take advantage of the opportunity they have this 2013 season. 

Facts are facts, opinions are opinions, and predictions are predictions.  Right now many people have predicted the Buckeyes to repeat their undefeated 2012 performance again and this time reach the BCS.  Unlike last season though, this time it counts.  The opinions remain that everything is set up for them to do so with their coaches, talent, schedule, and anything less than a National title would be considered a disappointing season for the program.  And that's a fact.