Week 1: Youngstown State

What to watch for: About the only intriguing thing about this game will be if Terrelle Pryor makes his collegiate debut. Good thing the NCAA added that 12th game, huh? Without it, we wouldn't be able to watch dandies such as this one, Chattanooga at Oklahoma and Northern Arizona at Arizona State on Aug. 30. I'm sure Jim Tressel's old school will enjoy the fat paycheck from Ohio State, however.

Final score: 49-10, Ohio State

Week 2: Ohio

What to watch for: Another patsy for the Buckeyes. I can just hear the SEC fans now in December: "Why should Ohio State play for the title? They played Youngstown State and Ohio in their first two games!" If Frank Solich is going to turn the Bobcats into a Mid-American Conference power, this is the year it has to start. Ohio returns 16 starters from a team that went 6-6 last year, including mobile quarterback Theo Scott. We all know that mobile quarterbacks sometimes give the Buckeyes trouble, but there just isn't enough depth and strength up front for the Bobcats to make it interesting.

Final score: 42-21, Ohio State

Week 3: at USC

What to watch for: Now we're talking. This will probably be the non-conference game of the season and one college football fans will be watching very closely. Most fans outside of Columbus view the Buckeyes as pretenders when it comes to playing the big boys from other power conferences, and after the last two BCS title games, who can blame them?

Here is a great chance for Ohio State to silence some of those skeptics. Will they? I don't see it, especially at the L.A. Coliseum in primetime. I also continue to doubt the legitimacy of Ohio State's defense; their overall numbers have been great the past two seasons, but how did they do in their three biggest games the past two seasons? They gave up 39 to Michigan in 2006 and 41 to Florida and 38 to LSU in the last two national title games. They also allowed 28 to Illinois in the upset loss last season at the Horseshoe and couldn't get a stop when they needed to as the Fighting Illini held the ball for the last eight minutes of the game.

The Trojans will throw a lot more weapons at the Buckeyes than any of those four teams, including explosive running back Joe McKnight and wide receiver Vidal Hazelton. Whether it's Mark Sanchez or Mitch Mustain at quarterback, it won't matter. The Trojans offense will be downright nasty. Until Ohio State's defense shows me they can step up to the plate in a big game, I will remain skeptical.

Final score: 38-28, USC

Week 4: Troy

What to watch for: Troy returns 14 starters from a team that went 8-4 and many felt were jobbed out of a bowl bid in 2007. This game could be a potential trap if the Buckeyes sleepwalk. Troy runs the dreaded spread offense that gives Ohio State problems, and the Trojans played Georgia to within 10 points and knocked off Oklahoma State last season. Troy, though, loses quarterback Omar Haugabrook and first-round NFL draft pick Leodis McKelvin from that team, and it's hard to see the Buckeyes letting this one get too interesting. It might be closer than the experts predict for a while, however. By the way, Troy will be two weeks removed from a trip to play the other team in the 2008 BCS title game, LSU.

Final score: 38-21, Ohio State

Week 5: Minnesota

What to watch for: The Golden Gophers are coming off an awful 1-11 season, but second-year head coach Tim Brewster landed a top-30 recruiting class according to many publications. So there is hope Brewster can bring them back to respectability. I don't think this is the season, however, that Minnesota takes off under Brewster. This should be an easy to win to open up the Big 10 season for Ohio State.

Final score: 42-17, Ohio State

Week 6: at Wisconsin

What to watch for: This should be another good one. This will be a primetime kickoff and Camp Randall Stadium will be rocking. Buckeye fans know what a pain the Badgers have been to Ohio State in recent years; Tressel is 2-3 against Wisconsin during his tenure at Ohio State, the only Big 10 school he has a losing record against. He's 1-1 at Camp Randall Stadium, but the last primetime matchup between the two squads there was a 17-10 Wisconsin win against an Ohio State team in 2003 that only lost two games and came in ranked third in the country. The Badgers will rely on bruising running back P.J. Hill to carry their offense with not much experience returning at quarterback and receiver.

This should be a physical Big 10 battle, but Wisconsin is going to have to have some success passing the ball to put up points against the Buckeyes. Ohio State's run defense is one of the best in the country, and they should be able to at least contain Hill. I'll go with Ohio State for that reason, but no outcome would surprise me in this one.

Final score: 24-13, Ohio State
 
Next week, I'll take a look at the second half of Ohio State's 2008 schedule.