Game Thread Game Four: #1 Ohio State 28, #24 Penn State 6 (9/23/06)

[osugrad21]

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Has PSU found a proper rival?

Sure, Ohio State has Michigan. But there's room for one more.
By Beth Hudson Of The Morning Call
Tony Hunt may not be from Pennsylvania or Ohio, but he said this game is in his blood.

Growing up in Alexandria, Va., the Penn State tailback used to watch Ohio State games on television. On Saturday, he and the 24th-ranked Nittany Lions will face the No. 1 Buckeyes in Columbus.

'I'm pretty excited about it ? one, because they are No. 1,'' Hunt said. ''I think playing against Ohio State is one of the most fun games. I was an Ohio State fan growing up. I think that makes me kind of not like them even more now.''

Which brings to mind a question: How big is this rivalry ? on both sides?

With Pitt out of the picture indefinitely, and Michigan State and the annual battle for the Land Grant Trophy still not captivating the masses, the Lions could use a traditional rival.

Sure, Ohio State already has its Armageddon-style season finale against Michigan. But perhaps, the Buckeyes could make room for one more.

''It's so natural from a rivalry standpoint,'' Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ''A lot of guys have played against each other in the Big 33 game, and we have some good Pennsylvania guys, they have some good Ohio guys. It's natural.

''We've had some great games, and they're always physical, they're always clean, they're always tough. They're what rivalries should be all about. There's no question, it's going to be an every-year thing forever.''

Penn State players from Ohio include Daryll Clark (Youngstown), Tony Davis (Warren), Donnie Johnson (Cincinnati) and Robert Price (Shaker Heights). Meanwhile, Ohio State offensive linemen Doug Ebner (Hershey), Kyle Mitchum (Erie) and Jon Skinner (Mount Carmel), tight ends Andy Miller (Washington) and Rory Nicol (Beaver) and wide receiver Devon Lyons (North Braddock) hail from Pennsylvania.

Of course, even with a shared border and a sense of familiarity, a rivalry doesn't mean much without some close, meaningful games.

In this case, the series couldn't be much closer: Penn State leads the all-time standings, 11-10, following last year's 17-10 victory at Beaver Stadium. The win ended up giving the Lions a share of the Big Ten championship with Ohio State, which clinched the other half by beating Michigan.

''The only moment I can really think of is when Tamba [Hali] sacked the quarterback [Troy Smith] at the end of the game,'' Penn State tackle Levi Brown said, ''and that kind of sealed the win for us.''

Even when the Lions were mired in a couple of their worst seasons, they managed to play well against the Buckeyes, losing 21-20 in 2003 and 21-10 in 2004. Ohio State won 13-7 in 2002, while Penn State won 29-27 in 2001.

Though the drubbings have been less common (Penn State won 63-14 in 1994, and Ohio State won 38-7 in 1996), the home team has held a distinct advantage, winning 11 of the 13 contests since the Lions joined the Big Ten in 1993. Penn State hasn't won in Columbus since a 19-0 victory in 1978.

''It is one of the noisiest places in the country to play in,'' Penn State coach Joe Paterno said of Ohio Stadium. ''Much worse than a couple of other stadiums, which have a reputation of being noisy. When you go into that stadium in Columbus, they are loud. Their fans do a great job for their team, and we just have to live with that.''

Sounds familiar, said Ohio State senior guard T.J. Downing.

''The environment at Penn State was hostile,'' he said. ''I couldn't even hear [former center] Nick Mangold, and I was two feet from him. The only thing I can do is issue a statement to our fans to do the same, because that would help us out a lot.''

With each passing year, this sounds more and more like a big game, an emotionally charged contest between a couple of � rivals?

''The game with Penn State was a punch in the mouth last year, but you can't dwell on last year,'' Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis said. ''It's an Ohio State-Penn State game. We expect the very best.''

 

[osugrad21]

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Know what Penn State needs against Ohio State on Saturday?




It needs a playmaker.

It needs that one dazzling combination of speed and smarts. It needs the player who exudes self-confidence. It needs the player whose mere presence turns a good one into a great one. It needs someone the guys across the field will fear.

It needs Derrick Williams.

The obvious paradox is that, technically, the Nittany Lions do have Derrick Williams. They had him against Akron and Youngstown State. They had him against Notre Dame, too.

They just aren?t playing like they have that playmaker, the combination of speed and smarts, the defensive coordinators? grim reaper. For whatever reason, Penn State doesn?t have the Derrick Williams of 2005, the guy who was all of the above ? and then some.

Nobody knows all this better than Penn State?s coaches, although head honcho Joe Paterno wouldn?t admit as much after the 37-3 win over Youngstown State last Saturday. They lined up last year?s freshman sensation at wide receiver, at tailback, under center and in the slot. He carried the ball a career-high nine times, gained 56 yards and scored a touchdown. He caught a pass for 18 yards.

He looked every bit like a player Penn State was trying to get back into the flow of the offense, or maybe back into a lost state of mind.

?We just want to try to give Derrick a chance to do some of the things he does best,? Paterno said. ?Obviously, things won?t come as easy for him as they did last year when a lot of people didn?t realize how good he was.?

He showed everyone, fast. Seemed like every play he made was a big one. The game-winning, 36-yard touchdown pass in the final minute against Northwestern. His two touchdown runs that put Minnesota away early. The 13-yard run through a blood-thirsty defense to give Penn State its first lead against Ohio State.

This year has been different. Maybe it?s the game plan: He has touched the ball just 22 times. Maybe it?s the defenses focused on stopping him: He hasn?t made a play longer than 20 yards. He has lost his trick-play calls and kick-returning duties to A.J. Wallace. He has less total yards than Jordan Norwood has receiving yards. Telling, because Norwood didn?t have a single catch against Youngstown State.

Quarterback Anthony Morelli said he notices defenses focusing heavily on Williams. Williams says he only gets double-teamed ?sometimes.? So there isn?t a whole lot that is obvious about why Williams hasn?t made plays at the same rate this year that he did a year ago.

What is for sure is that Williams played the Notre Dame game like he had a concussion.

He let an immaculately thrown ball from Morelli whisk through his hands on a streak route down the left sideline in the second half. On another play, he broke out of his in route in the end zone noticeably late. Morelli fired an otherwise well-thrown spiral that wound up finding the turf before Williams could complete his turn.

Dropped passes? Breaking late out of routes?

Hardly sounds like Derrick Williams, and maybe that?s the point. Usually, when players this dynamic go through slumps like this, it?s not a physical problem causing it. It?s a mental one.

It?s the pressure of being the playmaker.

And when your team?s fate depends on your ability, it?s quite a burden.

?In earlier games, I definitely was,? Williams said, asked if he felt he could be putting too much pressure on himself. ?I was going out there trying to make a play every time I touched the ball. I really can?t do that. I just need to go out there and be myself, and the plays will come.?

No matter what, Penn State?s odds against the Buckeyes are slim. These are, after all, the same Nittany Lions who haven?t won a game against a ranked opponent on the road in nearly four years, the same Nittany Lions who have played six times at Ohio Stadium since joining the Big Ten and lost all six times and been outscored 169-39.

Common sense says it?s hard to predict anything will change this time.

Unless Derrick Williams does first.

 

[osugrad21]

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Q: Can Penn State beat a ranked team on the road? A: If nothing else, the Nittany Lions certainly are due


Q: Can Penn State beat a ranked team on the road?

A: If nothing else, the Nittany Lions certainly are due. Their last win against a higher-ranked team on the road came on Oct. 5, 2002, when they beat No. 19 Wisconsin, 34-31. And after their demoralizing 41-17 loss to then-No. 4 Notre Dame on Sept. 9, both oddsmakers (Penn State is a 16?-point underdog) and conventional wisdom aren?t giving the Nittany Lions much of a chance against No. 1 Ohio State at the vaunted Horseshoe.

For Penn State coach Joe Paterno, there is no magic potion. He said turning the ball over less than they did against the Irish, against whom they fumbled twice and were intercepted once, is a must. Avoiding mental mistakes, getting off to a good start and not being intimidated by the task at hand is another.

There?s also the fact that Ohio Stadium poses arguably the most decided home-field advantage in the Big Ten. To simulate the crowd noise Penn State expects from the Ohio State faithful, captain Levi Brown said coaches brought loudspeakers to blast the sound of noisy fans into players? ears during practice.

?We know what we?ve got to do better, and we what we?ve got to do to win on the road,? Paterno said. ?Whether we are good enough to handle a team of the caliber of Ohio State ...?

That remains to be seen.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Helmet controversy surprises Smith
BY DONNIE COLLINS
STAFF WRITER

09/21/2006



http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=2185&dept_id=416049&newsid=17227566

Apparently, the helmet-tapping signal that caused all the controversy between USC and ABC play-by-play voice Brent Musburger is news to the quarterback who supposedly used it first.




Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith denied that he taps the top of his helmet to alert wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. of one-on-one coverage, an interesting development in the Signalgate saga that raised the ire of one of the nation?s best football programs toward one of the game?s most respected announcers.

USC filed a formal complaint with ESPN about Musburger, saying his on-air revelation of Trojans quarterback John David Booty?s ?hang loose? signal to let receivers know he has spotted a specific type of pass coverage was ?unconscionable.? During an interview with Booty the day before USC hosted Nebraska last Saturday, ABC announcers and producers discussed a video replay that showed Smith tapping his helmet, reportedly to let Ginn in on the coverage.

Asked if he had a similar signal for his receivers, Booty told Musburger about his ?hang loose? signal ? where he extends his pinky finger and thumb like a surfer. Musburger noticed Booty using the signal during the next day?s broadcast and divulged the story.

?What do you mean a tap on the head?? Smith asked Wednesday, insisting he hadn?t even heard of the USC-Musburger tiff. ?We don?t do a tap on the head. I don?t know what Brent Musburger is talking about.?

Could be that Smith is upset his signal was leaked. But he denied using any signals at all to let Ginn or any of his other receivers know about coverages.

?We don?t use signals as far as route recognition goes,? Smith said. ?Our receivers know what routes we have to run. We?re on the same page.?

 

[osugrad21]

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Nittany Lions have eyes on Smith

By Jeff Rice

[email protected]

The last time Penn State saw "that guy," he was tumbling head over heels after a savage hit from Tamba Hali, the football and Ohio State's final comeback chance bouncing away on the slippery Beaver Stadium turf.
Scott Paxson pounced on the ball and the Nittany Lions held on for a classic 17-10 win, but the Buckeyes were a different offensive team from that moment forward.
"That guy" -- Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley's nickname for Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith -- promises to give the Nittany Lions all they can handle this Saturday in Columbus.
"Since the last time we played him," said Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny, "I think he's improved tremendously."
With a thunderous crowd rattling the foundations of Beaver Stadium, a shaky Smith completed just 13 of his 25 passes that night and was sacked five times. His second-quarter interception to Calvin Lowry set up what would prove to be Penn State's game-winning touchdown.
In the 10 games since -- all Buckeye wins -- Smith has completed 68 percent of his passes for just under 250 yards per game. He has thrown 20 touchdown passes and been intercepted just twice in 237 attempts.
With wideouts Ted Ginn, Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez to throw to, hard-nosed tailback Antonio Pittman to hand the ball to and a deep, experienced offensive line to protect him, Smith has had plenty of help. But even he acknowledges his elevated level of play over the past year, though he didn't name the Penn State game as the turning point.
"There was no one game that it started," said the fifth-year senior from Cleveland. "It's just been a continuous, gradual process leading up to me being the best player I can be."
How is the new Troy Smith different from the old Troy Smith?
"New jerseys," he cracked Wednesday.
There's a little more to it than that.
After 12 fumbles in 2005 -- seven in the first five games -- Smith hasn't fumbled once this season, possibly because he isn't carrying the ball as much. He rushed for 950 yards on 218 attempts during the previous two seasons, but he has only 12 attempts (for minus-14 net yards, including sacks) in three games of this season.
The Nittany Lions will nonetheless prepare for Smith's feet. Fans and media who wanted to know why Penn State didn't try to put more pressure on Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn wondered this week if the Lions will try to turn up the heat on Smith.
"Yeah, sure -- try to catch him," said Penn State head coach Paterno, who avoided direct comparisons of Smith and former Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson but did say the Buckeye possessed similar leadership ability.
Conversely, Smith expects a tough challenge from the Penn State defense.
"It's the same thing as last year," he said. "They have great players who love to compete. They have speed, toughness, their technique is sound. The difference is there are different players."
"That guy" has grown up. Smith turned 22 in July. He's a long way removed from the player who two years ago took money from a booster and was suspended from the Alamo Bowl and a long way removed from the quarterback Penn State saw last year.
"It's gonna be a huge challenge for us," Posluszny said, "and it's gonna be fun playing against him."

 

[osugrad21]

Link

PSU fans brace for hostile OSU game

By Adam Smeltz

[email protected]

Columbus, Ohio, carries ugly karma for Penn Staters.
For starters, the Nittany Lions haven't won a football game in Ohio Stadium since 1978.
But despite the odds, Lions-Buckeyes games at the Ohio State venue remain in phenomenal demand.
The 4,000 seats released to Penn Staters for Saturday's match-up are the most requested away-game tickets this season, alumni association spokeswoman Kate Delano Poorman said. Seats are selling on eBay for $300 a pair.
Rick Herman, a 1975 graduate, has made the pilgrimage to Ohio Stadium about four times in seven or eight years. This weekend, he said, he expects a brutal atmosphere for the blue-and-white faithful.
"We've never had a good experience there," said Herman, who runs the alumni chapter in Mercer County.
One time, his stadium seats were folding chairs with no field view. Another year, he ended up in temporary scaffolding.
"They don't always seat all the Penn State fans together," Herman said. "They sprinkle us around."
Then, of course, there are the jeers and the catcalls showered on Penn State fans. Those run both ways, though. Some Penn Staters at Beaver Stadium harassed the OSU band and harangued Buckeyes fans at Beaver Stadium last season.
It was so unpleasant that Penn State President Graham Spanier issued an apology.
"I think they (the Buckeyes fans) would be really pumped up to return the favor this year," Herman said.
Perhaps. But Ohio State student Katie Krajny is hoping to turn the tide.
She leads a new, student-run effort to promote "positive sportsmanship and support for all athletic teams," she said. The campaign is sending Buckeye "student ambassadors" to greet visiting fans in the tailgate areas outside Ohio Stadium.
They'll also hand out commemorative buttons that tout Ohio State fans as "the best in the land," Krajny said. She said any Buckeye misbehavior arises from a paltry minority.
The Ohio State reputation took a hit in 2002, when violence broke out in Columbus. Some fans there apparently started trash fires last season.
Police have ratcheted up enforcement of anti-drinking laws in the last few years, said Rick Amweg, the OSU assistant police chief. He said state law in Ohio forbids open alcohol containers outdoors.
The bottom line, he said, is that tailgating fans should not be drinking at all. A violation can yield a warning or a $100 citation.
Fans also will find a different set of ticket-scalping rules in Ohio.
Ticket sellers need to have a Columbus peddler's permit; however, there are no regulations on resale prices.
"Ohio State always says that it's a buyer-beware market," Amweg said. "Tickets are often counterfeit or stolen."

 

[osugrad21]

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Puz debates knee brace
Paul Posluszny is still uncertain about playing with a knee brace in this weekend's game against Ohio State.

By Andrew Staub
Collegian Staff Writer
Doctors have told Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny he should wear his right knee brace for the rest of the season.
Posluszny would rather have a second opinion.
"The doctors would like me to wear it for the entire season, if it was up to them," Posluszny said of the brace yesterday. "I would much rather go without it. It's a constant debate."
The 2005 Butkus and Bednarik Award winner doesn't know if he will wear the brace Saturday, when the No. 24 Nittany Lions travel to Columbus to face No. 1 Ohio State.
Doctors have ordered that Posluszny wear the brace since he suffered partial tears in the posterior cruciate and medial collateral ligament in Penn State's Orange Bowl win last season.
This isn't the first time the brace has drawn Posluszny's ire this season.
Last week, after Penn State beat Youngstown State, Posluszny voiced his displeasure with the brace, saying he no longer wanted to wear it.
He did offer one bit of good news, though, when he said the team had made him a new brace for that game that felt "a lot better" than the one he wore against Akron and Notre Dame.
"The one I wore in the Youngstown State game is different," Posluszny said. "It's a little bit smaller and lighter and more flexible. Some days I wear it at practice. Some days I don't."
Posluszny was moved from outside linebacker to inside linebacker this season as part of Penn State's new defensive scheme, designed to put four linebackers on the field at a time.
Junior Dan Connor and sophomore Sean Lee now patrol the outside of the field. Converted linebacker Tim Shaw fills a spot on the defensive line as a stand up end.
Some reporters have questioned whether Posluszny's move to the middle was a result of last season's injury, wondering if the senior co-captain isn't as quick as he was last year.
Posluszny said because he didn't need offseason surgery on his knee, he doesn't feel as if he's lost a step.
"Movement-wise, there's not a whole lot of difference with playing inside linebacker or outside," he said. "I don't think they moved me inside because they thought I wouldn't be able to move as well."
A reporter asked Connor yesterday if he still had full faith in Posluszny after the injury.
"A lot of people have confidence in the rehab and medical staff here," Connor said. "When they let you back, we know and expect you to be at full go. It looks to me like Paul is playing really well."
Posluszny's output so far this season hasn't been far behind that of last year, when he was an outside linebacker. In three games this season, he has totaled 27 tackles, 12 of them solo. At this point last year, he had 26 total tackles, 17 solo.
Posluszny said if he continues to wear the brace, it will be the one he wore against Youngstown State.
But that doesn't mean he's still not searching for the second opinion he really wants.
"We'll see what happens," he said.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Looking for breakout
Lions? Derrick Williams wants to start making big plays like he did in ?05

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

</IMG> PENN STATE UNIVERSITY Derrick Williams breaks into the clear against Ohio State last season.


Penn State coach Joe Paterno said he doesn?t expect Ohio State to be surprised.
Derrick Williams said the Nittany Lions have nothing up their sleeves for the Buckeyes, that everything Penn State has done with him the past two games ? throwing him the ball, handing it to him, snapping it directly to him ? "is out in the open."
"What they see," Williams said, "is maybe what they get."
Notice he said maybe.
Penn State comes to Ohio Stadium on Saturday with an offense that in three games has been inconsistent and lacked the electricity of 2005. Most of the playmakers from last season are back with the notable exception of quarterback Michael Robinson, the Big Ten?s offensive player of the year. In his place is a far-lessmobile Anthony Morelli, whose one asset at this point is a cannon arm.
That in part explains why, the past two weekends, Paterno has taken Williams and lined him up everywhere but on the offensive line and let him do everything but punt and kick.
With Robinson in the NFL, as a running back for the San Francisco 49 ers, Williams is Penn State?s biggest offensive threat and is being used as Robinson was two years ago, when Robinson and quarterback Zack Mills co-existed in the same offense, without great results. Penn State finished 4-7 and scored 13 points or less in the seven losses.
"I don?t think we are trying to pattern him after anybody," Paterno said when the Robinson comparison was broached. "We just want to try to give Derrick a chance to do some of the things he does best.
"I think he has done well. Obviously, things won?t come as easy for him as they did last year when a lot of people didn?t realize how good he was."
Williams helped give the Penn State offense a badly needed infusion of game-breaking speed as a freshman last season. He averaged 11.7 yards every time he touched the ball as a receiver (22 catches), runner (22 carries) and returner (13 kickoff returns) before a broken arm in the seventh game ended his season.
He has been mostly hemmed in this season. He is averaging 7.9 yards per touch and his longest gain has been 28 yards. He even has been upstaged somewhat by freshman A.J. Wallace, who has touched the ball only eight times as a rusher, receiver and returner but averaged 32.6 yards. Wallace has gained 42, 17 and 76 yards on reverses.
"My time is going to come where I can go out there and have a big game," Williams said. "If I don?t have a big game, I just care about what?s on the scoreboard and hope we come out with a win."
But Penn State is entering the portion of its schedule, the Big Ten, in which it might need Williams to make plays to win. The defense is not as veteran and does not look as solid as it was last season, Morelli is green and the offensive line has four new starters.
"A lot of my family and my friends were hoping I?d have a huge year," Williams said. "We still have (nine) games left so hopefully their hopes come true and I have a big year."
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OHIO STATE FOOTBALL
Buckeyes unafraid to take it for team
Blocks from skill players reveal deep commitment

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

As Ohio State goes about its dance on offense this season, it starts with a tango, but on almost every play there are signs of the hustle.
Sometimes the extra effort is subtle. Sometimes it?s glaring, like on Antonio Pittman?s 48-yard touchdown run last week against Cincinnati. Receiver Ted Ginn Jr. flashed forward in the final 10 yards to lay out the last Bearcat who had a shot at Pittman.
Linebacker James Laurinaitis watched it from the sideline, and he was one of tens of thousands who applauded not only Pittman?s TD but Ginn?s block.
"I think what it says about our whole team is that we?re unselfish, and we have a drive to help each other out," Laurinaitis said this week as the Buckeyes prepared for the Big Ten opener Saturday against Penn State. "Obviously on that play, Ted had his original block. He didn?t have to sprint all the way down the field to get another block.
"But it shows you what kind of guy he is, what kind of teammates we have. You like to see everyone working for one another."
Those paying close attention have seen it a lot. It showed in how Troy Smith got upfield trying to run interference for Pittman earlier in the game.
"It?s great to see the effort that Troy has going down there trying to make a block," coach Jim Tressel said. Then with a faint grin he added, "I think ? you can ask him ? he might have been in the way."
Smith understood his coach was taking a playful shot, so he did too.
"He should have cut behind me," Smith said.
The point being, Smith was down there hustling, just as he has seen receiver Anthony Gonzalez do on almost every running play, and just as center Doug Datish, guard T.J. Downing and most of the rest of the linemen try to do.
"I guess it is just a team feeling the whole way around," Smith said. "That once a guy scores a touchdown, yeah, he gets an individual award, but that?s also points on the board for the team. So any way I can help, I still will do that."
But his teammates don?t want him getting carried away, literally, because of it.
"Troy worries me sometimes when he?s out there; I don?t want him to pop a shoulder or something doing something like that. That?s our work," Datish said. "At the same time, it?s really inspiring to see the quarterback do that.
"And Ted? I was about 10 yards behind Ted when he laid that block. ? I was like, ?Ted, that was awesome.? "
Such effort often brings recognition. Datish gained notice because of repeated replays of his sprint down the sideline to help Ginn score on a run in the Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame in January.
Datish said he was just doing what he had been taught by his high school coaches at Warren Howland: "Run to the ball and play to the whistle. Defense does it. There?s no reason the offense can?t do the same thing," Datish said.
The payoff is twofold, Downing said.
"It?s extra effort, trying to go the extra yard," Downing said. Plus, "We (linemen) have trouble getting our names in the paper in the first place. If we get that ?Downing was downfield springing a block for Ginn,? it helps me out, I guess."
But he said such effort is expected, and that no one sits around openly talking about the hustle.
"It?s just assumed it will happen," Downing said. "Summer conditioning, we?re in here busting our butt, running long distances, running sprints to make ourselves better athletes. So why not use it in the game? "
Ginn did, and his teammates voted it the Jack Tatum hit of the week. It?s an award named after the legendary big hitter for the Buckeyes and Oakland Raiders, and more often than not it goes to someone on defense.
"It means a lot for a little guy like me, 175, to come out and get Jack Tatum of the week," Ginn said. "But it is part of the game. You just come out and try to make plays."
[email protected]

 

[Best Buckeye]

Just what does happen saturday. One thing is that our young but very fast db's get to go against some real speed, a lot of it. I know Sweed was a good receiver, but I think PSU's team receiving corps has more of it. The question is whether or not our db's can cover and whether or not we can get pressure on Morelli. If we dont pressure him we could be in trouble. If you give any qb enough time.............
I dont think that will happen but I think this weekend our Defense will get a real test on pass defense.

 

[osugrad21]

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Williams, Ginn cast from the same mold
By Sam Ross Jr.
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 21, 2006

Ted Ginn Jr. and Derrick Williams will share a football field Saturday in Ohio, another meeting in an acquaintance that goes back to their high school days as blue-chip prospects. They were together at a Nike football camp at Penn State. They ran against each other in the Penn Relays, with Ginn's relay team finishing third and Williams' fourth.
They became, as Ginn said Wednesday, "Just cool friends. We both were kind of like the same player, offense, defense, fast, big-play type guys."
Comparisons between the two have been -- and continue to be -- inevitable as Penn State prepares to play No. 1 Ohio State in a 3:30 game Saturday in Columbus.


Ginn, a 6-foot, 180-pound junior from Cleveland, suffered through a disappointing start to his sophomore season last year. But he finished in a blaze, with eight catches for 89 yards in a win over Michigan and then an eight-catch, 167-yard game against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Ginn has continued in that vein in 2006 with 14 catches, five for touchdowns, through three games.
"In crunch time, when it's time for a big play, they can come to me," Ginn said.
Williams, a 6-foot, 201-pound sophomore from Greenbelt, Md., has failed to reach expectations through three games, with no gain on a play from scrimmage longer than 20 yards. He has no receiving touchdowns, only one rushing TD, and no memorable big plays like his game-winning catch last season at Northwestern.
"I think I've come pretty close," Williams said on the big-play question. "It's not what I expected yet. It just wasn't time yet. Hopefully, it will come soon."
Williams did have an apparent 62-yard punt return against Youngstown State wiped out by a blocking penalty.
Ginn, who had to deal with failing to meet expectations early last season, had some basic advice for Williams.
"He's got to stay patient and poised, and big plays will come to him," Ginn said. "He can't rush things."
Williams is already on that page. He said yesterday that he was too hyped for the Notre Dame game, too overeager to make a big play.
"That's when things really don't turn out your way," said Williams, who promised a more relaxed attitude for the Ohio State game.
In an effort to maximize Williams' value, the Penn State coaches have used him on kickoff and punt returns. They've lined him up at quarterback and tailback as well as wide receiver.
"We just want to give Derrick a chance to do some of the things he does best," coach Joe Paterno said. "Obviously, things won't come as easy for him as they did last year when a lot of people didn't realize how good he was."
Quarterback Anthony Morelli sees defenses keying on Williams.
"They're obviously paying a lot of attention because he's a game-breaker, and he has a lot of speed and a lot of talent," Morelli said.
Ginn continues to do return work for the Buckeyes, but his main duty has been wide receiver. He has just one rushing attempt this season, for a loss of 6 yards.

Top Ginn
A comparison of Ohio State's Ted Ginn Jr. and Penn State's Derrick Williams heading into Saturday's meeting in Columbus:
Player
Rushing
Receiving
Punt returns
Kickoff returns
Williams
15-54, 1 TD
7-79
6-59
4-69
Ginn
1-(-6)
14-253, 5 TDs
8-67
3-43



Williams said he enjoys lining up at different positions, and he isn't becoming frustrated over his lack of big plays.
"I just take it as my time is going to come where I can go out there and have a big game," he said.
The high expectations of others, of his friends and family, still could be met.
"We still have (nine) games left," Williams said. "Hopefully their hopes come true."

 

[THEWOOD]

I am so pumped for this game. This will be the first time I have been in the shoe since the Texas game last year. I cant wait to get back to the CBus.

 

[txbuckeye1983]

Penn St. wants to be our rivals so bad it hurts. Fact is, they never will come close to Michigan. As much as this game has a big-game, rivalry feeling, it is nothing compared to what the Michigan game is going to be this year. Still, expect the stadium to be absolutely rocking and rolling this weekend. The fans and students all know what the players expect out of us this weekend.

 

[Muck]

Penn State players from Ohio include Daryll Clark (Youngstown), Tony Davis (Warren), Donnie Johnson (Cincinnati) and Robert Price (Shaker Heights). Meanwhile, Ohio State offensive linemen Doug Ebner (Hershey), Kyle Mitchum (Erie) and Jon Skinner (Mount Carmel), tight ends Andy Miller (Washington) and Rory Nicol (Beaver) and wide receiver Devon Lyons (North Braddock) hail from Pennsylvania.

A decade ago could anyone have imagined more kids from Pennsylvania playing for the Buckeyes than Ohioians suiting up for Penn State?

 

[Bucks07]

Penn St. wants to be our rivals so bad it hurts. Fact is, they never will come close to Michigan. As much as this game has a big-game, rivalry feeling, it is nothing compared to what the Michigan game is going to be this year. Still, expect the stadium to be absolutely rocking and rolling this weekend. The fans and students all know what the players expect out of us this weekend.

I think its developing into a nice rivalry. Of course its nothing compared to scUM, but theres 100 times as much history for that game. We've only been playing Penn State every year for 13 years. Give it more time and I think it'll be a great #2 rivalry for us.