Game Thread Game Five: #1 Ohio State 38, #13 Iowa 17 (9/30/06)

[Alex Boone fan]

Link

Iowa's depth chart remains in question

Long list of injuries leaves Hawkeye lineup open likely until kickoff


By: Marc Morehouse - The Gazette All the Hawkeyes who crawled off the Memorial Stadium field are listed on the depth chart. But reality is it's too soon to know who'll be ready or close to ready for Saturday's game against No. 1 Ohio State.

Defensive end Kenny Iwebema (shoulder), center Rafael Eubanks (knee), offensive tackle Dace Richardson (knee), receiver Andy Brodell (shoulder), defensive tackle Mitch King (leg), safety Marcus Paschal (hamstring) and safety Devan Moylan (hamstring) are all on the depth chart released Monday by UI sports information.

Defensive end Alex Kanellis (appendectomy) wants to play this week, but is probably out after Saturday's surgery. Sophomore tackle Ryan Bain is listed in his spot; sophomore Ettore Ewen is the backup at both tackles.

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said Saturday that outside of Moylan, the injuries didn't have him "alarmed or concerned."

"We're not good enough to play anybody shorthanded," Ferentz said. "Hopefully, that's not going to be the case big picture-wise."

Moylan, the No. 2 free safety behind Paschal, didn't look good. Eubanks' right knee endured an ugly rollover. Iwebema indicated Saturday walking off the field that he was OK.

Ferentz said he'd know more today. His stated policy is if a player isn't able to practice by Thursday, he sits for the next game. So, expect the situation to remain open up to Saturday night's kickoff.

Quick slants

• Iowa has played eight games against top-ranked opponents in its history and is 0-7-1, according to Iowa's game notes. Saturday's game will be Iowa's first against a No. 1 since Sept. 23, 2000, a 42-13 loss at Nebraska. The last time a No. 1 visited Kinnick was Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 5, 1992, a 24-7 loss. That also is Iowa's last true night game at Kinnick. Iowa managed a 14-14 tie against Notre Dame in 1953.
• Saturday will be the fifth night game in Kinnick Stadium's history, with Iowa holding a 2-2 record in past night contests.
• Iowa (4-0) is looking for its first 5-0 start under Ferentz and its first since 1995.
• The highest-ranked opponent that Iowa has beaten is No. 2 Michigan in 1985, when the Hawkeyes were ranked No. 1.
• Saturday will be the last time Iowa and Ohio State meet until Nov. 14, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. Also, the Oct. 21 game at Michigan will be the last time the Hawkeyes play the Wolverines until Oct. 10, 2009.
• Ohio State has yielded seven points or fewer in its last three games (7 at Texas; 7 vs. Cincinnati; 6 vs. Penn State).
• Ohio State will be Iowa's first game against a ranked opponent this season. Ohio State already has played two ranked teams (No. 2 Texas and No. 24 Penn State).

Last time we'll play Iowa til 2009 I am bummed Ok we'll maybe a little only because its great big 10 football.

 

[3yardsandacloud]

Another excellent preview.

I find it interesting that the preview gives OSU the edge at every position group on either side of the ball except TE. I can't disagree with that, but that is also the kind of preview which should predict a rout. And I don't see that either.

First (on behalf of all those who work on the Previews), thanks for the kind words.

Second, while the position group edge is in favor of OSU, the comparison is on the same side of the ball. There really isn't a comparison on units that will face each other. Additionally, the edge might be very slight. I think the NIU preview had most all edges OSU's favor as well, but we all expect a much tougher game vs Iowa.

FWIW, I think Iowa took the kicking game edge as well (in addition to TE).

Lastly, I think the Bucks win bigger than most other folks are predicting. Not sure why exactly, but I think timing is right. If the weather is good, I think the offense gets off to a quick start and makes Iowa play a game they aren't eager to play. If that's the case, and we can get decent pressure rushing 4, Tate is going to have a long frustrating night. They have a host of injury issues as well, though I'd bet most of those "nicked up" see the field on Saturday. Something tells me that the injury report is getting more press than it really deserves.

 

[Oh8ch]

If any other coach in America would have answered that home field advantage question like JT did (a repeat of the same question) 99%
of you would be calling that coach an arrogant smart-ass.

Am I the only one who assumed this was an error in the transcript?

 

[daddyphatsacs]

If any other coach in America would have answered that home field advantage question like JT did (a repeat of the same question) 99%
of you would be calling that coach an arrogant smart-ass.

Not so much.........we gave him a month to prepare for that question.

If you give JT a chance to prepare for a question........he's dynamic. Kind of like the way that Charlie Weis is in gameplanning.......after giving him a mon........yeah, uh nevermind.

How are those Holiday bowl tickets coming along?

 

[rocketman]

On TicketsNow.com, the most expensive tickets for the Iowa-Ohio State game cost $545, with the cheapest running $200. The tickets have a $60 face value.

Sadly this is close to what the cheapest tickets were going for at Austin. Oh well...it was worth it!

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

I like the part about Bollman "exchanging grunts" or something with the Falcons coaches.

REPORTER: What did you all get from the Falcons? What did you all glean from them?
COACH TRESSEL: Their quarterback can move around and I think Joe and those guys studied a little bit of that, and Coach Bollman got together with their line coach and I'm sure grunted back and forth, whatever they talk about, but I'm sure I couldn't decipher that, but it's just an exchange of ideas. I hope he doesn't read the paper.

 

[daddyphatsacs]

First (on behalf of all those who work on the Previews), thanks for the kind words.

Second, while the position group edge is in favor of OSU, the comparison is on the same side of the ball. There really isn't a comparison on units that will face each other. Additionally, the edge might be very slight. I think the NIU preview had most all edges OSU's favor as well, but we all expect a much tougher game vs Iowa.

FWIW, I think Iowa took the kicking game edge as well (in addition to TE).

Lastly, I think the Bucks win bigger than most other folks are predicting. Not sure why exactly, but I think timing is right. If the weather is good, I think the offense gets off to a quick start and makes Iowa play a game they aren't eager to play. If that's the case, and we can get decent pressure rushing 4, Tate is going to have a long frustrating night. They have a host of injury issues as well, though I'd bet most of those "nicked up" see the field on Saturday. Something tells me that the injury report is getting more press than it really deserves.

I think that if our front 4 alone get's pressure on Tate we'll be in very good shape. As you read in the defensive side of the preview, I'm not sold on their athleticism in their back 7....but I do feel that their defensive line is solid. Don't expect them to blitz much, they will rely on that front 4 to apply pressure, and hope for the back 7 to play a soft style of coverage, making everything happen in front of them.

Iowa is banking on their offense in this contest. If Tate throws for over 250, this game will go down to the wire. If he struggles........then I see no reason why we won't beat them by 20. My instinct tells me that scenario is unlikely.

 

[Oh8ch]

It is as I suspected. There were a number of errors in the transcript of JTs presser. The questions were correct, but JTs responses were not. I only had time to correct the first few, but here they are:

REPORTER: It's not my "A" question, but I think it will get the ball rolling here. I guess they're going with a gold-out much like Penn State did, much like you did last week. How much momentum do they have going into the game? My friend Anthony says they haven't started 5-0 in quite a while.
COACH TRESSEL: The only way Iowa will ever start 5-0 is if they schedule us week 6 or later. And I always thought they wore piss-yellow like the scUMers, not gold.

REPORTER: Jim, looking back to the Penn State game, on Malcolm's touchdown when he spiked the ball right by the goal line or before the goal line, was that -- is that something you talk to the team about at all? Does that upset you when you see anything like that?
COACH TRESSEL: We have a pretty simple rule on that. If they don't hand the foot-ball to an official, they hand one of theirs to me at the next practice. I now have one of Malcolm's in a jar in that fancy office you folks have all been looking at on the Internet.

REPORTER: What have you found to be the secret to killing time up to that 8:00 start on the road?
COACH TRESSEL: I try on a lot of different sweater vests until I am looking mighty fine.

REPORTER: Aside from the quality of opponents that you guys have played at night, is there anything else that makes it tougher to win on the road at night?
COACH TRESSEL: Haolgen lights.

REPORTER: Have they alleviated some of the problems there used to be with artificial turf, the injury factor?
COACH TRESSEL: No, and we hope they don't. Injuries are a good thing for the big programs like ours. We have enough scholarship players that we just run another one out there. Our opponents generally don't have that kind of depth, so it works in our favor.

REPORTER: Jim, can you go over again what happened on Saturday with the wristband issue that was lost on the sideline that Penn State found or whatever that was?
COACH TRESSEL: It was just one of those rubber bands like Neil Armstrong - the cyclist - made popular. This one said "WWJTD".

REPORTER: Have you had that happen before where you've found that from a team or anything, ever heard of guys not giving those wristbands back or anything?
COACH TRESSEL: When we played the Domers last year one of our kids picked up a band that came off of Quinn's arm. At first we thought they were plays, but it turned out just to be the number of a local gay bar.

REPORTER: What makes a good home field advantage?
COACH TRESSEL: Everybody does it differently. We like to have dogs sniff the other team on their way in.

REPORTER: Iowa had a streak of 25 or 23 in a row and they were pretty dominant at home. Is it just crowd noise, good crowd factor or what all goes into it?
COACH TRESSEL: Iowa does it pretty much like Minnesota - schedule a bunch of patsies and hope for the best. And of course, it is Iowa. What else are you going to do all week but get ready for a football game?

REPORTER: Can you talk about, a lot of the players after the game were still talking about the Iowa game from two years ago and how it still to this day, they refer back to that game as a turning point for them, almost like they're bottoming point at Ohio State. Can you talk about maybe some of the lessons you learned that day that you think still benefit this team almost two years removed from that game?
COACH TRESSEL: Main lesson we learned is that if you threaten to pull a kids schollie you can get his attention. That, and the thing with the jar.

 

[BB73]

It is as I suspected. There were a number of errors in the transcript of JTs presser. The questions were correct, but JTs responses were not. I only had time to correct the first few, but here they are:

Uh-oh - this looks like bulletin board material for the non-pink locker room. :tongue2:

Um, cyclist Neil Armstrong?

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

NewsHerald

It wasn't a golden moment for OSU

Jason Lloyd, Journal Register News Service

09/27/2006


http://www.news-herald.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1698&dept_id=21848&newsid=17249829

Buckeyes return to scene of 'terrible' 2004 loss, and they'll play on 'Gold Out' night against undefeated Iowa

COLUMBUS - In three punishing hours two years ago, Iowa made up for 20 years of bad football against Ohio State.

Before that 33-7 win over the Buckeyes in 2004, the worst loss of the Jim Tressel era, the Hawkeyes hadn't beaten Ohio State at home since 1983, going 0-6-1 at Kinnick Stadium. But none of that seemed to matter two years ago.

"We got killed," tailback Antonio Pittman said.

"That was the worst I've ever been beaten in anything. Ever," receiver Anthony Gonzalez said. "And that probably holds true for 95 percent of the people on our team. We lost in every phase of football. That was terrible."

The Buckeyes return to the scene of that bludgeoning this week a more polished and experienced team. They will also walk into an environment even more hostile than when they left.

Playing off the recent trend, Iowa school officials are calling for a "Gold Out" for Saturday night's game in Iowa City. Technically, this is considered the fifth night game in the history of Kinnick Stadium, but three of the four started at 5 p.m. This will be just the second prime-time game in the stadium's history.

"That atmosphere was difficult two years ago, to say the least," Gonzalez said. "And it will be even more difficult now. I would venture to guess this will be the most difficult atmosphere we'll play in ... ever. It's going to be a night game, it's going to be a huge game for both teams. The Big Ten is just now starting, and two of the upper-echelon teams are meeting at night on the road. I anticipate their crowd being louder than Penn State's last year."

Right guard T.J. Downing said last week that the crowd at Penn State rattled the Buckeyes early, throwing them off their game and never allowing them to get into a rhythm. Tressel doesn't want to hear any excuses like that this week.

"All those gold T-shirts in the crowd on Saturday night, that better not be an excuse because they're going to be there," Tressel said. "You know it now and it's Tuesday, so you better figure out a way to do your job."

Ohio State couldn't figure out much of anything that day two years ago, but if one positive came out of it, that was the game Troy Smith took over as the starter. His ascension has been a slow climb ever since.

"That was a wake-up call," Smith said. "That was a game where they let us know if you come into any school's stadium not focused, this could happen to you. Hopefully, it will open some guys' train of thought to being focused all the time."

Iowa has one of the most dominant home-field advantages in the country. The Hawkeyes have won 25 of their last 26 at home, with the only loss during that time coming last year against Michigan. But they have never beaten a No. 1 ranked team, going 0-9-1. Tressel said a good home-field advantage begins with good players.

"Then the energy that a good crowd can bring for those good players to play even better, now all of a sudden you win (22) games in a row," Tressel said. "But you can't have a great home-field advantage without great players."

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wednesday, September 27, 2006[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hawkeyes filling in the holes[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So far, injured starters haven't held Iowa back[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]By Andy Hamilton[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Iowa City Press-Citizen[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

[/FONT][/FONT]The best blueprint for beating the nation's top-ranked team probably doesn't include the impediments the Iowa football team must overcome this week.
The Hawkeyes still are looking for the high-octane version of the offense they think they possess, and the shuffling of 300-pound blocks on the offensive line is temporarily sidetracking the search.
It's not idyllic, but it's what 13th-ranked Iowa (4-0) faces going into Saturday night's showdown with No. 1 Ohio State (4-0).
The Hawkeyes practiced Tuesday without left tackle Dace Richardson and center Rafael Eubanks. The two starting offensive linemen are a couple passengers in what coach Kirk Ferentz said is an Iowa "minivan full of guys that we'll wait and see how the week goes" before determining their availability for the Buckeyes.
"It's not perfect," Ferentz said. "It's not a perfect world, but we don't live in a perfect world. It's football. The good news is somebody will step up. We've already had a lot of guys this year step in and do a nice job. They'll get that opportunity again."
The Hawkeyes haven't ruled out anyone from an injury standpoint, aside from sophomore defensive end Alex Kanellis, who underwent an appendectomy Saturday. Reserve safety Devan Moylan is doubtful after sustaining a hamstring injury against Illinois.
Ferentz said he would know more today about the availability of Richardson and Eubanks. Typically, the Iowa coach prefers to have his injured players return to practice by Wednesday in order to play in that Saturday's game, and he often withholds those who haven't practiced by Thursday.
"Obviously, I think we'd like to have those guys healthy," back-up lineman Seth Olsen said. "They've been starters for the whole season, and for good reason. They're obviously the two best guys at their position and that's why they're playing there. We'd really like to have them back, (but) I don't know if I'd say (not having them is the) worst-case scenario."
The Hawkeyes have yet to enter a game this season with all starters available. They handled Montana without receiver Herb Grigsby and defensive end Kenny Iwebema. They survived at Syracuse without quarterback Drew Tate. They didn't have free safety Marcus Paschal against Iowa State and left guard Mike Jones served a one-game suspension against Illinois.
The absence of Jones created a short-term shuffle last week that turned into a harbinger of things to come for the Hawkeyes. Olsen took Jones' spot at left guard.
Then Eubanks suffered a knee sprain, forcing right guard Mike Elgin to slide to center, the position he played during his first two seasons, and creating another vacancy at guard. Olsen moved to right guard and Iowa inserted freshman Travis Meade at left guard.
Then Richardson banged up a knee in the second quarter. He played through the problem until the Hawkeyes had the game in hand in the second half and then Iowa flipped right tackle Marshal Yanda to Richardson's spot and brought in sophomore Wes Aeschliman to play Yanda's position.
"Things went OK out there," Yanda said. "We're good with the next man in stepping up and knowing their role and being prepared to step in and play. I think we all did a good job out there and felt pretty comfortable out there."
Nobody in the Hawkeye huddle seemed to notice a significant difference. In fact, Tate took a snap from Elgin in the second quarter and fired a touchdown pass to tight end Tony Moeaki and the senior quarterback started searching for Eubanks to celebrate the score.
"I didn't even know Mike was the center when I took the snap underneath him," Tate said. "I didn't even know until we got down there, and I was looking for Raf because he's usually down there celebrating, and Mike said he had snapped the ball to me."
The touchdown pass to Moeaki capped a five-minute segment when Iowa's offense scored all three of its touchdowns in a 24-7 victory and gave a brief glimpse of the group the Hawkeyes have been hoping to display on a consistent basis.
But that was against Illinois. The blueprint for beating Ohio State doesn't allow for inconsistency.
"We've got to be in sync if we're going to have a chance," Ferentz said. "We've hardly been there. We've been so sporadic the last four weeks."

Reach Andy Hamilton at 339-7368 or [email protected].​

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wednesday, September 27, 2006[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Spotlight will be shining brightly on Tate, Smith[/FONT]

Hawkeye fans probably don't feel that Drew Tate is underappreciated, because around here, he is to the Iowa football team what George Steinbrenner's money is to the New York Yankees.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz doesn't think Tate is underappreciated or overlooked because he sees up-close the effect Tate has on the team, not just in games, but on a daily basis.
Beyond here, though, Tate's sparkle has faded since he burst on the scene two years ago as a fiery quarterback from Texas.
His image has suffered from Iowa losing five games last season and by the number of proven players at his position in the Big Ten.
"Last year we just had so many good quarterbacks," Ferentz said Tuesday. "There are too many quarterbacks to go around for the recognition that there is in the conference."
Consider that after making first-team all-Big Ten as a sophomore in 2004, and being the media's preseason choice for Big Ten offensive Player of the Year in 2005, Tate didn't even make honorable mention all-conference last season. He was ignored by the media and the Big Ten coaches in 2005 despite having more passing yards than the previous season.
The media also voted Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith as its preseason Player of the Year on offense for this season. Another quarterback supposedly finished second in the voting, but it was Michigan State senior Drew Stanton, not Tate.
Why bring this up now, you ask?
Because even though Tate won't admit it, and neither would Ferentz, Saturday's showdown between top-ranked Ohio State and No. 13 Iowa will also be a showdown of quarterbacks.
Smith is currently standing on the same pedestal Tate stood on two years ago as the Big Ten's most celebrated quarterback.
It just shows how things can change in a hurry, and because of a few losses.
"I think part of it was our struggles in 2005," Ferentz said of Tate's lack of recognition.
Smith's rise is similar to that of former Iowa quarterback Brad Banks, though Banks only started for Iowa as a senior in 2002.
They both benefited from their team's success. Iowa finished undefeated in the Big Ten in 2002, and Ohio State is 17-2 with Smith starting.
"Brad Banks went from being an unknown in August to the runner-up for the Heisman and there's no doubt that us going 8-0 in the league had a lot to do with that," Ferentz said. "And, obviously, he had a lot to do with us going 8-0.
"That's just how it works."
What's ironic is that Smith didn't even start for Ohio State when it last played at Kinnick Stadium in 2004.
Tate, on the other hand, completed 26-of-39 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns during Iowa's 33-7 pasting of the Buckeyes two years ago.
The 2004 season ended with Tate throwing arguably the most famous touchdown pass in school history to Warren Holloway on the final play of the 2005 Capital One Bowl.
Tate was on top of the college football world two years ago. He was the big man on campus and beyond.
He was the next great quarterback at Iowa, the next Doug Flutie, only taller.
But now Tate is just another Big Ten veteran quarterback trying to finish his career on a high note.
He despises the attention given to quarterbacks, and he couldn't care less that Smith, and not himself, is considered an early leader for the Heisman Trophy.
"If we win, and we just do what we've got to do, all that stuff will take care of itself," Tate said.
That's partly why Saturday's evening extravaganza at Kinnick Stadium is a duel between quarterbacks: Iowa probably can't win without Tate playing well, whereas Ohio State is virtually unstoppable when Smith plays well.
You hate to put that much pressure on two people, but it goes with the territory.
"It's still more of a team thing, but he's got to be able to pull the trigger when we need him to and get it done," Ferentz said of Tate. "I don't think it's so much him versus Smith, but it's just him playing his best game. That's what we're hoping for."
Tate said he admires what Smith brings to the Buckeyes as a dual-threat quarterback. In fact, he paid Smith the ultimate compliment by comparing him to former Texas quarterback Vince Young.
"What I know about him is he's an unbelievable athlete, and he really is a team leader," Tate said of Smith, who made a recruiting visit to Iowa in 2002. "Without him, Ohio State's not the same.
"I look at him and I kind of think of Vince Young because Vince Young, by far, contributed more to his team last year than any other person did for their team."
Iowa isn't the same team without Tate, either.
Tate has a 20-7 record as Iowa's starting quarterback. He also has the confidence and respect of his teammates.
"I think you're going to see a guy come out there that's really ready to win a football game," Iowa senior free safety Marcus Paschal said of Tate. "He's going to be focused throughout this week.
"And this is going to give him his chance to show the things that he can do as a football player and let the whole country see that."
Paschal brings up a good point; it's hard to be overlooked on national television, especially when you play quarterback. But it's even harder when your team wins.

Reach Pat Harty at 339-7368 or [email protected].​

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

MarionStar

Night woes still dog Buckeyes

By JON SPENCER
For The Marion Star



COLUMBUS - The Ohio State Buckeyes thought they sufficiently answered all questions about their ability to win on the road at night three weeks ago in Texas. Apparently not.
Saturday's Big Ten road opener at No. 13 Iowa has college football's top-ranked team being asked to explain the unexplainable - losses in its last three conference road openers, all at night.

Should that be a legitimate concern this week or is it nothing more than a weird coincidence?

"People bring up that stat all the time," cornerback Antonio Smith said Tuesday, "but I feel we're ready to play anytime. The biggest challenge is waiting (all day to play). When the whistle blows, we're ready to play."

Then what's the problem? OSU was the higher-ranked team each time when it opened on the road with losses to No. 23 Wisconsin (17-10) in 2003, Northwestern (33-27 in double OT) in 2004 and No. 16 Penn State (17-10) last season.

"Winning on the road is tough," coach Jim Tressel said. "Is it amplified at night? I don't think. I think there's even a little more energy when you're playing at night ... just something about those lights. (The players) all grew up playing at night."

The Buckeyes had lost four straight regular season games at night before their 24-7 win over defending national champion Texas on Sept. 9. They handled the prime-time heat and hoopla in Austin with equal aplomb.

Now they're being asked to do it all over again. ESPN's College Gameday, which seems to have become part of the weekly OSU traveling party, will be in Iowa City for what is viewed as the biggest game in Kinnick Stadium since the Hawkeyes lost 24-7 to No. 1 Miami in 1992.

That happened to be the only other time Iowa has hosted a prime-time affair.

"We've been here before (by winning at Texas), but this is a Big Ten game and coach Tressel has told us the last couple of weeks that Big Ten games are completely different," said wide receiver Brian Robiskie, whose 37-yard touchdown catch on a broken play was one of the few offensive highlights in Saturday's 28-6 win over Penn State.

"We have to go out there with even more focus than at Texas and come out faster than we have the last couple of weeks."

As well as Ohio State's young defense is playing, the Buckeyes cannot afford a third straight sluggish start against the Hawkeyes. Iowa has won 25 of its last 26 home games and is gunning for its first 5-0 start since 1995.

Last week marked the first time Ohio State was shut out in the first half since the 2002 Outback Bowl. The week before, the Buckeyes had only 13 points at the break before pulling away for a 37-7 win over Cincinnati.

Tressel is certain of one thing: His offense should be well-rested by Saturday's kickoff after sitting around all day.

"The only downside to night games is you have to wait," he said. "The rest of it is good. Shoot, it's fun. You love knowing the whole country's watching you and everyone's back in from their games that they went to in the afternoon. They've settle in and they're going to watch the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes. That's good stuff ... but it's the wait."

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

Buckeyes are 0-for-last-3 in Big Ten road openers
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER [/FONT]


Ohio State at Iowa
8 p.m. Saturday
Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City
TV ABC


COLUMBUS In the eyes of Texas, Ohio State is a national champion contender. When it comes to the Hawkeyes of Iowa, well, as Lee Corso would say, wait a minute, sweetheart.
When the 2006 schedule became official, fans pointed to the second game, a night game against defending national champion Texas. But really, without Vince Young, was that a fair fight?
Ohio State?s No. 1 ranking is on the line when the Buckeyes travel to Iowa City and play No. 13 Iowa in what is sure to be an electric atmosphere. If Ohio State fans aren?t nervous about this game yet, they might want to consider one tiny fact.
The Buckeyes have lost their last three Big Ten road openers. All three were at night. Saturday?s kickoff is 8 p.m.
Kinnick Stadium is sure to rock every bit as much as Wisconsin (2003), Northwestern (2004) and Penn State (2005) rocked during losses for OSU.
?Winning on the road is tough. Is it amplified at night? I don?t think,? Buckeye Head Coach Jim Tressel said. ?There?s a little more energy when you?re playing at night. It?s just something about those lights. They all grew up playing at night.?
Since Tressel has been head coach, Ohio State has played 12 night games. His teams have won eight.
?I?ve never heard our guys worry about that,? Tressel said. ?It just so happens if you listed those 12 teams we?ve played at night, they?ve been pretty good.?
Tressel ticked off a list that included Miami, Texas twice, Wisconsin and Penn State.
?We didn?t play Baldwin-Wallace or any of those,? Tressel said, joking about his alma mater. ?The quality of our opponent is just like those other 12, so we know it?s a great challenge.?
Tressel would rather not play at night. Players are thrown off their routine. Coaches have to fill an entire morning and afternoon with meetings just to take up time.
?I?d just as soon wake up and go play rather than being nervous for so long,? Tressel said.
Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz said there has been a buzz around campus since ABC announced this would be a primetime game televised nationally. This is just the second night game in Iowa history. The Hawkeyes lost, 24-7, to No. 1 Miami in 1992.
It probably doesn?t tip the meter to the 1985 game in Iowa, when the No. 1 Hawkeyes beat No. 2 Michigan.
But this is big.
?Ohio State?s No. 1, but we?re somewhere in the teens,? Ferentz said. ?It?s not quite as marquee a matchup as Texas-Ohio State was a couple weeks ago. All that being said, it?s going to be a great environment, a great atmosphere. Any time you have the top-ranked team in the country on your field, it?s going to be exceptional.?
It was fairly obvious the role Ferentz is casting his team. He referred to Ohio State as being No. 1 in the country or top-ranked a half dozen times during a 10-minute conference call.
ESPN College GameDay will set up in Iowa City. Ferentz poked fun at his team again.
?I told the players ... maybe we can get some autographed pictures of Chris (Fowler), Kirk (Herbstreit) and Lee Corso to show the guys,? Ferentz said
The Hawkeyes have struggled at times this year. Without senior quarterback Drew Tate, they beat Syracuse on the road in double overtime. At unranked Illinois last week, it was 0-0 until six minutes before half. Iowa won, 24-7, but averaged just 3.7 yards a carry.
And Ohio State handled Iowa in Columbus, 31-6, last year.
?We?re probably a better team than we were a year ago,? Ferentz said. ?But we?re hardly a great football team.?
Tressel isn?t buying the struggling Iowa story. A win would give the Hawkeyes their first 5-0 start in 11 years.
?Being 4-0, beating their in-state rivals (Iowa State) and winning a tough overtime game at Syracuse without their quarterback is a big one, and starting out 1-0 in the Big Ten when you started out on the road,? Tressel said. ?I?d say their momentum is as good as it could possibly be.? Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: [email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

No blowout in sight this time

After trading drubbings, Ohio State-Iowa should be more competitive

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbus -- Iowa quarterback Drew Tate and right guard Mike Elgin used the same phrase to describe Ohio State's 31-6 domination of the Hawkeyes at Ohio Stadium last season.
"Men against boys."
Well, the boys have grown up a bit
One year after Ohio State pushed around young Iowa lines on both sides of the ball, and two years after Iowa embarrassed the Buckeyes, 33-7, in the low point of the Jim Tressel era, both teams are undefeated and aware of the past for Saturday's primetime matchup at Kinnick Stadium.
"I was just happy Coach Tressel took it easy on us last year," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday. "They probably could have scored 60 the way that game went. The year before, we caught them when they were going through a little bit of a transition in a couple spots and they were young."
So goes the ups and downs of college football. In 2002, when both teams were on top, they didn't meet while each went through the Big Ten season undefeated at 8-0. In 2003, all three touchdowns in the game were scored on special teams in Ohio State's 19-10 win
This is a chance for both offenses and both defenses to test each other.
"There are years you might catch a team when they have a few new guys up front. So this is going to be the rubber match," Ohio State junior right tackle Kirk Barton said. "Both lines are seasoned, both lines are very good.
"We're excited to get up to Kinnick because we've got some bad memories."
The debate this week is over whose memories are worse. Tressel jumped on the disaster of 2004 in the locker room after Saturday's win over Penn State.
"Who was there in 2004 for the Iowa game? Raise your hand," he told the players, according to senior defensive end Jay Richardson.
"That was probably the worst loss we've taken in a long time," Richardson said. "That's something you never forget."
Last year, Ohio State posted photos of the scoreboard from 2004 throughout the locker room the week of the game. Elgin wasn't sure Iowa would do the same this week.
"I don't know if we have enough digits to do that," Elgin said. "But it sticks in your mind. There's no way to totally block it out. It put a chip on our shoulder. They dominated us."
The Buckeyes last year pushed around a defensive line of Bryan Mattison, Mitch King, Matt Kroul and Kenny Iwebema, all of whom were first-year starters. All four are back this year. King, named a freshman All-American by several publications last season, has 5? sacks in four games. Iwebema has three sacks.
"That front four was new, now they are truly veterans and very physical," Tressel said.
On the offensive line, the Hawkeyes returned three starters, but Ferentz, while praising tailback Albert Young, placed the troubles of Iowa's running game at the feet of the line.
"It's not great at all," Ferentz said. "We're hitting a couple runs, but not at the rate you'd like to. It's a matter of the whole process clicking, and we're not there yet. We're not even close."
Ferentz went out of his way in describing the game from a year ago, calling it not men against boys, but the varsity against the junior varsity. And he's trying to make it sound as if the Hawkeyes have the same slim chance at victory Saturday.
"All I know is we're probably a better football team than we were a year ago at this time, but we're hardly a great football team," Ferentz said. "During the summer, I was a little skeptical when everyone picked Ohio State at the top of the heap, but after four games, you can see why."
He said watching game film of the Buckeyes from this season puts him in a bad mood. But it's not like watching last year. Or Ohio State watching from two years ago. Saturday should be something in between.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-4479