What to Expect

Keep it Simple
Barrett will not have the entire playbook available on Saturday, and perhaps he won't for most of the season. He needs to work on the fundamentals and depend on star players to make big plays. Look for Ohio State to run the ball early and you can expect the passing game to involve fairly simple routes and relatively safe plays.

Navy is Unique
You will hear a lot of discussion of Navy's unique triple option offense, but it also has a unique defense. Ohio State will have to figure out the defense and its size advantage on the O-line should help.

Limit Mistakes
Navy limits its mistake and penalties, as they consistently rank near first in the nation for fewest turnovers and fewest penalties. Ohio State can't afford to turnover the ball as it did in 2009, a game in which Navy had a chance to tie the game in the closing minutes.

Limit Passing Yardage

Ohio State hired Chris Ash, a former Brett Bielema assistant, in an effort to rehab the defense, in particular the passing defense. In order for Ohio State to improve its passing defense, it will rely on highly touted but inexperienced freshman. Look for Ohio State to apply more pressure in pass coverage, but don't get too excited after the first week because Navy is not known for its passing game.

Predictions

Navy will run the ball, and it will run the ball again. It has an excellent running quarterback who will only attempt 10-12 passes/game. Ohio State needs to watch the quarterback who had 1,346 rushing yards last season, the fullbacks who had 1,120 rushing yards last season, and the slotbacks who had 1,084 rushing yards last season. Look for Navy to be limited to 200 rushing yards and 100 passing yards. Ohio State should have success on the ground and there will be mismatches in the passing game. Look for Ohio State to run for 300 yards and pass for 200 yards. Ohio State will win 31-17.

Things to Watch

Replacing Braxton

Redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett is only the fifth freshman in the last sixty years to start for Ohio State during the first year of eligibility and he is only the second freshman in that same period to start in the season opener.

Why Bill the Goat?

The first time a live goat was used as a mascot for Navy was back in 1893 when a goat named "El Cid" was turned over to the Brigade by officers on the USS New York. El Cid is credited for the 6-4 win over Army that season. After El Cid various animals such as cats, a dog, and a carrier pigeon have been used, but since 1904 a goat has been the official mascot. The school continues to use a live goat and currently has three goats being used. The official handlers are Midshipmen from the first, second, and third class who receive extensive training prior to handling Bill on gameday.

OSU on Road for Opener

Ohio State is 33-2 in its last 35 season openers, and those two losses were on the road. The Buckeyes lost in 1986 at Alabama and in 1999 against Miami in New Jersey.

Scouting the Midshipmen

Offense

Navy returns eight starters on offense. The unique triple option offense depends on a reliable running quarterback and Navy has a potential Heisman candidate with Keenan Reyonlds, who had 1346 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns. Reynolds leads the nation with five career fourth quarter comebacks. There are two starters at slotbacks with DeBrandon Sanders and Geoffrey Whiteside. Whiteside is from Columbus and attended Bishop Hartley. At fullback are Noah Copeland, Chris Swain, and Quinton Singleton, and Navy will use all three fullbacks. The running game returns all its players, and will line up behind the same offensive line as last year. The team is excited about receiver Jamir Tillman based on his height of 6'4", but he only had two receptions last year. Also starting at receiver is Brendan Dudeck.

Defense

Navy returns seven starters on defense. Returning at linebacker are Chris Johnson and Jordan Drake. Johnson had 84 tackles last season.  Another leader on defense is safety Parrish Gaines.

Scouting the Buckeyes

Quarterbacks

Braxton Miller is out for the season. Redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett will start in his first game at Ohio State, after sitting out last year. Barrett was recruited as a dual threat quarterback, and he missed his senior year of high school with a torn ACL. Backing up Barrett is third-year sophomore Cardale Jones who had limited playing time last year. Jones is known more as a scrambler, and his large frame will make it difficult for the defense. Coach Meyer has hinted at the possibility of a dual quarterback system early in the season.

Running Backs

It will be very difficult to replace Carlos Hyde. Sophomore Ezekiel Elliott had 30 carries last year for 262 yards and he is expected to start. Fifth year senior Rod Smith has not lived up to Eddie George comparisons, but he will have a chance this season. Also carrying the ball are sophomores Bri'onte Dunn, Warren Ball, and freshman Curtis Samuel. Reports indicate that Samuel is a playmaker and he had a great spring and preseason. In certain formations receiver Dontre Wilson will also run the ball, in which he averaged 8.1 yards/carry last year.

Receivers

Returning at receiver are Devin Smith with 22 starts, Evan Spencer with 15 starts, and tight end Jeff Heuerman. Smith has 1572 yards and 18 touchdowns. Heuerman will be limited for a few weeks due to foot surgery in the spring. When healthy tight end Heuerman should see more passes as compared to last year, as will fourth-year junior Nick Vannett who is expected to start in Heuerman's place this week. Competing for playing time are Michael Thomas, Corey Smith, Jalin Marshall, and Johnnie Dixon.  Dontre Wilson added some muscle in the offseason and will continue to add another dimension to the offense.

O-Line

Taylor Decker is the only returning starter. There will be a variety of players sharing time early this season including Billy Price, Joel Hale, Jacoby Boren, and Chad Lindsay. Boren and Lindsay are competing for center and Boren, a junior, comes from a strong pedigree with two brothers (Justin-OL and Zach-FB/LB) previously starting at Ohio State and his Dad played at Michigan. Lindsay is playing as a graduate student after graduating from Alabama where he played on the Alabama O-Line. There appears to be more certainty with the right side as the projected starters are Pat Elflein and Darryl Baldwin.

D-Line

The defensive line returns all four starters, Noah Spence, Michael Bennett, Adolphus Washington, and Joey Bosa. Bosa impressed everyone last season as a true-freshman. Spence is suspended for the first two games due to a drug test prior to the bowl game, and Steve Miller will start in his place. Tommy Schutt may split time with Bennett.

Linebackers

This unit will miss Ryan Shazier, who will be playing on Sundays this fall. The linebackers look to build off last year's experience with the return of Curtis Grant and Joshua Perry. Perry is the leading returning tackler with 64 tackles in 2013 including 10 in the Orange Bowl. Sophomore Darron Lee will step in at linebacker. Freshman Raekwon McMillan appears prepared to make an impact if his services are needed.

Secondary

Gone is Bradley Roby to the NFL, but Tyvis Powell is back at safety and Doran Grant returns at cornerback. There is a competition between freshmen Gareon Conley and Eli Apple for the other cornerback spot.  Highly touted safety Vonn Bell earned his first start last year in the Orange Bowl, in which he intercepted a touchdown pass in the endzone. Bell may split time with Cam Burrows at safety.

Special Teams

Back as punter is Cameron Johnson, who lead the Big Ten last year with an average 44 yards/punt. Johnson led the nation with 63% of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line. At placekicker is freshman Sean Nuernberger, but he may share kicking duties with senior walk-on Kyle Clinton.

The Series

This will be the fifth meeting between OSU and Navy, with OSU leading the series 4-0. In the four games Ohio State won with a score of 27-0 at Navy in 1930, 20-0 at Columbus in 1931, 31-28 in the Liberty Bowl in 1981, and 31-27 in 2009.

Last Time

This is the second game in a series which dates back to 2009. Early in that game Ohio State scored first with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Terrelle Pryor to Dane Sanzenbacher. Navy responded with a drive capped off by a 16 yard touchdown run by Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs. Ohio State scored next with a field goal late in the first quarter.  In the second quarter Ohio State recovered a fumble, drove down the field, and Pryor connected with Sanzebacher for another touchdown. Ohio State led 20-17 at halftime after another field goal by Aaron Pettrey. In the third quarter Navy controlled the clock with a 8:38 drive and finished it with a 16-yard touchdown pass. Pettrey completed another field goal, this time it was 52-yards. Navy turned over the ball once more and Boom Herron finished the OSU drive with a 6 yard rushing touchdown, but the PAT was no good. Navy scored on a defensive breakdown, with a short pass resulting in an 85 yard touchdown pass. The Buckeyes turned it over when Pryor was intercepted and Navy scored on the following drive, to make the score 29-27 with less than three minutes remaining. Ohio State had led the entire game but it did not secure the victory until Brian Rolle returned an intercepted Navy 2-point attempt back for two points, which resulted in a final score of 31-27.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 128-25. Meyer is 24-2 at Ohio State, after going 12-0 in his first season. He earned his graduate degree from Ohio State and worked with the team as a graduate assistant under Earle Bruce from 1986-1987. He was an assistant coach at Illinois State under former OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock. He later re-joined Earle Bruce at Colorado St. In 1996 he was hired as an assistant coach under Lou Holtz at Notre Dame, and he remained with Notre Dame through 2000. In 2001 he started his head coaching career at Bowling Green and in two years he had a record of 17-6. He was hired at Utah in 2003. In his first year Utah won its bowl game, and during the second year the team was undefeated and won the Fiesta Bowl. He was 22-2 in two years at Utah. He had a record of 65-15 during his six years at Florida, including two BCS National Championships.

Ken Niumatalolo
In his seventh year as a head coach, all at Navy, he has a record of 49-30. He is the first coach in the history of the Academy to reach a bowl game in his first season. He is the second coach in the history of the Academy to win the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy in the first year as a coach, with wins over Air Force and Army. Niumatalolo is the first Samoan college coach at any level of college football. He was promoted from assistant head coach, after ten seasons in various positions on the Navy coaching staff. He has also been on the coaching staffs at Hawaii and UNLV. He is a native of Hawaii and graduated from Hawaii after earning three letters as quarterback.

Guest Panel Introduction-W.T.

W.T. is wise beyond his years and he has a highly scientific manner for picking winners of the games. He will dig deep for the treasure which awaits the winner of the Guest Panel contest.

Guest Panel Introduction-Mel Kiper’s Hair

A well know component of the most famous and recognizable NFL Draft commentators, I've been the silent driving force on-top-of every Kiper insight including the Matthew Stafford call (that he would be the #1 overall NFL pick before he even left high-school – BOOYAAHH!!!). You can thank me for the first Mock Draft ever (and later this season for the money you made by putting your eggs in my prediction basket) So I might have bombed on a couple (Andre Ware/Mike Williams) but you can't dispute the startling accuracy I showed with Hall-of-Famer John Elway or the amazing Trent Dilfer. Mel might be credited with the Big Board but it was me who me who came up with the measuring system of vague and mostly incomprehensible statistics that cumulatively indicate who will be an all-star and who will be a thumb-sucker. This year I find myself selling my draft stock and moving down into the NCAA trenches where-by I'll put on my jock-strap, overcome my nerdy exterior, and bring the whompin-stick down on Grandpa Holtz and crotchety Lee Corso. Beware the Hair!!!