Pressure-free zone: Buckeyes pondering why defense couldn't put heat on USC
by Doug Lesmerises Wednesday September 17, 2008, 10:29 PM
Mark Avery/Associated PressOn this first-half play last Saturday, OSU linebacker Marcus Freeman gets pressure on USC quarterback Mark Sanchez, but doesn't prevent Sanchez from launching a pass. The Buckeyes had just one sack in the 35-3 loss.
COLUMBUS -- He didn't get there. Bottom line. He didn't get there. Kurt Coleman stood seven yards from the line of scrimmage at the snap when he started to sprint at USC quarterback Mark Sanchez Saturday night. The safety's failed blitz set off a chain reaction that left OSU linebacker Marcus Freeman tailing USC fullback Stanley Havili down the sideline as the Trojans hit on their first touchdown pass during their 35-3 romp over Ohio State.
It was emblematic of a night when the Trojans rushed fewer players than the Buckeyes, on average, but created a lot more confusion. Sanchez said he knew what the OSU defense would be on that play, and it looked like it.
When presented Wednesday with the idea that USC's defense was more effective in throwing off the Buckeyes than vice-versa, OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock brought up that first touchdown, saying "Kurt, did anybody block him? Well, I guess they were confused, right?"
Cont..