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Friday, September 29, 2006[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Iowa City Press-Citizen [/FONT]
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[/FONT][/FONT]The magnitude of tonight?s game inside Kinnick Stadium stretches from coast to coast and throughout 118 years of Iowa football.
The Hawkeyes have never beaten the nation?s top-ranked team. Their ninth chance arrives tonight with a game that has implications on the Big Ten race, the national championship chase and the Heisman Trophy balloting.
No. 1 Ohio State rolls into town with a firm grip on the No. 1 ranking, its Heisman candidate at quarterback and a collection of all-stars for a showdown being billed as perhaps Iowa?s biggest home game in 21 years.
For tonight, at least, Kinnick Stadium is the center of the college football universe and all eyes are on the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes.
?It?s a huge game for us, for the state, for everyone involved with this program, and for them too,? Iowa quarterback Drew Tate said. ?It?s a huge game for them because they?re No. 1 and they?re trying to stay No. 1.?
The second true night game in Kinnick history is scheduled for a 7:13 p.m. kickoff. ABC will broadcast the game to a national audience.
?Players only get one chance to play in a game like this,? Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.
The 13th-ranked Hawkeyes (4-0) are a seven-point underdog, but Iowa is playing inside a venue where it has won 25 of its last 26 games and hasn?t been beaten by more than a touchdown since 2000.
Here are 4 battles within the game that could determine the outcome:
TATE VERSUS SMITH
Well, it?s not necessarily Tate versus Smith. They won?t be on the field at the same time aside from warm-ups, captains meetings and perhaps a postgame handshake. But make no mistake, both teams follow the lead of their senior quarterback, and the guy who plays best gives his team a big advantage.
?It?s a team game and it?s going to take all of us, not just me,? Tate said. ?If I just play within myself and don?t turn the ball over and try not to make mistakes? We?ve got a good defense, we?ve got really good special teams and there?s guys around. It?s not just the quarterback in our program, and that?s not how our offense is built. They don?t want the quarterback to do everything.?
Tate did just about everything in 2004 when the Hawkeyes whipped the Buckeyes 33-7. He passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score and Iowa handed Ohio State its most lopsided defeat in series history.
?The things he does for that football team are unparalleled,? Smith said. ?When he?s not in there you can totally sense a difference in their offense, and when he is they?re clicking on all cylinders.?
Smith has given the Buckeyes a similar boost since becoming a starter the week after the 2004 loss in Iowa City. He?s 17-2 as a starter. He?s capable of burning a defense with his passing skills like he did Jan. 2 when he threw for 342 yards in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame. He?s equally dangerous with his feet like the Hawkeyes found out last year when Smith rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns in Ohio State?s 31-6 victory.
?He?s an unbelievable athlete and he really is a team leader,? Tate said. ?Without him, Ohio State?s not the same. I look at him and I kind of think of (former Texas quarterback) Vince Young. ? I think Troy Smith kind of fits into that because he?s the guy in there, he?s the leader and those guys look to him to make plays and he does.?
?The whole thing starts with your quarterback,? Ferentz said. ?I?m not really in sync with what the Heisman talk is right now ? but I?ve got to think Troy Smith is right there with anybody in the country. This guy is a fantastic football player on the best team in the country. He can beat you with his feet, he can beat you with his arm and he can also beat you with his head. He really makes good decisions back there.?
IOWA?S RECEIVERS VERSUS OHIO STATE?S SECONDARY
Ferentz thought the Hawkeyes were catching a break. Ohio State was replacing nine starters on defense, six of whom were selected in the first four rounds of April?s NFL draft, and perhaps nothing was more comforting than knowing the Buckeyes needed to find four new starters in the secondary.
?That?s where I thought we might get our relief,? Ferentz said. ?But we also know about these guys in recruiting and we?re not totally surprised with what we?re seeing.?
The Buckeyes haven?t drastically fallen off defensively. They?re giving up yards, but not points. Ohio State?s defensive statistics seem as if they don?t fit together. The Buckeyes are seventh in the country in scoring defense (8 points per game) despite ranking sixth in the Big Ten in total defense (282.2 yards per game).
?We expected a lot of things out of ourselves and we?re playing at a high level, but I still think we have a lot to improve on,? Ohio State cornerback Malcom Jenkins said. ?Until we?re No. 1 in every statistic there is, there?s a lot to improve on. I think we?ve got to do a better job of run defense. I know we?re doing a good job of keeping people out of the end zone, but every defense wants to leave zeros on the board every game.?
The Buckeyes have shown vulnerability in run defense. They gave up 171 yards to Northern Illinois? Garrett Wolfe. They allowed 172 yards rushing against Texas. They watched Penn State?s Tony Hunt run for 135 yards last week against Penn State.
But Iowa?s running game is still searching for traction. Defenses are regularly sending another safety to help with run support against the Hawkeyes, and Iowa?s inexperienced receivers haven?t yet earned enough respect to shift the balance enough to open the running game.
?That?s part of (the running game problems),? Ferentz said. ?But there are a lot of factors at play, and I can?t just pinpoint one. But if they don?t respect the throwing game at all, it makes it pretty challenging.?
Iowa has leaned on its running backs and tight ends to alleviate the burden on its wide receivers. Running back Albert Young leads the Hawkeyes and ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 18 receptions. Tight end Scott Chandler has 16 catches. Still, Iowa needs more production out of its wide receivers, who have as many touchdown catches this season (two) as Ohio State?s secondary had last week against Penn State.
?I?m going to respect whatever receiver is out there,? Jenkins said. ?I think they have a great quarterback and even though their receivers might be inexperienced he can still get them the ball. You don?t necessarily have to worry about how good the receivers are because their quarterback play is so good. I think they do have some young, inexperienced receivers, but they?re still talented.?
IOWA?S COVERAGE TEAMS VERSUS TED GINN JR.
Ginn might be college football?s most electrifying player and he says he feels close to making something big happen in the return game. His next punt return for a touchdown will push Tim Dwight aside and Ginn will have the Big Ten record of six to himself.
But Iowa would prefer Ginn to save those highlight-reel runbacks for Bowling Green or Indiana, and the Hawkeyes sure don?t want to see Dwight knocked down a notch at the expense of his former team.
Ginn says teams aren?t tactically kicking the ball his way this season.
?They?re kicking away from me sometimes or they keep it in the air for a long time or sometimes they?ll throw a line drive in there or try to angle it to a corner,? he said.
The strategies have worked. Ginn has returned 11 punts for an 8.7 yard average and he isn?t among the Big Ten leaders in kickoff returns.
The Hawkeyes say they?re not planning anything out of the ordinary to prevent Ginn from getting loose, but if he gets something good to return it won?t be on purpose.
Andy Fenstermaker has a lean 35.3-yard average on 19 punts this season, but the Iowa coaches are more concerned with his net average and opponents have only accumulated 10 return yards.
?If I outpunt the coverage it?s not really going to help the team out,? Fenstermaker said. ?Hanging it up there the best I can is really going to help the team out. The punt coverage guys really do a great job getting down the field, there?s great protection, so the only thing I really need to worry about is getting the ball up there and giving the coverage guys the best chance possible.?
The Hawkeyes have done admirable work on special teams under Ferentz, who considers the kicking game an area Iowa needs to win to offset other deficiencies. But beating Ohio State on special teams is a difficult task.
?Since Jim (Tressel) has been at Ohio State, they?ve always done a great job with special teams,? Ferentz said. ?They?re just extraordinary.?
The Hawkeyes haven?t allowed a punt return for a touchdown since 2003 when Ohio State?s Michael Jenkins returned one 54 yards for a score. The Buckeyes also blocked a punt for a touchdown in a 19-10 victory.
The statistics from last year?s game show Ginn returned two punts for zero yards. He made four fair catches and was credited with a 2-yard gain on return, but it?s a 2-yard gain the Hawkeyes haven?t forgotten.
Ginn ran through the Iowa coverage team like a red laser, going 53 yards for a touchdown before an illegal block in the back penalty negated the touchdown.
?I remember watching it from the sideline,? said sophomore Shonn Greene, a gunner on Iowa?s punt defense team this season. ?Fortunately it was a penalty, but he?s a good athlete and he makes things happen.?
Greene said the Hawkeyes can?t worry too much about Ginn?s explosiveness.
?You can?t really think like that,? he said. ?You?ve got a job to do and all 11 men have to go out and do it. You can?t really be thinking in the back of your head (about how dangerous Ginn is) because that?s when something will slip up, you?ll make a mistake and there he goes down the field.?
IOWA?S FRONT SEVEN VERSUS ANTONIO PITTMAN AND OHIO STATE?S OFFENSIVE LINE
Smith might be the Heisman front-runner. Ginn might be the most dangerous player in the country. Receiver Anthony Gonzalez might be the most underrated player in the Big Ten.
But stopping Antonio Pittman might be the biggest key to victory for the Hawkeyes tonight.
Iowa had no solution for stopping the Ohio State offense last year, but that was mainly because the Hawkeyes couldn?t slow down Pittman and the Buckeye ground game, which piled up 314 yards rushing.
?We just couldn?t get it done up front,? Ferentz said. ?It was pure and simple. That?s a tough feeling. When you can?t stop the run, that?s a bad feeling for everybody involved ? everybody on the field, everybody on the sidelines.
?When that takes place, it?s tough to win football games. That?s really been a foundation of our program, especially defensively. If people run the ball down your throat, it?s hard to find any joy out there, any pleasure when that happens.?
Ferentz said the Hawkeyes are better equipped to take on the run this year, but it remains to be seen if they?re prepared to take on Ohio State?s running game.
The Buckeyes can soften defenses by spreading them out and utilizing Smith?s threat as a runner. The presence of Ginn and Gonzalez prevents safeties from cheating against the run, and Pittman gives the Buckeyes a versatile back who?s speedy enough to break the big run, yet powerful enough to grind out tough yards inside.
Pittman ranks 11th in the nation in rushing, averaging 112.5 yards per game and 6.3 yards per carry.
?I think he?s probably deceptive,? Ohio State center Doug Datish said. ?He?s got a ton of power behind him, he runs really hard and he?s got a burst of speed people don?t expect. He gets the corner on people and he?s going to score every time.
?I think deception is more the point because we have so many big names and tools on this offense where teams, they probably don?t overlook him because he?s such a good player, but they?ve got to contend with so many different things that he goes in there and sticks on in there and does a good job for us.?
