One Man's Wishlist For the 127th Season of Ohio State Football

After a few months of filling my Thursday slot with content based on some level of statistical research looking back at various items related to past players and teams, I felt like switching gears and looking forward to this year's squad. 

It's satisfying to look back at the last few seasons considering the 50 wins including a perfect mark against Michigan and a national championship offset by just four losses. It's even more satisfying if you fall in line with most of the early "expert" opinions which fail to see Ohio State as capable of running the table against a legit schedule made tougher by the fact Meyer returns just six starters. 

While I don't see Ohio State losing more than two games – and would never rule out a Meyer coached team doing the damn thing after what we witnessed in 2014 – it makes sense why the majority of pundits won't slot Ohio State in the playoffs. 

Despite the lack of championship-or-bust expectations my personal level of excitement entering the season is as strong as ever. Beyond the Meyer factor I'm intrigued to see how holes created by the departure of NFL talent will be filled especially when taking in account the staggering amount of youth dominating the roster. With that, here are five things I'm hoping to see unfold this upcoming season. 

RENEWED JOY IN PLAYING THE GAME

It's hard to complain about having a roster so stacked that producing anything less than a national championship is viewed as some level of a disappointment by the majority of the fanbase. 

But with that reality last season came what seemed like a group of players going through the motions at times and seemingly not having as much fun as they should have considering what they were working toward and just how good they were. 

This year, with a slightly different level of expectations and what will be a slew of first time starters backed up by a laundry list of fellow young blue chips looking to carve out a meaningful role, I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing a collective 22 go out there and relish the opportunity to play the game striving for nine units strong. 

That's no slight to last year's squad, I just think the expectations (and maybe the forthcoming process of joining the NFL) got the better of their mentality from time to time and I will enjoy watching a largely unproven collection of players enjoy their time on the field (provided, of course, they win every game by at least two touchdowns). 

WEBER SEIZES JOB - WE ALL AVOID RB BY COMMITTEE

One of the biggest storylines of the spring was the battle waged between redshirt freshman Mike Weber and fifth-year senior Bri'onte Dunn to be Ohio State's starting tailback. 

I applaud Dunn for finally buying in and doing everything asked of him on and off the field leading up to last season but my hope is that Weber puts a stranglehold on the starting spot in fall camp and doesn't look back after proving worthy of The Man status during the first few games. 

For one, my wish for this to happen would mean Weber is poised to live up to the hype and Buckeye fans would have at least one more year of his services, if not two, as potentially the next great back to come out of the program. 

For two, seeing a Detroit Cass Tech kid blow up for the Buckeyes would be sweet music as a follow up to Jim Harbaugh traveling the globe in search of the Guinness record for most satellite camps in a two-year period. 

Finally, a true running back by committee approach is not something I want to watch as it would likely signal neither Dunn or Weber worthy of being the undisputed guy. Think Hyde/Hall/Boom in 2011, or Ross/Pittman in 2004, Ross/Hall in 2003, or Combs/Wells in 2000. No thanks. 

I want a man to be The Man. And it could be glorious if that man is Weber.

SAM HUBBARD ANNOUNCES HIMSELF TO AMERICA

It's pretty much a fan ritual to pick one guy on both offense and defense that will bust out and become a star. For me, that defensive guy is redshirt sophomore Sam Hubbard. 

On his third position since his arrival in Columbus, Hubbard found a home as Joey Bosa's backup at defensive end and recorded the second-most sacks of any Buckeye (6.5) despite a lack of full-time snaps. 

This year, with the Buckeyes also returning defensive end Tyquan Lewis and his 8.0 sacks from a year ago, Hubbard is a sure-fire starter in Bosa's old spot and anything short of an All-B1G performance would shock the sugar out of me. 

I'm thinking something north of 10 sacks and in the neighborhood of 18 tackles for loss, both of which would be top-10 single-season efforts in school history. 

GOING FOR THE JUGULAR VERSUS MICHIGAN STATE

Along with Loch Ness, the Bermuda Triangle and The Big Bang Theory lasting beyond the pilot episode, one of life's greatest mysteries has to be the way Ohio State fell to Michigan State last season, at home, against a backup quarterback, evening up Meyer's record against Mark Dantonio at 2-2 and more importantly, depriving the Buckeyes of a shot to repeat as national champs. 

With last year's loss, not only has Dantonio proved to be Meyer's only achilles heel in the B1G, the Spartans and Buckeyes are even at 104 points apiece through four matchups. 

This year, my wish is that Urban, Ed Warinner and Tim Beck don't overthink things so much appearing to play not to lose. 

I have all kinds of love for Dantonio but it's time he and the Spartans are put back in their place by Meyer's Ohio State team instead of leaving that job for Alabama. 

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?

Unable to participate fully in spring drills due to continued recovery from a broken left leg suffered late last August, wide receiver Noah Brown was just at 60-65% when he met with the media in late March but recently noted he's up to 85-90% which means he's running and cutting on all routes and getting his body back into game shape. 

With Brown on the shelf for spring ball, a host of other guys seized the opportunity to make their mark. Names like Torrance Gibson and Austin Mack, in particular, gained momentum on the field and in the media. 

Gibson looked like a boss in the spring game and while numerous young guys could emerge along with elder statesman Corey Smith, my hope is for Brown to regain the form he showed in camp prior to the devastating injury. 

Not only would it be a feel good story but with Brown's size and the fact his teammates considered him basically unguardable as the second-best receiver to Mike Thomas leading up to injury, his emergence as a go-to receiver willing to make the tough catch could open things up for the burners on the outside. 

Of all the players on the roster, I'm pulling for Brown to perform at an all-conference level and fully expect that to be the case.