Questions abound for better Buckeyes

Ohio State gained a little respect against Texas but are facing a lot of losses in the offseason.

COLUMBUS (AP) — It was still a loss. Yet for some reason this one seemed easier to swallow for Ohio State’s players and fans.

The Buckeyes walked glumly off the field, surrounded by Texas players dancing and laughing while celebrating a dramatic Fiesta Bowl victory on Monday night. But for Ohio State the feeling was different this time — even though the result was not — as the Buckeyes closed their season with a bowl loss for the third consecutive year.

“We didn’t achieve kind of what we had set out to but, looking back, we did some good things,” wide receiver Brian Robiskie said.

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy threw a 26-yard scoring pass to Quan Cosby with 16 seconds left to give the Longhorns a 24-21 win over Ohio State (10-3). The Buckeye defense was caught napping on the play, with no one back to help after free safety Anderson Russell missed a tackle on Cosby as he caught the ball.

After the past two seasons, when the Buckeyes were dominated in national championship games by Florida and LSU, there was at least some consolation in going toe-to-toe with an elite team.

“We have done a lot of special things. Obviously it is not the way you want to go out,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said, a Bible verse painted on the black smudge beneath each eye.

Ohio State started the season with a stadium full of optimism. It had nine starters back on each side of the ball from a team that went 11-2 and began the season ranked No. 2 in the polls.

The Buckeyes, who have won at least a share of the last Big Ten titles, face plenty of questions heading into next season.

Not only will Ohio State be hit hard by graduation, fans will be waiting to hear whether standout tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells gives up his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft. Wells said he will announce his decision later this week.

Wells fought nagging injuries much of his career at Ohio State. After missing three full games, he returned to rush for 1,197 yards. But he saw limited action in the second half of the Fiesta Bowl (finishing with 106 yards on 16 carries) due to symptoms of a concussion.

The ever-present specter of injury, and the fact that Wells has 10 siblings, lead most insiders to believe that he will jump to the pros. If so, backup Dan “Boom” Herron would likely take his place.

Robiskie, Laurinaitis, offensive linemen Alex Boone and Steve Rehring, tight end Rory Nicol, fullback Brandon Smith, backup quarterback Todd Boeckman, defensive lineman Nader Abdallah, linebacker Marcus Freeman and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins all have exhausted their eligibility.

On offense, the Buckeyes will build around quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Pryor, the nation’s top-rated quarterback recruit last spring, learned on the job while starting the Buckeyes’ last 10 games. A smooth runner but erratic passer, the offense often sputtered with Pryor under center. He connected on just 5-of-14 passes for only 66 yards against Texas. Returning to the Woody Hayes philosophy of “three yards and a cloud of dust,” the Buckeyes seldom took any chances passing the ball.

Yet Pryor also showed how dangerous he can be, especially on designed runs or when breaking containment. He gained 631 yards and scored six touchdowns, and even caught a scoring pass from Boeckman in the fourth quarter of the Fiesta Bowl.

“I thought Terrelle in a big game as a true freshman did some very good things,” coach Jim Tressel said.

Elsewhere on offense, the Buckeyes will look for replacements to step in. Michigan transfer Justin Boren and redshirt freshman J.B. Shugarts should help on the offensive line. Dane Sanzenbacher and Devier Posey figure to see more time at receiver.

Cameron Heyward, Doug Worthington and Thaddeus Gibson return up front on defense, with Rob Rose stepping in to replace Abdallah. With two of the three starting linebackers graduating (Ross Homan is the only holdover), the line will have to carry the load while the newcomers develop.

Most of the secondary returns except for Jenkins, the top cover corner. There are also holes at punter and placekicker.

The Buckeyes host USC in the second week of the 2009 season, hoping for a better showing than the 35-3 pasting they suffered in Los Angeles early this season.

They also play a game at Cleveland Browns Stadium against Toledo, and hit the road to face Big Ten foes Penn State, Indiana, Purdue and Rich Rodriguez’s second edition of a Michigan team that finished 3-9.

In the 2006 BCS title game, Florida had embarrassed the Buckeyes 41-14 in the same University of Phoenix Stadium where they lost in the final minute on Monday night.

“I’ll be honest, two years ago when I was here I cried like a little girl. Last year I cried [after losing to LSU in the title game]. But this year a lot of people didn’t think we would win this game,” Boone said in the somber locker room. “Ninety percent of the country thought we were going to get blown out, get smoked. We played a great game, we lost that game by (16) seconds.”