OSU's bid for national title begins with homecoming for Tressel

Jim Tressel has seen Ohio State get blown out in the last two national championship games after guiding his team to back-to-back Big Ten titles.

Undeterred, Tressel and the Buckeyes hope to start on the road toward a third straight championship game -- and a better finish -- when they take on a school that's very familiar with national titles.

The No. 2 Buckeyes kick off their season Saturday at home against Youngstown State, the program Tressel guided to four Division I-AA championships before moving to Columbus.

Tressel was at Youngstown State from 1986-2000, and the Penguins were Division I-AA's dominant program of the 1990s, participating in six national championship games.

He arrived at Ohio State in 2001 and in his second season had the Buckeyes playing for a title, which they won by beating Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State finished in the top 5 in two of the next three seasons after impressive victories in BCS games, then sailed through the 2006 regular season 12-0.

The Buckeyes, though, were blown out 41-14 by Florida in the BCS championship game. After going 11-1 in 2007, they suffered a similar result in the national title game against another powerful SEC team, losing 38-24 to LSU.

Despite that lopsided defeat, Ohio State (11-2) is ranked second to start 2008 and looks primed to contend for the title again -- despite the perception that it's a program that's simply taken advantage of a weaker-than-usual Big Ten.

"The only thing that will change any of that is just to win," said senior James Laurinaitis, the 2007 Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker. "That's all you can do to change anyone's mind."

Laurinaitis was projected to be a top 10 pick in the NFL draft but opted to return, and he'll be leading a Buckeyes defense that should be among the nation's best. Ohio State allowed the fewest points (10.7) and total yards (225.3) per game last season, and the defense returns nine starters, including star cornerback Malcolm Jenkins.

The Buckeyes took a small step back offensively last year with Todd Boeckman taking over at quarterback after Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, graduated. Boeckman was excellent as the starter, earning first-team all-conference honors, although he didn't provide the dual threat Smith did.

Boeckman, however, didn't need to run, as the Buckeyes had Chris Wells to do that. The tailback was the nation's ninth-leading rusher in 2007 as a sophomore, finishing with 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns, and is considered a top Heisman Trophy contender this season.

"It's an honor and a blessing to even be mentioned in the same sentence with the Heisman Trophy," Wells said.

A player who could be a future Heisman contender will begin the season as the third-string quarterback on the team's depth chart. However, Terrelle Pryor, a freshman who was the most sought-after recruit in the country, seems unlikely to spend much time on the bench.

While Boeckman is the starter, Pryor is expected to be heavily involved in the offense as Ohio State looks to become the first team to win three consecutive outright Big Ten titles. Tressel will look to Pryor to periodically bring an element of mobility and athleticism that Ohio State lost with Smith's departure.

Pryor's presence aside, with a veteran team that hasn't been challenged often during the regular season in the past two years, the focus in Columbus is on avoiding an early letdown.

"We have I think 40 guys on our rosters right now that are entering years four or five and there's a little challenge there in our eyes to make sure that those guys come back into training camp (and) they don't think it's same-old-same-old," Tressel said.

A poor game seems unlikely against Youngstown State (7-4), a member of the Football Championship Subdivision. The Penguins, who haven't played for a national title since 1999, faced the Buckeyes for the first time in last season's opener and lost 38-6 in Columbus.

Even with Tressel eight years removed from his time at Youngstown State, there's still a connection between the schools -- Penguins coach Jon Heacock is the younger brother of Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Heacock.

With four-year starting quarterback Tom Zetts gone, Youngstown State will turn to unproven Todd Rowan. The junior has completed one pass in his college career.

With an inexperienced offense, the Penguins will rely heavily on their defense, which ranked in the top 20 in the FCS in scoring defense (18.5 points) and total defense (318.2).

Ohio State hasn't lost to an in-state opponent since 1921, and has won its last 29 home openers since falling to Penn State to open the 1978 season.