I'm sick of talking about the Navy game. Really, I am.  Let's recap.

- I previewed it all the way back in May

- I've justified the placement of six freshmen on the two deep

- I've told you what you should expect to see out of both the Buckeye offense and defense, as well as Navy's units

There I'm done. Wiping my hands of it all. /slaps hands together twice

Except not.

People are genuinely optimistic about the upcoming 120th season of Ohio State football. I understand this, and I am too. But I'm not sure we're optimistic for the same things. Myself, I'm looking forward to watching all the young talent on this team mature and grow into a cohesive unit. DeVier Posey, Terrelle Pryor, Duron Carter, Jaamal Berry,  Chimdi "Chex" Chekwa, Brian Rolle... some, but probably not all of these guys will be Buckeye greats and soon. This year will probably one of growing pains. It'll be a process. At times, it might be a bit hard to watch. In fact, it might be a bit hard to watch this  Saturday.

I've said time and time again that Navy is a solid team, and one that could give us quite the game. I do not expect our offense to come roaring out of the gate, nor do I anticipate the defense to force a 3-and-out on Navy's first possession. In general, I expect a competitive first half. Yeah, watching Navy move the ball consistently might make your balls shrivel up just a bit. Get used to it. This is a young defense, with young linebackers, and one of the special things about college football fandom is watching your team grow up, gain experience and get better.

That's one thing I truly love about Tressel: his teams always improve. They always rebound and close the regular season solidly. I like that. It provides a nice, stark contrast with which we may easily judge the team's progress. I think we'll see more of that this year. But it's going to come at a price - optimistically, we're going to split the USC and Penn State games. No shame in that. No shame in losing both either. Again, I come back to this whole "youth" thing, because it's important; we've seen even the best of programs endure a down year following massive attrition: Florida and LSU followed up national championship seasons with 4 and 5-loss outings the next year. It's tough to rebound in today's world of college football. Fortunately, Ohio State won't have to do it with quite the murderous slate the Gators and Tigers did.

We've become accustomed to excellence under Jim Tressel; so much so that a 3-or-more loss season will be viewed as a major disappointment. With this schedule, I don't see that happening, barring a collapse. That being said, I'm not one of those people for whom my personal expectations for the team are paramount: I want to see them represent this great university with class, dignity, pride and a little bit of old-fashioned honor; beyond that, 10 wins is nice, but not necessary. I won't be screaming "UNACCEPTABLE" from the rooftops if we drop a conference game outside of PSU. I won't be calling for Tressel's head if we get our doors blown off by USC again (though I will be giving Bollman the evil eye every time he makes a public appearance for the rest of the season).

I might not root like you. I don't root for these guys just so they can make me proud to wear a Block-O ballcap around town, or so that I can lord the scoreboard over anyone from the Big Ten who brings up Ohio State's record in bowl games of late. I do it because I like what football does for these guys, and because I want to see them develop and grow, not only as football players, but as young adults. No, I don't know them personally, but that doesn't mean I don't want them to succeed. Say what you will about Tress, it's clear that he puts special emphasis on preparing his players for life outside of football. Some clearly don't listen to his advice. For every Alex Boone, I can raise you five latter-day Troy Smiths. For every Maurice Clarett, I can raise you a few more Brian Robiskies. I'm interested in seeing who can replicate the feats of those players both on the field and off, and I'm sure many of you are too. Let's enjoy these guys and this coach while they last, through the toughest of times and through the best of times.

Go Bucks.