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Ohio State fears damage a loss can do
To players, it's personal; to Tressel, it would mean no BCS ending
12:25 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 6, 2006
By CHUCK CARLTON and CHIP BROWN / The Dallas Morning News For Ohio State, it's not just No. 1 vs. No. 2.
It's bigger than that.
The Buckeyes worry that one loss, even to second-ranked Texas on Saturday, will dash their national title hopes.
"This game means everything for the season," offensive tackle Kirk Barton told Ohio State beat writers Tuesday.
Coach Jim Tressel acknowledged that one loss would probably eliminate the Buckeyes from the BCS title chase.
To some of the players, it's personal.
They don't want disappointment like the kind that followed Vince Young's toss to Limas Sweed for the game-winning touchdown with 2:37 left on the clock last season.
"I remember that feeling I got on the bench, watching them complete the pass and looking at the scoreboard," Barton said.
"It was just disbelief in the locker room. All the work faded.
"There was a lot of climbing to do after dropping that game."
No alternating kickers: Ohio State's kicking game remains a potential weak spot.
Aaron Pettrey and Ryan Pretorius each missed field goal attempts against Northern Illinois.
Tressel said Pettrey would handle all kickoffs and "probably" field goal duties against Texas.
For my next imitation: When asked by Ohio State's sports information director to speed up his Tuesday news conference, Tressel invoked the name of a certain NFL coach.
"I'm going to do a Bill Parcells. 'Nope. Yep. Because I want to,' " Tressel said.
Ohio State wants more from Ginn: Tressel touched on some obvious keys to the game, including getting receiver Ted Ginn Jr. more involved than last year, when the Heisman hopeful was a nonfactor.
Quarterback Troy Smith said that Ginn has put in a lot of time in the film room since last year and understands his role as a receiver much better.
Austin a little hotter than Columbus: Ohio State is also very aware of the Texas heat, particularly in a week when the temperature has had trouble breaking the 70-degree mark in Columbus.
Tressel said that his team will just hydrate and that he'll rotate players more frequently.
Texas to test OSU with the run: The Buckeyes defense was carved up like a basted turkey by tailback Garrett Wolfe, who rushed 26 times for 171 yards – the most by an
OSU foe since Penn State's Eric McCoo tallied 211 in 1999.
KIICHIRO SATO/AP
Ohio State freshman kicker Aaron Pettrey will handle kickoffs and probably field goals, his coach says.
"Garrett Wolfe can play in our league, no question," Tressel said. "But we have to improve our tackling."
The Buckeye run-stuffers will be put to the test against Texas, which has three top-shelf tailbacks, including the Big 12 offensive freshman of the year last season in Jamaal Charles (878 yards, 11 TDs).
Briefly: The start time for Texas' home game against Sam Houston State on Sept. 30 has been moved from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to school officials.
The Austin American-Statesman
and the Dayton Daily News
contributed to this report.
Key matchup
Ohio State QB Troy Smith vs. Texas MLB Rashad Bobino: Smith ran all over the Texas defense in the second quarter of last season's game, leading the Buckeyes to 16 unanswered points. He should be even better with another year's experience. Bobino is a great quote but can prove he's a great football player with a star-making performance Saturday.
Edge: Smith
Chip Brown
Q&A
Will Jamaal Charles replace Selvin Young as the starting tailback or at least get more of the workload this week after averaging 5.5 yards per carry (on 14 carries) compared with Young's 3.7 yards per carry (on 12 carries) against North Texas?
Don't count on it. I posed that question to Mack Brown, and he sounded like a guy who was going to the mat for Young. "Selvin's a really good player and team leader, so we do need him to have a big role on our team," Brown said.
Chip Brown
OSU tradition
Of all the Heisman winners since Jay Berwanger in 1935, only Archie Griffin can claim two trophies.
He won the Heisman by overwhelming margins in 1974 and '75. Though not a spectacular runner, he was productive, consistent and played in a high-profile program. Griffin finished his
OSU career with 5,589 yards rushing.
Eight years in the NFL followed, and Griffin was most effective as a receiver.
More than 30 years later, he is fondly remembered. Griffin, now Ohio State's alumni director, will speak to Buckeyes fans at an Erwin Center pep rally Saturday.
