It's hard to believe that the first game of the 2008 college football season is less than 3 weeks away! With that in mind, I present you with my offensive preview of the 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes!

Offensive Depth Chart (returning starters are italicized)

• Quarterback
1. Todd Boeckman (Sr)
2. Joe Bauserman (Fr)
3. Terelle Pryor (Fr)

• Tailback
1. Chris 'Beanie' Wells (Jr)
2. Brandon Saine (So)
3. Maurice Wells (Sr)

• Fullback
1. Curtis Terry (Sr)
2. Ryan Lukens (Sr)

• Wide Recievers
1. Brian Robiskie (Sr)
2. Brian Hartline (Jr)
3. Ray Small (Jr)
4. Taurian Washington (So)
5. Dane Sanzenbacher (So)

• Tight Ends
1. Rory Nichol (Sr)
2. Jake Ballard (Jr)
3. Brandon Smith (Sr)

• Left Tackle
1. Alex Boone (Sr)
   
2. Andy Miller (So)

• Right Tackle
1. Bryant Browning (So)
2. JB Shugarts (Fr)

• Left Guard
1. Steve Rehring (Sr)
2. Kyle Mitchum (Sr)

• Right Guard
1. Ben Person (Sr)
2. Connor Smith (So)

• Center
1. Jim Cordle (Jr)
2. Andrew Moses (Jr)
   

This offense is very talented and experienced. The Buckeyes lost just 2 offensive starters (and only 3 offensive non-starters!) from a year ago (starting RT Kirk Barton and starting FB Dionte Johnson). Opponents can expect a steady diet of Beanie Wells this season. I don't know if he will break Eddie George's single season rushing record (1900+ yards), but he should come close, especially now that he's 100% healthy and because the NCAA has added an extra game to everyone's schedule. He'll also have one of the best offensive lines in the country blocking for him, which I think is the key to this team making another title run.

I expect Todd Boeckman to be a lot more mature when passing the football this season. Boeckman's biggest shortcoming last year was his inability to read deep coverage (2007 Illinois-OSU game!). If Boeckman can make better decisions down the field, he has the receivers that can and will make plays. The Buckeyes didn't lose a single tight end or receiver from a year ago, so as long as Boeckman can play that Krenzel-type role, the Buckeye offense will be tough to stop.

Former linebacker Curtis Terry has bulked up and was moved to fullback during the offseason. He now finds himself atop the depth chart, and has really turned some heads this spring/summer.

The depth at running back is very impressive, now that Brandon Saine's health is close to 100%. He and Maurice Wells will serve as Beanie's backup, and both will have the opportunity to catch some passes out of the backfield, particularly in 3rd down (and long) situations.

What about Terrelle Pryor, you ask? While he is listed at #3 on the depth chart at quarterback, there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding how he will be used this season. There has even been some talk of him being red-shirted. I expect that he will see some playing time, but not as much as a lot of fans are hoping for. Because he will likely be the starter next season (barring injury), he needs to get a little bit of playing time, which he should get.

While this offense may not be as good as the 2006 offense (thanks to Troy Smith), the 2008 offense is a close second. Stay tuned for my 2008 defensive preview of the Buckeyes!

That's pretty much the general feeling here in Knoxville regarding the University of Tennessee football program, particularly after Britton Colquitt's recent run-in with the law. Colquitt [Clone #4/Alcoholic/Sebastian Janikowski/Mike Vanderjagt/Starting Punter], the 6th different UT player to be charged by police since mid-January, decided to drive his Jeep Cherokee after getting sauced early Sunday morning (no surprise there). He then proceeded to hit a parked car and a tree stump while driving drunk, and to make matters worse, left the scene of the accident. He was pulled over a mile away from the accident and was visibly sloshed, smelling of alcohol and staggering as he attempted to complete a field sobriety test. This was his 5th alcohol-related arrest since his freshman year at UT. Let's not forget that he was dismissed from the university after his 3rd offense (3 in 12 days!) back in 2003, but was reinstated after making a plea deal and keeping his nose clean (aka. not getting caught).

Britton, I know you will never read these words, but it would be nice if you would actually take the following to heart. You are a f---ing moron! I understand that college students like to drink, and many times they drink way too much, but the least you could do is find a designated driver. Call a cab. Call a teammate. Call a coach. It's obvious that you enjoy alcohol more than anything, so we are beyond the idea of [gasp!] putting down the beer bottle. Did you not learn anything from your freshman year?? You've been caught 4 times drinking as a minor and twice charged with a DUI! You obviously have no remorse. You don't care about the innocent people around you, you don't care about your teammates, coaches, and friends, but most importantly, you clearly don't care about yourself. If you did, you would at least be smart enough to hand the keys over to a sober driver.

Some people try to make excuses for your behavior (oh, he's just a college student, he's targeting because he's a football player, Fulmer isn't a disciplinarian, etc.). I don't give a sh-t what your name is. I don't care if you are in college. I don't even care that you are an athlete. If you make a mistake, you must pay the price, but more importantly, you must learn from your mistake. If this was your first offense, I wouldn't be going on this tirade. Human beings make mistakes, but when they repeat those same mistakes over and over again, that's a problem. When you were dismissed as a freshman, I thought your punishment was pretty stiff, but I thought that would give you the ultimate wake-up call. I guess I was wrong. You didn't learn at all; in fact, you learned that you can get away with it because you are a starting football player, you have the Colquitt name, and you answer to Philip Fulmer.

I'll admit it, you obviously aren't afraid of the consequences. After your latest arrest, you should no longer be on this football team! There is no good reason (or justification) for a "simple" 5-game suspension/loss of scholarship. You are an adult, and you have to be held accountable for your actions. You are a repeat offender. Not twice. Not thrice. Not even four times, but five times! There is not one honest job on the planet that would offer you that kind of forgiveness.

I'll close with this. Some people say that Philip Fulmer is partly to blame for your behavior, and he is. Again, Britton Colquitt should no longer be on this football team. This was clearly a time when Fulmer needed to give him the ultimate kick in the pants, and he couldn't do it. There appear to be a plethora of reasons why, none of which are "good" reasons, like:

• He's a starter
  
• His last name is Colquitt
• Fulmer is a soft disciplinarian
• DUI doesn't warrant a dismissal

Could Philip Fulmer prevent the crap that has befallen his football program by ruling with an iron fist? Yes and no. Some of it could be prevented if Fulmer actually "disciplined" his players. He needs to put the fear of God in them. He can't have repeat offenders on this team. However, some of these dirtbags are going to screw up regardless of the consequences, and that is a recruiting issue. Ohio State learned the hard way with John Cooper. When Cooper was winning, the university looked the other way. However, the minute the team wasn't winning as much, everyone was quick to point out that the team was being run by the players/thugs and not the coaches. Maybe Fulmer should play it "safer" when it comes to recruiting. It's time for Philip Fulmer to step up and do what's right. In all honesty, it's not going to happen under his watch. The only solution is to get someone in here who can.

I'll admit, I have never voted for a democrat; however, I'm a person that will vote for the candidate that I see"eye-to-eye" with, regardless of their political partisanship. After the presidential election debacles in 2000 and 2004, I was convinced that the democrats would not repeat the same mistakes in 2008. Fool me thrice, shame on me...

Back in 2000, the democrats were riding the momentum from the Clinton administration, and they chose Al Gore to "succeed" Clinton (mistake #1). I don't know if Bill Bradley was a better option, but the democrats needed a candidate who didn't stray too much from Clinton's ideals (Gore was probably the best option). Unfortunately, you know what you are in for when your candidate can't even win in his home state.

Leading up to 2004, George W. Bush looked unbeatable, until the moment that the media stopped praising the president and began to criticize his post-9/11 actions. Bush's sky-high approval rating tumbled, and the democrats were poised to swoop in and retake the White House. Unfortunately, they failed to nominate a "safe" candidate, and chose John "Waffle-Iron" Kerry, someone who couldn't even beat Geraldo Rivera, Rush Limbaugh, and Jesse Jackson in a popularity contest. Heck, a cigar-smoking chimp had a better chance to beat George W...

Enter the present. The democrats are sitting in the driver's seat once again, and, like the past 2 elections, seem to be pissing away another shot at redemption. John Edwards announced today that he would drop out of the democratic primary, narrowing the race down to two candidates - Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Edwards has also chosen not to endorse either frontrunner (in the hopes of becoming the democrat's VP choice). The democratic primary has been marred by a lot of name-calling and smearing by both Clinton and Obama. It is already a tough situation for the democrats, considering that one of their top candidates is a female (some won't vote for a woman) and the other is an African-American with an Islamic background (some won't vote for an African-American). What makes their task even more daunting is the fact that both candidates are running a smear campaign, and it isn't helping either one of them.

On the flip side, the republicans, who really had little to no shot coming into the election, have gained a considerable amount of momentum due to the democrat mess. John McCain just solidified his position as the republican favorite, which is good news for conservatives because he probably has the best chance of winning the general election on the republican side. Rudy Giuliani decided to end his campaign and endorse McCain, which will boost him even more. Fred Thompson is even rumored to be supporting McCain. Mike Huckabee seems to be running out of steam, which means that the republican primary will likely be a battle between McCain and Mitt Romney.

What amazes me is the sheer stupidity of the democrats. How can they let this happen for the third presidential election in a row?! I am enjoying the misery that the democrats are suffering through, but I still don't understand why they can't capitalize on this, especially with the extensive media/celebrity support that they usually have. Clinton and Obama are not "dream" candidates or even "safe" candidates. They are reaches, at best. My prediction - we will likely see four more republican years in the White House because the democrats won't suit up a primate.