Have the Buckeyes Peaked?

not with Pryor having at least 2 years left, maybe 3. I'd have to think that they will be in the MNC hunt every year he's there.

Just kidding.

Technically, OSU did peak when they won their national championship several years ago. Every year since then has, by comparison, been a disappointment.

But no, I don't think they're necessarily on the downhill slide. Like you pointed out, the cyclical nature has its effect on every team. And when you have a true freshman quarterback, you're bound to fall short of any high expectations.

That being said, I wonder about the effectiveness of OSU's offensive system. It seems like they have a mish-mash of offensive plays and they don't really have an identity. I mean, the teams who are on top right now (Florida and USC) have systems. Florida has Meyer's spread offense, and USC has had a pro style offense for years. They have wrinkles here and there, but ultimately, there's an offensive system. I don't see that at OSU. Sometimes they're Power I. Sometimes they're spread. While that can be hard to prepare for, I wonder if it takes away from their expertise in any one area.

If so they've been going downhill for seven years and nobody realized it.

Well I hope they've peaked but probably not. Just looking at next year we can assume their defense probably takes a step back with the guys they lose to the NFL but I think their offense will be better. Pryor has another year under his belt, Herron looks really good (and possibly better suited to Pryor's skill set than Beanie was) and the receivers who graduated weren't really that good anyway. Down the line they're recruiting as well as ever despite all the negative national publicity they get. And ole' Sweatervest isn't going anywhere. So maybe a holding pattern but I don't see them going downhill anytime soon.

They have TP for two or three more years, top five class the last two years, and they play in the Big 10. I think in two years when TP has developed his passing skills (to what extent I can't say) they will be hard to stop. I hope it doesn't happen but if TP is anything similar to what Vince Young was then I have no reason to believe that they have not peaked.

With graduation/NFL attrition, and the cyclical nature of CFB, does anyone think that the Buckeyes have reached their peak?

CFB isn't that cyclical. Indiana is unlikely to make a BCS bowl anytime in the next 20 years. Meanwhile, it's a good bet that Michigan/OSU/PSU will be, year-in and year-out, the best programs in the conference. Similarly, Florida, USC, Oklahoma and the like will probably remain strong for the indefinite future, while Baylor, Iowa State, and Duke are unlikely to ever be better than mediocre. When new programs crash the party, it's almost always a temporary blip. Similarly, when the power programs suffer downturns, they usually don't stay down for very long.

So anyway, I doubt OSU is going anywhere soon. We've got to catch up to them.

Has OSU peaked? How much farther is it feasible to go up?

3 shots, winning 1, in the NC game the last 7 years, with total domination of their chief rival. If they go up any more, they would be USC.

Law of diminishing returns. OSU would have to get a lot better to get one more win a year that would be "the next level." And maintaining that level is practically impossible for more than a few years... but USC seems to be able to do it.

Did we ever imagine the Carr era would peak in '97? Their 2002 season was a lot like that -- dominating defense, serviceable offense that made a few plays.

Afterward, both programs got a huge influx of talent: Walker, Terrell, Henson, plus Walter Cross, Julius Curry, Justin Fargas and Cato June were highly rated. Some of it panned out (incl. Joppru, Foote, Hobson), some of it didn't.

OSU has been getting a little less than their star rating as of late, but they've been making up for it by simply getting more talent.

The big difference is that Ohio State came to life and essentially kept Michigan in check. But Michigan has been down, and Sweatervest has been cashing in. They're bringing in another monster class this year.

On the other hand, there's a big diff between projected talent and on-field talent. You don't just find another disease like Laurinaitus. They can, however, keep replacing those linemen, and tailbacks. The good news is they haven't been able to replace the uber-defensive backs they've been bringing in.

Ohio State will go into at least the next three seasons with a good shot at the national championship. The rest is really luck. The best I think we can hope for is maybe if we upset them next year and beat them in Columbus in 2010, and they keep losing bowl games, their boosters will get stupid and fire cheaty, a la Earl Bruce (except he pays players instead of punching them).

There's been enough crap going on with that program to death penalty them 10 times over. But the NCAA doesn't whack their premier programs.

a question of knowing what it takes to beat OSU. I think many teams know how to beat OSU, they simply don't have the talent to do it. Coach "vesty" is alot like Coach Carr-you know what they are going to do but can you stop it. In my opinion, Coach Carr did his best job as a coach his last game. He had Florida so off balanced they didn't know what the hell to do. With that being said, Coach "vesty" has become to Carr-like, and the only thing he has going for the bucknuts is his ability to recruit. OSU's day is coming and the when it does, "vesty" will look like a dear in the headlights-somethings are worth waiting for.