It's become apparent what a difference Beanie makes. A decent rush offense suddenly looked good yesterday. I don't know if the line works harder for Beanie or if he just makes more of what he's given, but I'm inclined to believe the latter. Boom Herron's a competent back, but repeatedly Wells took what would have been a two- or four-yard gain and turned it into a big play. Beanie said he was about 75% healthy, and at 75%, he's still probably the best back in the Big Ten.

And teaming him in the backfield with Terrelle Pryor makes things almost unfair. We didn't see much of Pryor passing, and that seemed to concern Jim Tressel, but not me. Minnesota made running so easy, who can blame Pryor for taking off running from time to time, especially when he can do things like this:

I was going to post some thoughts on the USC game, but then I had a birthday, and things went crazy at work, and one thing led to another and now it's Thursday and probably a little late to look back. So instead, let's look forward. Let's take some lessons from the first three games of the season and come up with a wish list for the Troy game this Saturday. Here's what I want to see out of the Buckeyes this weekend:

More Terrelle Pryor. A lot more.
I don't dislike Todd Boeckman as much as a lot of people. Part of this is undoubtedly because I support Jim Tressel the way Britney Spears supports George W. Bush. Y'know, "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens." So if Tressel says a guy is the best choice at quarterback, I've generally been willing to just blindly agree with him. He's my coach, after all. But after the USC game, I don't think there's any question that this offense needs Pryor. Look at the numbers:

For the game Boeckman took 38 snaps for 85 yards (2.2 yards per play) with three turnovers and Pryor had 25 plays for 125 yards (good for 5.0 yards per play) without turning the ball over. It wasn’t a stellar night for either quarterback, but it’s obvious which one had the better night of the two.

Here's how I see it: if Beanie is healthy, Boeckman's an acceptable choice. In that situation, nothing's required of him beyond occasionally throwing the ball deep and not accidentally running Beanie over with a golf cart. But take away Wells, and there goes the offense's primary (and arguably only) playmaker. Pryor brings another dimension. So what if he's either going to throw a short pass or run? If teams watched the USC game, they'll blitz the bejeesus out of Boeckman, so he'll either dump the ball off or get sacked. Teams just can't blitz Pryor all willy nilly (nimbly bimbly?), and his ability to run adds a needed dimension to the offense.

It looks like this one might happen: Pryor took most of the snaps in practice, and is expected to split time about evenly with Boeckman.

Open competition on the O-Line.
Last week, the offensive line sucked. Don't believe me, believe 11W. And really, we've all expected these guys to be good, if not great, but have they ever been more than decent? I think a shake-up of the offensive line might be in order. Whether it is just for a week, to remind the starters that preseason accolades mean nothing, or permanently, to get some of the talented freshmen into the lineup, it seems worthwhile to me? Could the newbies really do any worse than the performance the starters put up against the Trojans? Well, yeah, but not much. Hey, it's worth a shot.

And because I hear you asking it: yes, I think some of the blame falls on Jim Bollman's shoulders. Have the Buckeyes ever had a great o-line since Tressel took over? For the first day or two after the game, I was calling for Bollman's firing, but I calmed down a bit. There's still a ton of talent on this line. If they play like they're capable of, Bollman will look like a genius.

More of the pistol formation.
It's a wonderful offense: It looks weird, and it works. Putting the quarterback in the shotgun gets him looking downfield sooner, and it lets him get going faster if he's going to take off running. Putting the back behind him lets you run more conventional plays between the tackles, but doesn't remove the fancier plays from the playbook. Plus, the Buckeyes seem to have had some success running it. So why not put it in a bit more this Saturday?

Better blitzes.
Mark Dantonio ran the type of defense I love: they'd go after the quarterback, and they'd go after him a lot of different ways. Mark Snyder ran the type of defense I don't like: sit back and wait for the offense to make a mistake. But both gameplans worked: Dantonio's defenses placed a lot of pressure on quarterbacks, and Snyder's teams pounced on every mistake. Heacock seems to split the difference, except the defense doesn't manage to succeed at either pressuring the quarterback or forcing turnovers. I realize this seems like nitpicking - the defense has, statistically, been great. But it's becoming apparent that the Big Ten is the Matrix: we're going to games and succeeding in our day-to-day dreamworld, while the real world is full of evil spider octopus robots that shred our defenses and use us as batteries to power pseudo-philosophic computer programs.

Listen, I'm no defensive coordinator: I don't know exactly what's wrong, and I don't know how to fix it. But I do know that something needs changed. As a general rule, I feel that blitzing college quarterbacks is a good call, as young quarterbacks are more mistake-prone than the Peyton Mannings and Tom Bradys of the world. But if a team like LSU or USC can effortlessly stop these blitzes, then they aren't worth much. I'd like to see blitzes that result in offensive coordinators throwing headsets and quarterbacks throwing interceptions.

Clones of Malcolm Jenkins.
Jenkins may be the only player on this team that has consistently impressed me thus far. He's great in coverage, and I think he's better against the run than any Ohio State cornerback I've seen. Sometime in the second quarter or so, before I'd abandoned hope in favor of snarky comments and a progression through the five stages of grief, I saw Jenkins stop a run for no gain and remarked "not only should teams not throw to his side, they shouldn't even run to his side!" The guy takes offenses challenging him personally. We need more guys like him. We need more guys exactly like him. I propose a clone army, a defense made up entirely of Malcom Jenkinses.

Our new defense, warming up.

A healthy Beanie Wells.
For all the problems we've all identified with the team, there's not much that can't be fixed with the addition of the best back in college football. Offense can't move the ball? Give it to Beanie. Defense can't stop anyone? Keep the ball away from the opposing offense.

Unfortunately, this won't happen. Beanie is out (TFJ: Brian @ the Fanhouse). But still, it helps to keep in mind that this team may have looked bad against USC, but they looked bad without their best player. Bringing him back won't fix everything, but it sure will help.

So what are you hoping to see this Saturday? What changes are you hoping for? Who are you wanting to see step up?

Let me level with you: I'm not going to bother with a Youngstown State preview. Others might (and Tony Gerdeman already has), but it's a 1-AA school. All you need to know is that the Buckeyes should win by twenty, minimum. Not saying they will - last season taught us that anything can happen - but they should.

Instead, let's take a look at the depth chart. First, some (relatively) big news: Kurt Coleman is doubtful for Saturday. From what I've heard, and reading between the lines in that article, it sounds more precautionary than anything. If this was a big game, he'd probably play, but they aren't going to take any chances in a game against Youngstown State. Jermale Hines, who's made the switch to safety from linebacker, is likely to start in his place. Considering Hines could also see the field in nickel situations as a DB/LB hybrid, this is a good chance to get a look at him and see what he brings to the table. Some interceptions would be nice, Jermale.

There's been a bit of discussion about the depth chart (link goes to PDF) that's been released. There are a few surprises on there, and there's no shortage of opinions about what, if anything, it means. Being a blogger, I'm more than willing to put my two cents in. Let's take a look at a few spots on the depth chart:

Terrelle Pryor is the third string QB.
This means nothing, in my opinion. My advice is, at least for now, to look at Pryor as playing a different position from Todd Boeckman and Joe Bauserman. Pryor is going to play, and plenty. You don't bring in the number one recruit in the country to sit him on the bench. I think, though, that no matter what Tressel says, the plays we'll see from Pryor will be different than the plays called for Boeckman. I'm betting he'll have fewer reads to make than Boeckman, and he'll have a lot more designed runs. All the depth chart means is that in the event of a Boeckman injury, the offense will be run by a guy with experience in the system, with Pryor still coming in as a change of pace. Maybe later in the season, once Pryor gets more experience and a more complete grasp of the offense, he'll move up to the backup position, but for now, Tressel wants his quarterback to be as experienced as possible. [Edit: Just realized Pfef basically said this same thing a week ago. I read things, but I don't comprehend or remember them. Much like a drunken, senile kindergartener.]

Brandon Saine isn't on the depth chart at running back, and Boom Herron is ahead of Maurice Wells.
There are two ways of looking at the Saine situation. The Ozone thinks this is the coaching staff's way of telling Saine to learn to play through minor injuries, and that may be true. It's also possible that this is similar to the Coleman situation: he's banged up, and they're holding him out because, hey, it's Youngstown State. He's still listed at kick returner, and I wouldn't be surprised if he sees some time on offense, but for now, injuries are keeping him out in one way or another.

Herron, by all accounts, really came on in fall camp. When they were recruited, everyone was excited about Saine and his talent, but Herron's toughness has proved more valuable going into this weekend's game. I'm surprised, given Tressel's loyalty to his seniors, that Herron beat out Mo Wells. That may be a testament to how far Herron's come in this offseason, or it could be a motivational ploy for Wells, though I haven't heard anything to that effect. We'll still see Mo, though; he's an underrated pass blocker and pretty good in the open field, which should get him playing time in passing situations.

Brandon Smith is the starting fullback.
Until we are given reason to believe otherwise, I'm going with "who cares?" on this one. The only position utilized less in the Ohio State offense than tight end is fullback. However, Smith might provide that reason. He struck me as a pretty athletic guy at tight end, and if he plays well in the backfield, he could provide the backfield receiving option that Chris Wells hasn't been so far (criticizing Wells for not catching passes is sort of like criticizing Jessica Alba for not being a physicist, I know).

Curtis Terry was a linebacker, then a fullback, and now a third-string defensive end.
Either he's a talented guy capable of doing anything, or he's not talented enough to start anywhere, so the coaches are just trying to put him at a position where he can contribute in some way. I don't know which, but he always struck me as solid against the run, so DE seems to be a good place for him.

Cameron Heyward is listed as a DT, and there is no second DE listed.
I'm guessing this is just a quirk in position naming by the coaches. Heyward came in as a DT, and the coaches intend to use him sometimes inside, but I have to assume he's still going to play DE. Unless coaches are trying innovative, reality-bending formations, someone has to be on the other end of the defensive line from Lawrence Wilson. That's just how non-infinite lines work.

Chimdi Chekwa gets the start for the suspended Donald Washington.
No big surprise here, though Shaun Lane will also see some time. This likely means Chekwa has a good shot at locking down the nickelback spot, provided coaches don't bring in a third safety or the aforementioned DB/LB hybrid for extra run support.

Of course, all this is speculation. Saturday, we won't have to worry about speculation. We'll actually have a game to provide some real data and information. Buckeye football is back; it seems like it's been forever, hasn't it?