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

[DCBuckFan]

Grad can answer much better, but you guys are talking about the Zone Read that Texas runs...

here is a link about the Belly Option - http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/8427/belly.html
More of the release of the QB if I remember highshool correct.

 

[Bleed S & G]

I could be wrong but I think that is in the spread formation the option where the QB puts the ball in the RB's belly and then makes the read on the D end. If the end goes with the RB, then the QB keeps the ball. If not then he hands it off. I think there is a pass option also.

It is a modified version of what Texas did last year. It is what West Virginia does now.

Not positive, but a speed option is the snap to troy and he's gone.. he's already moving left or right in the option with his head up field, we've seen alot of those in shotgun where troy pitches the ball when he gets to the end of the line.. if there is no contain or the d-lineman commits to pittman, troy keeps moving up field (so far they've defended this well, can't wait till they lose contain).

Im pretty sure a belly option is where the option bows out and rounds out a little bit (as opposed to the speed option being a dart to the corner of the line).

The play with the qb putting the ball in the rb's stomach and reading i think is called a zone read.. maybe a a qb choice (thats whats its called in NCAA 07 where i'm the best coach that ever lived lol)

 

[gregorylee]

he was in ANN ARBOR, for Pete's sake! what friggin color do you want him to wear? sheesh... i DISTINCTLY remember him referring to tOSU as 'WE' during the 2005 Teas game... the people who complain about petty shit like what color a fucking broadcaster wears in the booth either have WAY too much time on their hands, or a serious inferiority complex... how fans of OHIO STATE could end up with such a complex is beyond me, but i see it every day with this incessant harping on anything that could possibly be construed as an insult. was Coop really THAT bad? has he permanently warped the psyche of the Buckeyes' fans? because that's only thing that i can think it could be. are we REALLY the little kid who goes running to mommy every time he thinks he gets teased? because i seem to think that WE are the bullies of the college football neighborhood... are we really THAT insecure that we must always seek something to bitch about in this obsessive search for any perceived slight? come on people! life's way too short to worry about what fucking color tie Brent Musburger wears! all i can say is THANK GOD Jim Tressel doesn't have this same mentality, because he'd be John L Smith, and we'd be Sparty...

Here's a pill, please take it. If I was doing a game, any game, I make sure not to wear either teams colors. Personally I have no feeling whatsoever about the Mussbergenmeisterman. I just didn't think it was professional to wear that tie, I didn't really care about the suit.

 

[jwinslow]

"It kind of had me worried going into the season, because we had all this talk about being a young defense and our offense was supposed to be all this and that, and we really couldn?t move the ball.

For some reason, I don't find this to be surprising.

Do you ever stop crying about how suspect "your" team is?

 

[martinss01]

To me, what's impressive about Troy is he's developed to the point where he can make every throw," Tressel said. "And that being the case, I'd like him to be in there making every type of throw."

yep, id be a little surprised if we run more than a handful of designed qb runs per game for the rest of the season. unless someone doesn't assign a spy or the qb runs are simply stupid effective against someone. troy's arm trumps his legs any day of the week. why have troy take a beating when you can dispers it between ginn, gonzo, the brian twins, hall, pitt, beanie, wells, nicol, etc...

Tressel may be more empathetic than most coaches because he was a quarterback himself, playing for his father, Lee, at Baldwin-Wallace.
Asked if he took a shot he still remembers, Tressel said: "One time, I woke up in the Health Center. That was a shot. Heidelberg had an 18-game winning streak. I got knocked out, and we stopped their streak. That shows you how valuable I was."

rofl! tress kills me lol. oh and this is likely where the baldwin wallace dig came from. his dis towards baldwin wallace was likely ment more of a self depricating statement than anything negative about the school. tressel isn't the type to say something like that. even when its true.

can we go ahead and give 21 the record for most successive posts involving nothing more than ctrl + v? just teasing, thanks for all the links man :).

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Friday, September 29, 2006[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hawks at near full strength[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

By Mike McWilliams​

[/FONT]

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

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

[/FONT][/FONT]Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said his football team should be at near full-strength with only one player definitely out for Saturday night?s showdown with top-ranked Ohio State.

?Injury-wise right now, things are looking better than they were certainly early in the week,? Ferentz said during the Johnson County I-Club breakfast this morning at the Sheraton Iowa City Hotel. ?I think at this point, (reserve safety) Devan Moylan is the only guy that will be out of the game for sure. He?s got a pretty significant hamstring injury and that?s very disappointing.?

Ferentz, who ruled out defensive end Alex Kanellis on Tuesday after the sophomore underwent an appendectomy last Saturday, said there?s an ?outside chance? Kanellis could see some action against the Buckeyes.

?I don?t bet but I wouldn?t bet against stuff like that. I?ll just put it that way,? Ferentz said. ?Again, that?s what it?s going to take for us to have a chance in this ball game.?

 

[martinss01]

If I was doing a game, any game, I make sure not to wear either teams colors. Personally I have no feeling whatsoever about the Mussbergenmeisterman. I just didn't think it was professional to wear that tie, I didn't really care about the suit.

your sorta locking down your choice of attire with a thought process such as that are you not? i mean look at the bucks alone. you loose the colors: red, gray, black, white. throw in a team with an opposite color scheme and you might end up with naked announcers. and well... ive seen these people on tv and i can assure you NOONE wants that :P.

 

[gregorylee]

Updated weather...

Saturday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 71. West wind between 6 and 13 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 43.

Warmer and not a terrible amount of wind, should be a relatively fast track.

edit, that is unless Ferrents pulls a Wies and gives the lawn care guys a week off.

 

[osugrad21]

I'm at risk of exposing my football retardedness here, but what's a speed option and/or a belly option? Is that where the RB runs in front of the QB to take the handoff, with the QB going one direction and the RB going the other?

Speed option has the back on either side of the QB...snap to QB and he attacks the end while the back runs pitch route.

Belly option can be run in one back or split back out of gun...You get a zone read look where a back passes in front of the QB, then an option look with either the split back or slot man (out of one back) as pitch...basically the triple option out of the gun.

 

[UpNorthBuckeye]

Rolling pocket??

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am hoping to see some QB rollouts, moving pockets, whatever you want to call it.
If the DL knows that Troy is going to go back and sit in the pocket it makes their job easier. Not a lot easier but easier. When Troy is moving around they have to think "contain" along with "pursue".

Also, when Troy rolls out and throws he is less likely to get his passes batted down at the line of scrimmage. That happens to him a LOT. As soon as he starts to roll, the linebackers have to react - if they don't, he will take off. If they do get suckered in, he can throw it.

Without the threat of a run, the defense's job gets easier.

Having said that, nothing I would like to see more this saturday than Ted Ginn stealing the Heisman momentum back. I'm praying for a PR or KR for a TD for TG.

Go Bucks - National TV!

 

[osugrad21]

ESPN

Hawkeyes can rely on Tate's experience, maturity


By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com
Archive


Senior quarterback Drew Tate took a brief look at video of Iowa's 33-7 rout of Ohio State two years ago and didn't see much resemblance between those Buckeyes and the Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0) who will arrive in Kinnick Stadium on Saturday night with the No. 1 ranking in the country.
Tate also didn't see much resemblance between the Hawkeyes' quarterback who completed 26 of 39 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns in that game and the guy who will start for No. 13 Iowa (4-0, 1-0) in the Hawkeyes' second night game ever in Iowa City.

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
Drew Tate's size scared top programs away from recruiting him. Now he scares them on the field.


"There are parallels," Tate said. "That [No.] 5 was 19 years old. This 5 is 21, 22. That's really all it is."
Two years of experience. Two years of maturity. Drew Tate, No. 5, who turns 22 a week from Sunday, believes he is that much better. That's good news for Iowa fans with dreams of upsetting the top-ranked team in the nation. It's also a tastier morsel of memory than the Iowa-Ohio State game of last year.
The image of that game that has resurfaced this week is of former Ohio State linebacker A. J. Hawk sacking Tate, who lifted himself off the ground and spiked the football in frustration. An official flagged him for delay of game. Tate didn't want the penalty, and surely he didn't want to delay the game. Tate wanted to get the 31-6 loss over as quickly as possible.
"We didn't have an identity. We weren't comfortable. It was men against boys," Tate said via cell phone Wednesday night. "They controlled both lines of scrimmage. They set the tempo. We were just like Ohio State the year before."
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said he didn't discipline Tate for the spike. The reason he didn't explains why Ferentz lured Tate, the Houston area 2002 Offensive Player of the Year from Baytown (Texas) Lee High School.
"If that was a selfish act, I would have had a real problem," Ferentz said. "It was frustration. It was a good teaching moment, one of those Kodak teaching moments."
Ferentz saw in Tate the competitiveness and the intelligence that have been a trademark of his best players. Tate is the stepson of Dick Olin, who also coached him at Lee High. Tate grew up going to football practice, serving as ball boy under the Friday Night Lights, and soaking up a lot of football. You don't have to listen to Tate for very long to hear how integral a role football has had in his life.
"That's all I've ever been around," Tate said. "I don't see myself sitting behind a desk in a cubicle, with a tie. I'm better with hands-on stuff. If I wasn't playing this, I'd probably be playing baseball. I was a catcher -- a center fielder and a catcher. My dad wouldn't let me pitch. He thought it would screw up my arm. Throwing curveballs isn't good for throwing spirals, he'd say."
There's one more reason that Ferentz could get him. Tate, as a senior, has topped out at 6 feet and 192 pounds. That's not the size of a quarterback that a Texas or an Oklahoma is going to come after. Ferentz defined his recruiting strategy thusly: "We're looking for diamonds in the rough."
Tate hardly qualified as that in performance, given that he left Lee High with four state career records, including yards (12,180) and touchdown passes (113). But as a college senior on the back end of a successful career, Tate understands that his size matters again. You may not be able to measure heart, but the NFL surely measures height and weight.
"It's my last year," Tate said. "If I'm fortunate enough to go to the next level, great. I'm not betting on it. That's why I'm trying to have fun. I don't know if I'm big enough [for the NFL]. I think my arm strength is fine. For that league, it might not be. I'd love to play there. I'm really going to try to. If not, I'm not going to be as disappointed as some guys."
There's a lot of maturity in that sentiment. But it's not the first time he has shown maturity on the athletic field this year. In June, Tate turned down a $25,000 prize for making a hole-in-one in a charity golf tournament in Iowa City because accepting it would have been an NCAA violation.
Tate talks as if he has done a lot of growing up in his four years in Iowa City. He has outgrown the scene in the downtown bars, which he describes as "all those drunk people sitting there asking questions. You try to be friendly."
He is squiring at least two women around Iowa City these days. His mother and his aunt moved near campus for the fall to see more of Tate's games. The clean crib and clean laundry are just fine with him. He would like to clean up against Ohio State as well, but that will be hard to do, even if the Hawkeyes have won 25 of their last 26 at Kinnick Stadium.
That's where Tate's leadership has come into play. He has not been 100 percent healthy this season. An abdominal muscle strain kept him out of the game at Syracuse, which Iowa survived 20-13 in double overtime. Tate watched from the sideline. His practice time remains curtailed enough that Ferentz revealed his concern this week.
"It has taken away from his preparation time," said Ferentz, a t-crosser and i-dotter from way back. "We've had to limit the amount of work he can get."
Tate, asked how he feels, responded with a loud, penetrating silence.
"Uh, it comes and it goes," Tate said. "I'm supposed to be real general on that."
Tate's numbers this season (687 yards, 62.3 completion percentage, seven touchdowns, two interceptions) are in line with how he performed in his first two seasons as a starter. He is 21-7 as a starter and fewer than 600 yards shy of moving into second place on the Iowa career passing list behind the sainted Chuck Long.
It will have been an outstanding career no matter what happens Saturday night. But if Tate extends Iowa's wins at Kinnick Stadium to 26 of the last 27, they'll begin casting statues of him on Monday morning.

 

[osugrad21]

USAToday

Gritty Iowa braces for Ohio State

By Scott Boehm, Getty Images

By Jack Carey, USA TODAY
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz acknowledges being a bit of a skeptic when he heard that Ohio State was being picked No. 1 nationally in preseason polls and prognostications.
Then he started watching films of the Buckeyes.
"I was kind of hoping when we looked at the film we might see some weaknesses with all the graduation (losses) and the great players that left," Ferentz says. "But after four games, you can see why (they're No. 1)."
Ferentz and his No. 13 Hawkeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will get an up-close-and-personal view of the Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0) Saturday night when OSU invades for one of the most anticipated matchups in Iowa City in years.
"Obviously, there's a real buzz around campus," Ferentz says. "Everybody here has to be at their absolute best to have a chance in this ballgame."
With Ohio State giving up only eight points and 282 total yards a game, points for the Hawkeyes figure to be at a premium.
Ferentz has voiced concern this week about an inconsistent offense. "We haven't gotten in sync in any way in our offense, the total package," he says. "The good news is, you've got a lot of room for improvement. The bad news again is, you're playing a team giving up eight points a game."
Any offensive struggles this week probably will make it paramount that the Hawkeyes' defense keep OSU quarterback Troy Smith, running back Antonio Pittman and receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez in check.
The Hawkeyes are surrendering 11 points and 265.5 yards a game, so the numbers, at least, are impressive. But Ohio State is a decided step up in competition from what Iowa has seen the first four weeks.
"You can tell they're very well-coached players, and they're doing things to be successful," says Hawkeyes defensive end Bryan Mattison. "They've got good athletes and players who could start everywhere in the country.
"Any time you're playing a big opponent like this, it's a huge challenge but also a huge opportunity. I don't think our defense is where we need to be quite yet, but the point is to try to get better every week."
The Hawkeyes defense got a significant confidence boost three weeks ago when it kept Syracuse from scoring on seven consecutive plays from the 2-yard-line or closer in the second overtime to secure a 20-13 victory.
A loss to the Orange, who were 19-point underdogs and had dropped 10 games in a row, might have knocked the Hawkeyes out of the polls and left them wondering.
Instead, the goal-line stand became their defining moment of the early part of the season.
"After the first couple of plays down there, we were pretty gassed," Mattison recalls. "We had to focus on every play. In the huddle we were saying, 'Just worry about this next play, not two or three plays ahead.'
"It was a real pick-me-up for us. Our backs were against the wall, but that gave us more confidence for the future, especially in the red zone.
"We know if a team is down on the goal line, it doesn't mean they're going to score. We can give everything we have on every play."
The Hawkeyes don't want a repeat Saturday of last year's matchup. The Buckeyes clubbed Iowa 31-6 in Columbus, Ohio, and outgained the Hawkeyes 530-137. Iowa converted one of 12 third downs and had minus-9 yards rushing.
"I was just happy coach (Jim) Tressel took it easy on us," Ferentz says. "They probably could have scored 60. Right now, we're probably a better football team than we were a year ago at this time, but we're hardly a great football team."
Tressel this week praised the Hawkeyes as "fundamentally sound" with "sure tacklers and effective blockers."
That tackling technique will likely be sincerely tested by Smith. The Buckeyes' quarterback is considered a Heisman Trophy candidate who can be as dangerous with his feet as he is with his arm.
"Smith is a winner," Mattison says. "He can throw it, and he can run it. They have good players everywhere, (but) we have to contain him.
"I think we have to attack and play aggressively. I think when we do that, good things happen."

 

[osugrad21]

Link

[SIZE=+2]Tackling top dog[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Iowa can't match up with No. 1 Ohio State, but if a half-dozen things go their way, Hawkeyes could win[/SIZE]
September 29, 2006

On paper, it's no contest. Just try to find a spot on the field where Iowa has a personnel advantage over Ohio State.

Quarterback Drew Tate? Nope. Even after struggling against Penn State, the Buckeyes' Troy Smith ranks 15th nationally in passing efficiency.



Tailback Albert Young? Don't think so. Young's a talent, but he's no better than Ohio State's Antonio Pittman, who's averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

Defensive lineman Mitch King? Sorry. Although King already has five sacks, the Buckeyes' Quinn Pitcock rates as the nation's No. 1 defensive tackle prospect by ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.

You have to go to special teams--kicker Kyle Schlicher--to give Iowa a nod.

"The reason Iowa has been able to rub elbows with Ohio State and Michigan for the last four years has not been physical ability," said ESPN/ABC analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who will be on the call Saturday night. "It's the way Kirk Ferentz runs his program. He brings in maybe a 215-pound outside linebacker and four years later he's a 270-pound defensive end who's all-conference."

Or, as Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel put it: "Iowa is so fundamentally sound. Kirk's players are extremely tough--they're sure tacklers and aggressive blockers."

That's high praise, but will it be enough to equate to a victory Saturday night against top-ranked Ohio State? Here's what Iowa needs to pull the upset:

1. Kinnick Krazies

Iowa has won 25 of its last 26 at Kinnick Stadium, which recently was refurbished for $90 million. The Hawkeyes will get their money's worth if the crowd is rambunctious enough to disrupt Ohio State's offense.

It has happened before. Last season a raucous crowd under the lights at Penn State's Beaver Stadium helped limit Smith to 139 passing yards in a 17-10 Nittany Lions victory. On the game's final significant play, Tamba Hali sacked Smith. It was so loud in Happy Valley, Smith couldn't hear Hali charging from his blind side. He fumbled while getting flipped.

"This will be the best college football atmosphere of the season," Herbstreit said. "The crowd will be boisterous every time Ohio State's offense steps on the field, not just on third downs."

Noise can be kryptonite for an offense, especially one that works out of a shotgun. Instead of listening for a snap count, offensive lineman might have to watch the ball.

"And the defensive linemen will have lightning bolts of emotion going through them," Herbstreit said. "They'll be flying to the ball, and all of a sudden it's a different team than the one you've seen on film all week. You're thinking: Where did this speed come from?"

2. Grind it out

Iowa needs more from its rushing attack, which is producing just 151.2 yards per game. Two reasons for the struggles: Defenses have been crowding the box and the Hawkeyes' offensive line has been hit with injuries and a one-game suspension to top lineman Mike Jones.

"We have a lot of room for improvement," Ferentz said.

3. Under pressure

If King and fellow defensive lineman Ken Iwebama (three sacks) can bring the heat, Iowa can drop seven to cover Ohio State star receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez and emerging talents Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie.

4. In good hands

Iowa's top receiver has been its tailback, Young, who has snagged 18 balls for 152 yards. But that's about to change. Dominique Douglas, a freshman from Detroit, made six catches for 88 yards against Iowa State and followed that with a fine performance at Illinois--five catches, all for first downs.

The Hawkeyes have been desperate for a receiver to step up after the graduations of Clinton Solomon and Ed Hinkel. They appear to have found one.

5. Play small ball

The experienced Schlicher, who is 43 of 53 (.811) on field goals, gives Iowa its only clear advantage. Ohio State redshirt freshman Aaron Pettrey is just 3 of 6 this season.

The Hawkeyes' defense must bear down near the goal line.

6. Calm and collected

Tate lost his cool last year during Ohio State's 31-6 drubbing. After getting sacked for the fifth time, he spiked his helmet into the turf, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Ferentz jokingly called that a "Kodak moment" and talked about the need for Tate occasionally to "rechannel" his energy.

No better time than Saturday night.

 

[buckeyeboy]

Without Smith, the Buckeyes would have no way to mobilize their receiving corps, leaving defenses one focal point, the slightly above average Antonio Pittman.

- by Alex Johnson

This guy clearly isn't bitter about the 170+ that Antonio lit up Iowa for last year, is he? . Or jealous b/c Antonio's averaging over 110 yards/game whereas Albert Young hasn't had more than 71 in any game yet this year?

 

[osugrad21]

Link

A tale of 2 quarterbacks: Ohio State at Iowa

By Steve Batterson | Friday, September 29, 2006 | John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES Iowa?s Drew Tate

Ohio State?s Troy Smith THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


IOWA CITY ? Drew Tate had reached the boiling point. Sacked for the fifth time near the end of a frustrating game and a frustrating performance a year ago at Ohio State, the Iowa quarterback picked himself up and slammed the ball into the Ohio Stadium turf.
He was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and received an earful of advice from his coach after he stalked off the field following the failed fourth down opportunity.

That ?Kodak moment,? as coach Kirk Ferentz puts it, provides the same snapshot of the competitive spirit that allowed Tate to deliver a game-winning, 56-yard touchdown pass in Iowa?s Capital One Bowl win over Louisiana State the previous season.

?The key for Drew has to been to channel that passion into his play, understanding how to harness it and make it work for him, and I think we?re seeing that take place now,? Ferentz said.

An illustration came last weekend at Illinois, when Shonn Greene missed a blitz that left Tate on the turf in Iowa?s win over the Illini. Tate got up, gave Greene a pat on the rump and moved on.

?That?s what good quarterbacks do. They accept responsibility and lead and know when positive reinforcement is a good idea and when a verbal lashing is necessary,? Ferentz said.

?I think Drew has a better handle on that now. I think he?s grown tremendously. I?ve never seen him so comfortable with his role.?

He?s not alone.

Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith has endured a few growing pains as well.

Two years ago as a sophomore, he complained publicly that he didn?t feel like he was getting a fair shot at the starting position. By the end of that year, he had been suspended by the NCAA for two games for accepting $500 from a booster.

He returned to the field for the Buckeyes? second game in 2005 and hasn?t missed a beat since.

?Troy?s really grown and matured into his position, and it?s neat to see the way he has grabbed ahold of this team and led,? OSU coach Jim Tressel said. ?He?s giving us everything you would ask from a senior quarterback and when he?s in the huddle, there is no question who is control.?

The same can be said of Tate, who will join Smith on the field at Iowa?s Kinnick Stadium on Saturday as two of the Big Ten?s best lead their teams in a nationally televised 7:10 p.m. game between the top-ranked Buckeyes and 13th-rated Hawkeyes.

Neither Tate nor Smith want the matchup characterized as a head-to-head battle between the two, and both measure their words carefully in an attempt not to paint that picture.

?It?s 11 guys out there, it always is,? Tate said. ?It?s not a big game for me. It?s a big game for Iowa, for everybody.?

Smith understands what he is getting into.

He saw his first significant action for Ohio State late in Iowa?s 33-7 win over the Buckeyes at Kinnick Stadium two years ago, completing 8-of-12 passes for 76 yards after a shoulder injury left Justin Zwick on the sidelines.

?One of the things we learned that day is that you can?t go to an opponent?s stadium not focused on the task at hand,? Smith said. ?That had a lot to do with the type of whooping we took that day and we haven?t forgotten that when we?ve been on the road since.?

Like Tate, Smith has attempted to learn through every situation he has faced.

His thoughts are mostly on football now. He earned a degree in communications from Ohio State last spring and is currently enrolled in graduate classes, allowing him ample time to prepare for games during his senior season.

Smith has completed 66 percent of his passes during the Buckeyes? 4-0 start and leads the Big Ten in pass efficiency, displaying noticeably more patience in the pocket than in previous seasons.

After averaging 12.4 rushes per game a year ago, Smith has carried the ball just 15 times combined in OSU?s through four games.

?He looks like a different quarterback,? Iowa defensive back Marcus Paschal said. ?He?s much more poised, and he?ll stay in the pocket all day if he has to make a play.?

Tate compares Smith to former Texas quarterback Vince Young.

?He contributes so much to that team, just like Vince Young did for Texas,? Tate said. ?He?s an invaluable leader who is an unbelievable athlete.?

The respect is mutual.

?What Drew does for that football team is unparalleled,? Smith said. ?He?s a real leader and you can tell the difference when he?s not on the field.?

Tate, who ranks second in the Big Ten with his passing average of 229 yards per game, insists that he is just trying to make the most of his senior season.

?I?m just trying to have fun and enjoy this year,? he said. ?Troy Smith, he?s going on to the next level. Me, I?m not sure if that?s out there or not, but I want to make the most of the games I do have left.

?I?m older and more mature about the situations I find myself in. I?m letting a lot of things go now that would have gotten to me a couple of years ago.?

Tate welcomes the national stage Iowa will play on this weekend, not for himself, but for his team.

?This is why you play college football,? he said. ?But it?s not about Drew Tate vs. Troy Smith. It?s about Iowa vs. Ohio State.?

Still, Tate realizes and Ferentz knows that Tate will have to be at his best if the Hawkeyes are going to have an opportunity to become the first Iowa football team ever to defeat a top-rated opponent.

?It?s more of a team thing, but he?s got to pull the trigger when we need him to, no question,? Ferentz said. ?I don?t think it?s so much him vs. Smith as it is him playing his best game. That?s what we?re hoping for from him and it?s what we will need.?

Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or [email protected].

Troy Smith

Height: 6-1 Weight: 215

Year: Senior Hometown: Cleveland

Passing statistics

Att Comp Int Yds TD

68 103 2 884 8

Rushing statistics

Att Yds Avg TD

15 4 0.3 0

Drew Tate

Height: 6-0 Weight: 192

Year: Senior Hometown: Baytown, Texas

Passing statistics

Att Comp Int Yds TD

58 93 2 687 7

Rushing statistics

Att Yds Avg TD

12 29 2.4 0