NOTEBOOK
Richardson gets free pass
Penalty for hit still perplexes Tressel
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
If the roughing-the-passer penalty against Ohio State defensive end Jay Richardson in the Texas game was supposed to be a teaching moment, coach Jim Tressel indicated yesterday that he wasn?t sure what the lesson should be.
Richardson?s high hit on Texas quarterback Colt McCoy as he threw a third-down incomplete pass was ruled a foul by referee Bill LeMonnier, head of the Big Ten crew working the game. The penalty kept alive the Longhorns? only touchdown drive in the Buckeyes? 24-7 win.
Tressel, in a rare show of consternation, went onto the field seeking an explanation and said yesterday that LeMonnier told him "he was going to protect their quarterback and ours, as well, and I understood that, kind of. ? It was a tough place to go play. I?m sure it was a tough place to go officiate.
"Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don?t, and whether they did or they didn?t get it right, it?s not for me to say. But I can voice my opinion like the other 89,000, so ? "
He did, to LeMonnier. As for what he told Richardson to do differently the next time he was in such a situation, "Nothing," Tressel said.
Former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie, doing the color commentary of the game for ABC, told the TV audience that?s the way he would have handled it, too.
A win is a win
Ohio State now is the No. 1 team in the country by acclamation, but that?s about the only thing the Buckeyes gained by beating the defending national champions in their own stadium, receiver Anthony Gonzalez said.
"We didn?t get that much out of it other than a win," Gonzalez said "There?s still lots of football to be played.
"We certainly didn?t win a championship, we didn?t win a ring, nothing concrete we can kind of hang our hats on. The only thing we did do was we were fortunate to win a difficult road game and hopefully learn a lot from it."
They could claim bragging rights over the Longhorns, but that?s about it, linebacker James Laurinaitis said.
"I think this game was kind of set as the national title of September, but basically we know we?ve got 10 more weeks left to play," said Laurinaitis, who received his third honor in two days, the Bronko Nagurski national defensive player of the week, for his interception, two caused fumbles and 13 tackles in the game. "We have a lot of games we need to focus on, and one mental lapse can cause an upset.
"We know we?re not satisfied yet, that we haven?t played our best game, and we just need to keep improving."
They did learn a couple of things about the team, though.
"That we obviously have some talent, and that we have the ability to win the big games and what not ? (and) we found out with our young defense we stepped up when we needed to," Laurinaitis said.
No injuries reported
Tressel reported no major injuries yesterday. It wasn?t clear whether senior receiver Roy Hall, who had to sit out the first two games because of a high-ankle sprain, would be able to play Saturday against Cincinnati.
As for the lineup, the most notable change made for the Texas game was Anderson Russell?s move to starter at free safety ahead of Nick Patterson. That stood up on the new depth chart this week.
Reaching out
Laurinaitis said he heard from all three of the starting linebackers from last season after the Texas game: A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel.
"It?s pretty cool to stay in touch with those guys and see how they?re doing," he said.
In the midst of stars
Movie star Matthew McConaughey could not be missed on Saturday night at Texas. He was jumping up and down on the Longhorns? sideline and was seen on the scoreboard?s big screen.
Among other celebrities on hand: Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, former OSU stars Eddie George and Cris Carter; and former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith.
"There were a lot of famous people, but that just shows you how big the stage was," cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said.
Ken Gordon contributed to this report.
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