Game Thread Game Three: #1 Ohio State 37, Cincinnati 7 (9/16/06)

[osugrad21]

Finally, the obligatory mention of Dantonio and 98 MSU are rolling in...

Canton

[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tressel works to keep OSU?s focus on foe[/FONT]
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 [FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER [/FONT]

COLUMBUS No. 1 team in the country. Coming off the biggest regular-season win since Michigan in 2002. Momentum. A young defense that grew up in the Texas heat. And a 30-point underdog to welcome Ohio State back home, not to mention 85 years since it last lost to another Ohio team.
Cincinnati will try to end that Saturday at noon. The last time the Bearcats beat the Buckeyes traffic wasn?t a problem on the OSU campus ? in 1897.
Where can the Buckeyes go from here?
Down, if they?re still paying attention to a 24-7 win over Texas.
Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel said his team needed to take a big step forward to beat Texas. How big?
?I thought it was a big step. I don?t know if it was gigantic,? Tressel said. ?The only difficult thing was getting back and watching the film to see where we could get better at. The effort was good, but we still have things we have to do to get better.?
Ohio State?s defense was a bend-but-don?t-break unit for three quarters. The Buckeyes gave up yards, but they gave up yards to one of the most explosive offenses in college football on the Longhorns home field.
Texas gained 326 yards and averaged 5.2 yards a play with 20 first downs. Some of those numbers are skewed because the Longhorns had 52 of those yards in the final drive during garbage time. The average per play is down under 5 yards when the final drive is factored out.
Meanwhile, Ohio State has to turn the page past Texas and prepare to face overmatched Cincinnati.
?The key for us getting over the Texas game is to understand what the game means,? wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez said. ?It?s not much more than another win. We didn?t get a ring. We didn?t win a championship. There is no reason to sit back and think about it, as great as it was.
?It?s another victory. Now we have to get out there and win the next one.?
What Gonzalez did to Texas didn?t surprise close observers of OSU over the last two years. He may be the second-fastest player on the team. He lit up the forgetful Longhorn defense to the tune of 142 yards on eight catches and a touchdown.
Perhaps Tressel will rest easier knowing sophomore linebacker James Laurinaitis seemed to settle into the role starting linebacker. Laurinaitis intercepted a pass, forced two fumbles and had 13 tackles.
?It was his fourth ballgame playing the whole game. That?s getting near a half season,? Tressel said. ?... He?s a bright young man who studies film hard. He has lots of desire to uphold the tradition of excellent linebackers at Ohio State. With all that said, he?s had very good God-given talent. We think he?s going to be a good one.?
Mark Dantonio, OSU?s former defensive coordinator, said he sees little difference between this OSU defense and the 2002 national title defense, other than experience.
?I guess time will tell,? the Bearcats? head coach said.
Dantonio is playing up the fact that most of his players are from Ohio and weren?t recruited by Tressel.
?Any time you?re from Ohio, this is a special game,? Dantonio said. ?In my 25, 26 years of college coaching, I?ve played the No. 1 team twice, and one of them was a national championship game.?
The other time?
Dantonio was an assistant coach on the Michigan State staff that went to Ohio State as 28-point underdogs.
The Spartans won that game.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Buckeyes focus on Bearcats
By JON SPENCER
For The Marion Star

COLUMBUS - His football team proved it could handle the hype and hoopla surrounding its trip to Texas. Now coach Jim Tressel is anxious to see if top-ranked Ohio State can handle the hosannas in the aftermath of the Buckeyes' decisive 24-7 win over the defending national champion.
"We tell (the players) that publicity is like poison ... it only kills you if you swallow it," Tressel said Tuesday at his weekly media luncheon. "What's important is focusing on what needs to be done. All of our guys that watch the film know we need to get better.
"Whether the hype is burning hot or not, I think they'll focus."

The time would seem ripe for Cincinnati to launch a sneak attack in Ohio Stadium. The Bearcats (1-1) catch the Buckeyes (2-0) coming off one of the biggest wins in OSU history and possibly looking ahead to next week's Big Ten opener against Penn State.

Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, allaying fears of a letdown, pays no attention to the oddsmakers who have made the Bearcats a 30-point underdog for Saturday's noon game.

"We're all so young and unproven; we still have to prove ourselves," Laurinaitis said, speaking for the defense. "Yeah, we held (Texas) to seven points, but they still gained a lot of yards rushing (172).

"Anytime you give up a lot of rushing yards, it hurts you personally, especially at this school where they have a rich tradition of stopping the run."

Ohio State has an evem richer tradition of beating in-state schools. The last loss was in 1921 to Oberlin. Since then, OSU has won 21 in a row, including 11 straight since it resumed playing Ohio schools in 1992 after a 60-year layoff.

The Buckeyes have been a part of at least one in-state matchup each of the last nine seasons, posting an 11-0 record. Three of those wins have been over the Bearcats, including one mighty big scare.

During the 2002 national championship season, OSU escaped from Paul Brown Stadium with a 23-19 victory. The Buckeyes overcame three turnovers, the absence of freshman sensation Maurice Clarett and a holding call that wiped out a 96-yard kickoff return by Chris Gamble. But it took two dropped passes in the end zone by the Bearcats in the final minute to seal the victory.

"Was that a mental letdown? I'm not sure," Tressel said. "There's probably a fine line between getting things done and not. Do you say the guy (wide receiver Billy Pittman) that fumbled going into the end zone for Texas had a mental letdown? I don't know, but that was a huge play in the game and all of a sudden ends up being a 24-7 game.

"So our job is to keep teaching each day. Hopefully, we won't look back and say there was a mental letdown (Saturday) because if there is, we'll be in trouble."

It will be an emotional game for many of the Buckeyes because Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio was OSU's defensive coordinator from 2001-03. He still talks with Tressel on a weekly basis and six OSU players on the defensive two-deep got their start under him.

Dantonio's debut game with the Bearcats in 2004 resulted in a 27-6 loss to the Buckeyes in the 'Shoe, so this won't be a new experience for him or his ex-players in Scarlet and Gray. The difference this time is that Cincinnati has last Friday's 33-15 loss to Pittsburgh hanging over its head.

"I think we're energized; I don't see that (loss) being a problem at all," said Dantonio, a Zanesville native. "Anytime you're from Ohio, this is a special game. That's No. 1. In 25 years in the coaching business, I've only played a No. 1 team twice, and once was i the national championship game.

"It's one of those opportunities where the nation is focused not only on Ohio State, but on Cincinnati. From that standpoint, it's a very exciting time for our program."

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Cincinnati-Ohio St Preview





By DAN BURCH
Associated Press Sports
Updated: 1:35 p.m. ET Sept 12, 2006


Ohio State turned what was supposed to be the game of the season into its own personal showcase last week.
After their dominating display against Texas, the top-ranked Buckeyes will have to guard against a letdown when they return home to meet Cincinnati on Saturday.

The first No. 1 vs. No. 2 regular-season game in 10 years hardly lived up to the hype, as the Buckeyes (2-0) dismantled Texas 24-7 last Saturday, proving to the defending national champion Longhorns and the rest of the country they deserve their place atop the rankings.
"We came in here and beat the No. 2 team in the country and the defending national champion in front of their home crowd,'' Buckeyes defensive end Vernon Gholston said. "We showed everybody what we can do.''
Ohio State's young defense - which had to replace nine starters from last year - held Texas to a single touchdown, ending the Longhorns' 12-game streak of scoring at least 40 points.
Heisman Trophy hopeful Troy Smith continued his stellar play, throwing for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Smith has thrown for 1,208 yards and eight touchdowns in his last four games, three of which have come under intense pressure - against rival Michigan, Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, and last Saturday's contest in Austin.
The senior star is 15-2 as a starter and has never lost a game at Ohio Stadium that he started.
"Whatever I do out there is because of how well the players around me play,'' said Smith, whose 194.2 passer rating is first in the Big Ten. "I couldn't complete passes without the offensive line giving me time to throw and our receivers running great routes and getting open. You saw that against Texas. They gave me time to throw and Gonzo (Anthony Gonzalez) and Ted (Ginn Jr.) got open and made some great catches.''
Ginn finished with five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown, while Gonzalez caught eight passes for 142 yards - both career highs.
The Buckeyes have won nine straight, tied with West Virginia for the second-longest streak in the nation behind TCU's 12 in a row. Ohio State's run includes six wins over ranked teams.
"We haven't claimed anything yet,'' Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said. "We still have to go back to the Horseshoe and keep winning games.''
The Buckeyes should be quite familiar with Cincinnati (1-1). Not only will the teams be playing for the third time in five years, there's also plenty of coaching connections between the schools.
Bearcats coach Mark Dantonio was the Buckeyes defensive coordinator from 2001-03 while Tressel's nephew, Mike, is the linebackers and special teams coach for Cincinnati.
Mike Tressel, who was a graduate assistant at Ohio State from 2002-03, is the son of Tressel's older brother Dick, who is the Buckeyes' running backs coach.
Ohio State escaped with a 23-19 victory at Cincinnati in 2002 before winning 27-6 in Columbus in 2004.
Cincinnati hits the road for the first time this season after splitting two home games. The Bearcats beat Eastern Kentucky 31-0 two weeks ago before losing 33-15 to Pittsburgh last Friday.
The Bearcats' defense was victimized for three touchdowns by Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko.
"Pitt has got a good football team. They're physical,'' Dantonio said. "We've got to refocus on our goals, re-evaluate where we're at and get ready to play Ohio State.''
The Bearcats went 1-5 on the road last season and were outscored 215-107. Cincinnati has lost 14 of its last 17 away from home.
This is the Bearcats' second meeting against a top-ranked team. They lost 45-13 to Miami in 1986.
Ohio State has won nine straight over the Bearcats and leads the all-time series 12-2, including a 10-0 record in Columbus.
Cincinnati's only wins against the Buckeyes came in 1896 and 1897.

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Freshman Pettrey earns kicking duty



Wednesday, September 13, 2006 Doug Lesmerises

Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- Kicker talk all but ended this week. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel seems like he's found his guy.
Freshman Aaron Pettrey missed a 28-yard field goal in the first quarter against Texas before muscling through a 31-yarder in the third quarter. But it was his three extra points that made Tressel sure he won't need second kicker Ryan Pretorius at the ready against Cincinnati on Saturday.
"I saw his place-kicking confidence grow a little," Tressel said of Pettrey, who is 1-of-3 on field goals and 8-of-8 on extra points. "The first one, he hesitated a little bit, then rushed it, and didn't hit it well. The one that he did make was OK. It went through the goal post, but it wasn't wonderful.
"But then his next couple of extra points, you could see him get a little stroke. They were dead center . . . I think that tells you something. I'd like to think he'll just keep getting better."
Russell in, Patterson out:
Ohio State's depth chart this week finally reflects what was obvious Saturday night -- freshman Anderson Russell is the starting free safety and sophomore Nick Patterson is not.
Patterson had started the opener, with Russell as the nickel back on passing downs, but Patterson couldn't get on the field against Texas as Russell continued to make plays.
"Anderson has been playing well and demonstrating that he deserved that," Tressel said. "Nick, in essence, at that position was replaced by Anderson."
Injured receiver Roy Hall, who missed the first two games, is also now listed behind Brian Robiskie at the No. 3 receiver spot.
Awards:
Linebacker James Laurinaitis was named the national defensive player of the week as awarded by the Football Writers Association of America, the Sporting News and the National Football Foundation.
Times:
The Big Ten opener against Penn State on Sept. 23 has been set as a 3:30 p.m. start on ABC. The network was interested in making that a night game, but the home team has final say and Ohio State prefers to limit night games at home.
Following Saturday's noon start with Cincinnati, that means four of the remaining five games at Ohio Stadium will start at 3:30: Penn State, Bowling Green on Oct. 7, Minnesota on Oct. 28 and Michigan on Nov. 18. The Indiana game on Oct. 21 will start at noon.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Now it's time to avoid a letdown
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
09/13/2006


http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1699&dept_id=46370&newsid=17187938

COLUMBUS -- Wedged in between last Saturday's showdown in Austin and next week's Big Ten opener against Penn State lies Saturday's yawner against Cincinnati.


And nothing wakes teams up on Saturdays like a good yawner.

''I'm sure as the season began, Cincinnati looked at the Ohio State schedule and said, ?Hey, we've got them right where we want them,''' coach Jim Tressel said yesterday.

Ohio State passed the difficult test of winning on the road against a difficult opponent with relative ease. Now they must fend off any complacency or belief that the work, for now, is complete.

After winning a difficult road game in 2004 at N.C. State, the Buckeyes entered Northwestern the following week as heavy favorites, only to lose. That sent them into a tailspin that didn't end until a three-game losing streak destroyed any hopes of a good season.

Now this team is back in a fairly similar scenario -- coming off a big road win over a highly ranked team and feeling pretty good about themselves. How they respond this week will go a long way in determining the mental maturity of the players.

''Publicity is like poison,'' Tressel said. ''It only hurts you if you swallow it.''

There is still plenty to focus on this week, especially defensively. Although the Buckeyes allowed Texas just the 7 points, they surrendered over 170 rushing yards for the second straight week.

No one on the Bearcats poses the threat of a Garrett Wolfe, Jamaal Charles or Selvin Young, but 2,000-yard career rusher Tony Hunt looms next week, so now would be a great time to make any defensive corrections.

''When a team gets a lot of rushing yards, it hurts you personally as a defense,'' linebacker James Laurinaitis said. ''We know what the standard is around here, so we know we still have a lot of work to do.''

Laurinaitis met that standard on Saturday, registering 13 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. It was enough to earn him the Big Ten's defensive player of the week award, as well as the national player of the week award as voted on by the Football Writers Association of America.

Although he's a first-year starter, Tressel said he considers Laurinaitis a little more seasoned than that, since he replaced Bobby Carpenter after the first play of the Michigan game last year and worked with the starters throughout the Fiesta Bowl practices.

''I thought he really grew in his confidence and he's going to end up being a very good player for us,'' Tressel said. ''He has a lot of pride in the tradition of linebackers at Ohio State and he understands he's got a lot more work to do to move in that direction. But he studies the film hard, he trains in the weight room hard, he knows the game and he's a bright player.''

Saturday's game against the Bearcats will be a reunion for Ohio State's coaches. Bearcats coach Mark Dantonio was the defensive coordinator on the Buckeyes' national championship team in 2002. Linebackers coach Mike Tressel is Jim's nephew and the son of Dick Tressel, Ohio State's linebackers coach.

Tressel admitted he still talks to Dantonio frequently, even last week in preparation for the Texas game. But the two likely won't converse again until after Saturday's game.

''These are the kind of games you just like to get over with,'' Tressel said. ''You like to get focused on the task at hand. Where does Ohio State need to get better and forget about who we're playing. It's different, though, honestly.''

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Supporting cast is what will carry No. 1 Buckeyes
SAM BLACKBURN

Pink Floyd had Roger Waters and David Gilmour; Led Zeppelin Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. The Who boasted Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, as good as any singer-guitar combo in rock history.
The Buckeyes? While they're not classic rock icons, they do have Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr., the closest thing to supergroup that college football has to offer this season.
After leading the top-ranked Buckeyes to an impressive 24-7 road stoning of No. 2 Texas this past weekend, anyone who doubted Smith and Ginn's credibility to make big plays on the grand stage were silenced rather quickly.
By the time Texas realized its short-handed secondary was going to have trouble, Smith was hitting Ginn and fellow receiver Anthony Gonzalez for more than 200 yards passing in the first half alone.Smith completed passes to nine different receivers and finished with 269 yards and 2 TDs - none more important than his 29-yard scoring toss on a late second-quarter audible to Ginn, his fleet-footed wide receiver.
Smith made all of the throws, from long bombs and intermediate routes, to short timing routes. There's a reason he and Ginn are considered among the frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy. They're true difference makers, and as long as the team keeps winning, and the two continue to make big plays, the accolades will pile up like firewood.
But they can't do it alone.
As good as Floyd and Zeppelin were, it took more than the front man and lead guitar player to rock arenas around the world.
While Pink Floyd continued to churn out quality music after Waters left the band, when drummer John Bonham died of alcohol overdose in 1980, unfortunately, so did Led Zeppelin.
In football terms, it signifies the star quarterback and wide receiver only being as good as the linemen and role players who fill in around them.
It means you can't underestimate the value of Antonio Pittman and Gonzalez - how good was he Saturday? - for their roles in the offense, or the importance of Doug Datish, Kirk Barton and the rest of the offensive line.
When Ohio State struggled in the early stages of 2004, it was because the offensive front was often manhandled, and the quarterback play was equally as pourous. It wasn't because they were less-talented at wide receiver or running back.
It was no small coincidence that the team started winning consistently when the line started blocking, and Smith and Ginn joined Santonio Holmes as offensive cornerstones. The next season, with Smith and Ginn leading the way, only a home loss to Texas prevented a run toward the national title.
Many of those linemen are back, allowing Smith and Pittman to work their magic without looking over their shoulders for a blind rusher.
Now it's time for the defense to pull their weight.
I know what you're thinking. Texas only scored seven points and should have only had three, thanks to a bogus 15-yard penalty on a hit on Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy.
But although the defense produced six punts and two turnovers at Texas, and placed constant pressure on McCoy, the Longhorns ran for 172 yards on 5.5 yards per carry.
Granted the Buckeyes were in their nickel package for the majority of the game. But there were too many plays when middle linebacker James Laurinaitis made tackles beyond five yards of the line of scrimmage - an ominous sign for any run defense.
Sure, not every team is Texas, and not every offense will have backs who run like Selvin Young and Jamal Charles. But it has simply been too easy for teams to attack the perimeter of OSU's defense, where outside linebackers Marcus Freeman, John Kerr and Larry Grant - among others - are responsible for outside contain.
It doesn't matter how good your defensive tackles play the run if your contain is subpar. Outside contain is covered on the first day of Defense 101. It's absolutely critical if you want to play sound team defense.
Don't expect Cincinnati to hurt this defense with big plays. If Texas couldn't, the Bearcats won't either. But Penn State and Iowa are right around the corner. Minnesota and Michigan can play power football too. You can bet each of them will know exactly where to attack this defense.
Playing a nickel defense won't be an excuse if this team slips up to someone it shouldn't.
Not even Smith can make up for that.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Letdown high on list of worries
Buckeyes concerned with Texas hangover against Bearcats

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Last week, Ohio State went dancing with the stars.
When the top-ranked Buckeyes met the No 2 Texas Longhorns in Austin, the hype was huge and the atmosphere electric. It was a night game on national television, and a "Who?s Who" of celebrities lined the field, from LeBron James to Emmitt Smith, Eddie George and some bushy-bearded actor.
"The guy who was clearly obvious was (Matthew) McConaughey, with his chest beating," receiver Anthony Gonzalez said. "That guy was ridiculous."
In contrast, the game Saturday against Cincinnati in Ohio Stadium will be decidedly lower key. The Bearcats are unranked, coming off a loss and appear on paper to be just more grist for the Ohio State mill. It?s a noon game, with only a regional television audience.
OSU coach Jim Tressel is well aware of the dangers inherent in a game like this one, sandwiched between the peaks of Texas and Penn State, the Big Ten opener on Sept. 23.
He has seen firsthand what happens when a team doesn?t bring its "A" game against a B-list opponent.
That?s why Tressel talked to his players yesterday about the 2002 game in Cincinnati?s Paul Brown Stadium. In game four of an eventual national-title winning season, the Buckeyes had to stage a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Bearcats 23-19.
And Cincinnati quarterback Gino Guidugli was throwing into the end zone as the game ended, coming within a dropped pass or two of pulling off a huge upset.
"I?m very aware if it," running back Antonio Pittman said. "The coaches brought up the story line earlier today, and he showed the score from that game. It came down to the last drive, I think, where Chris Gamble made an interception."
It was Will Allen, for the record.
The point is, Tressel realizes it?s human nature not to get equally pumped up for every opponent.
"That?s part of handling success," he said. "The only way you can handle success is sit down and watch the successful game on television and be honest with yourself and say, ?Where was I not as successful as I thought, and where do I need to improve??
"Our guys are pretty good from that standpoint. I have a lot of confidence in this group."
Of course, players are saying that won?t happen. They always do, and yet inevitably there?s a letdown game each season.
In 2003, the Buckeyes barely beat San Diego State, 16-13. Last season, the Aztecs again gave OSU a jolt, scoring on their first play from scrimmage. The Buckeyes won 27-6, but it was not an impressive performance by the hosts.
But when the players talk of avoiding a letdown this year, there is reason to believe them. As linebacker James Laurinaitis points out, many are still trying to secure starting spots and impress coaches.
In that respect, the game Saturday is a big opportunity and not a time to slack off.
"We?re all so young and unproven, we still have to keep proving ourselves," Laurinaitis said. "Yeah, we held (Texas) to seven points, but they still gained a lot of yards rushing. So you just kind of find new things to improve on each week."
Tressel likes the mental makeup of his team. Even before the Texas game, he said he was pleased with how he felt they were handling the hype of being No. 1.
"I wish I could evaluate that like I can a practice tape. I can?t really evaluate what?s going on inside their heads," he said. "But you have an idea, and you can see them really honed in on the task at hand."
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Dispatch

Bearcats well-stocked with central Ohio talent

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




CINCINNATI ? A phone conversation between cousins this week went something like this.
"Y?all ready?" Dionte Johnson asked.
"You ready?" DeAngelo Smith answered.
"You better watch out," Johnson replied. "I?ll run you over."
Smith smiled yesterday while recalling the exchange.
"It?s going to be fun," he said. "I can?t wait. I?m excited."
Smith is among a dozen products from central Ohio high schools who play football at Cincinnati, which will visit Ohio Stadium for the second time in three years Saturday to face Ohio State.
Smith plays cornerback and special teams for the Bearcats and has an interception and a fumble recovery in their first two games. Johnson plays fullback and special teams for the Buckeyes.
It will not be the first time they have lined up opposite each other. Smith played high school football at Independence and Johnson at Eastmoor.
"I think we were 3-1 against them," Smith said.
So is Johnson, a member of the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, pretty confident of payback this week?
"I think he is," Smith said, "but I told him he?d better watch out, because we?re going to be prepared."
Cincinnati nearly upset the Buckeyes four years ago in Paul Brown Stadium, losing 23-19 after four passes into the end zone fell incomplete ? two of them dropped ? in the final minute. Ohio State went on to a 14-0 season and the national championship.
Two years ago in Ohio Stadium, the Bearcats trailed 10-6 in the third quarter before the Buckeyes won 27-6.
"It was loud. I remember it being loud," said Northland graduate John Bowie, who played special teams in that game and is one of the Bearcats? starting cornerbacks now.
"The shock is gone now. No more big eyes. No nervousness. You?ve just got to go out there and play."
The 2004 game was Mark Dantonio?s first as UC coach after three years as OSU defensive coordinator.
"The environment itself ? is something special prior to the game," he said, "but once the game starts, you concentrate on your job at hand and do the best (you can). Play with effort and toughness, know what to do and execute that.
"It will be very difficult because of Ohio State?s skill level. But as far as playing in that environment, I think our players are past that."
Cincinnati began play in the Big East Conference last season. In the past two seasons, it has played at Syracuse, Penn State and Pittsburgh.
"It?s just a great opportunity to go out there and play the No. 1 team in the country," linebacker Ryan Manalac, a Pickerington Central product, said.
Manalac is the poster boy for the perceived talent gap between these two teams. He wasn?t offered a scholarship by a Division I school. He walked on at Cincinnati as a safety two years ago, gained 30 pounds and worked his way up the depth chart. He went on scholarship a month ago.
Of the 62 Ohioans on the Bearcats? roster, Dantonio said "the majority were not recruited by Ohio State. Like, 61."
Freddie Lenix of Cleveland Glenville is the exception, and the only reason he?s at UC is because Ohio State did not admit him academically.
"The question I asked our players on Sunday night was how many guys played with or know someone at Ohio State that?s playing football there? Virtually 90 percent of our players raised their hands," Dantonio said. "When I asked how many people competed against those players, or played alongside those players, about 85 percent of those hands went up.
"That gives you extra motivation and extra enthusiasm and extra want-to because it?s a little more personal. And that?s a good thing."
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[bkochmc]

No matter when we play Cincy, I'll never forget the scare of '02.

Same here, but mostly because I was at the game with my dad and had the best seats I'll probably ever have at an OSU football game.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]OSU hopes to keep rolling against an old friend[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BY JIM NAVEAU - Sep. 13, 2006[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]COLUMBUS ? Maybe for three hours on Saturday afternoon coaching against an old friend like Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio might be a little difficult, but the rest of the time it?s a good thing for Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel to see former assistant coaches running their own programs.
No. 1 Ohio State (2-0) will take on UC (1-1) at noon Saturday at Ohio Stadium in its first game since winning 24-7 at No. 2 Texas last Saturday night.
Tressel and Dantonio have been friends since the 1980s when the OSU coach was an assistant at Ohio State and the UC coach was a graduate assistant. Dantonio was the defensive coordinator for Ohio State?s 2002 national champions and also coached with Tressel at Youngstown State.
On a certain level, a head coach hopes to find himself in situations like this, Tressel said.
?You hope that probably for two reasons, one, honorable, and maybe one selfish,? he said on Tuesday at his weekly news conference.
The OSU coach said a head coach wants to see assistants who have worked long hours to help him be rewarded. But, selfishly, a head coach also wants to see it because he knows it means his team has been winning, which makes his assistants hot properties in the coaching job market.
Tressel said he and Dantonio talk frequently during the season, but not this week.
?I talk with Mark a lot, we bounce things off one another. I talked with him as recently as the week of the Texas game, but I haven?t talked to him this week. He?s busy and I?m busy and I can?t say, ?Hey, what are you going to do? What blitz are you using on third down??
Ohio State goes into Saturday?s game tied with West Virginia for the second-longest winning streak in NCAA Division I football at nine games. Texas Christian?s 12 wins in a row is No. 1 after the Buckeyes ended Texas? 21-game winning streak last Saturday in Austin.
Tressel saluted his team?s effort and focus at Texas and hopes to see more of the same against the Bearcats, a huge underdog on Saturday.
?I thought they handled the hype of the game because they could have easily gone in and bought into all the interest and bought into ?Hey, we?re No. 1 and all that stuff, and they didn?t,? Tressel said about the Buckeyes.
?Now you have to make sure you handle success after the fact,? he said.
Ohio State?s offense had success against Texas? defensive front running the ball and even more success passing the ball. The defense, where nine new starters have been a huge question mark all season, became only the sixth team to hold Texas to one touchdown or less in coach Mack Brown?s nine seasons with the Longhorns.
Cincinnati opened with a 31-0 win over Eastern Kentucky, then lost 33-15 to Pittsburgh last week.
This is the second time in the last three seasons UC has played at Ohio State. Dantonio?s first game as a college head coach was at OSU in 2004. Ohio State won 27-6 in that game.
?I think it will be a little different this time. That was my first time as a head coach. I knew so many of the players, I knew almost all of them,? Dantonio said on Monday. ?This time I only know a few of them and some of the coaches have changed. But it will still be a great time for our football team and for me.?
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[matcar]

Avoiding the letdowns

So, I wonder if it would be beneficial to keep pushing the rotation of players and keep them fighting for the starting positions this week so as to keep everyone motivated. Seems like fighting for the starting job for PSU would keep kids heads into the game.

Hopefully the fans will also bring their "A" game as well. No letdowns anywhere in the Buckeye Nation!

 

[kentuckybuckeye]

So, I wonder if it would be beneficial to keep pushing the rotation of players and keep them fighting for the starting positions this week so as to keep everyone motivated. Seems like fighting for the starting job for PSU would keep kids heads into the game.

Hopefully the fans will also bring their "A" game as well. No letdowns anywhere in the Buckeye Nation!

:osu: If you do that then you risk the starters losing their edge. Having a young/inexperienced defence doesn't mean you play musical positions. They have to be kept at their posiitions so that it becomes second nature to them. Then when you play the Iowa's, the Michigan's, and the Penn State's your defence is better then when you started the year.
:osu:

 

[BB73]

theozone

Football
Buckeyes Working to Avoid Sandwich Game Blues
By John Porentas

Sometimes 2-0 is more than just 2-0.

That's the case this season with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Fully one half of that 2-0 is a win over the Texas Longhorns in a long-anticipated rematch that vindicated the Bucks' heartbreaking loss to those same Longhorns last season in Ohio Stadium.

The challenge now is 3-0, and if you listen to the pundits, the Cincinnati Bearcats won't be all that much of a challenge toward getting to that 3-0 mark, and that's the problem.
The Cincinnati game has the potential to be the classic "sandwich game", a game between a big intersectional rival game like Texas and the Big Ten opener with Penn State which, oh by the way, was the other team to defeat the Buckeyes last season.

It's the stuff that upsets are made of, the classic setup for a lull after a big win combined with looking forward to the next big game against the Lions. It's the kind of sandwich that can leave a football program with a collective case of indigestion if they stumble against the Bearcats by taking them for granted. The OSU coaching staff, spearheaded by OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel, has already gone on the offensive to prevent the sandwich game blues. His mantra this week is that the Buckeyes have handled the adversity of traveling to Austin to take on the Longhorns in the heat at night before a hostile crowd. Now they must handle that success and prepare properly for the Bearcats.​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Jim Tressel
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Photo by Jim Davidson[/FONT]

"Now you have to make sure you handle success after the fact and that's a good segue into talking about Cincinnati, because I'm sure as the season began, Cincinnati looked at the Ohio State schedule and said, hey, we've got them right where we want them, they're between Texas and Penn State and coming off a night game road trip, all the rest," Tressel said Tuesday.

One Tressel's main henchmen, defensive coordinator Jim Heacock, has delivered that same message to his young defense.

"As coach Heacock was saying, it's a person's natural tendency to try to turn it down a notch (after a big win), but we can't let that happen because you see last week were some teams got upset that you thought that would never happen," said OSU linebacker James Laurinaitis.​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]James Laurinaitis
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Photo by Jim Davidson[/FONT]

"You definitely have to stay focused and we know that Cincinnati is going to come in here preaching toughness and they're going to try to get after us and and they're going to know a lot of the stuff we do on defense and some of the stuff we do on offense. We have to come in there expecting everything, that if we let our guard down that's a perfect opportunity for someone to strike. We have to do what we can not to let that happen," Laurinaitis said.
The Buckeyes seem to be getting the message, or at least they are able to mouth the words their coaching staff has begun preaching at them.

"This is a big week to see how we handle success," said Laurinaitis.

"Coach Tressel talks a lot about handling adversity and handling success. There are times where we had to handle adversity during the game, now we'll see how we handle the success of beating a huge team like Texas. It was a good win and definitely we're proud of that win but I think the encouraging thing to us is that we won that game and we still haven't played our best game yet, so we still have lot of room to improve and hopefully we can only get better from here," he said.

In an odd sort of way, the key for the Buckeyes to remained focused on the small picture, that is the next game, is to remind themselves of the really big picture.

"It is hard (not to have a letdown) until you think about it in the big perspective," said cornerback Malcolm Jenkins.
"It's the season. It's not just one game. We have ten more games to go at least. That just motivates me to get better and play better than I did last week," he said.​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Antonio Pittman
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Photo by Jim Davidson[/FONT]

Running back Antonio Pittman has also adopted that big picture approach to remaining focused on the small picture to avoid the sandwich game blues. According to Pittman, the ultimate goal for this team is a berth in the national championship game. The Buckeyes understand that one loss will more than likely eliminate them from contention for that goal, and it is a glimpse at the season-long goal that will keep them focused on Cincinnati this week and not let them look past the Bearcats toward Penn State.

"We'll prepare as we want to get to the national championship," he said.

"We have to take it one week at a time and this is another new week as far as reaching our goal, so we'll prepare for it like its the last game on earth."
If past history is any indication, the Buckeyes should be able to avoid those sandwich game blues.​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Anthony Gonzalez
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Photo by Jim Davidson [/FONT]

"The proof is in the pudding. We haven't really been beaten in a game that we were supposed to be lulling on," said wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez.
"I don't think I've been on a team that has gone through a lull like that. The reality is that with the scholarship limitations and the way that teams have evolved and offenses have evolved and defenses have evolved, any team can beat anyone on any day. A 1-AA team, New Hampshire, beat Northwestern. Anybody can beat you. That's just the reality of it. There's a lot of talent in this country and a lot of smart people running that talent."
​

 

[t_BuckeyeScott]

I've got a question for those more knowlegeable than me. Could the linebackers inability to shed blocks be more a product of the DLine trying to get to the ball carrier themselves this year and the Line's lack of focus on eating up blocks? I thought the Linebackers were more free last year.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

I've got a question for those more knowlegeable than me. Could the linebackers inability to shed blocks be more a product of the DLine trying to get to the ball carrier themselves this year and the Line's lack of focus on eating up blocks? I thought the Linebackers were more free last year.

Others on the board are more qualified to handle this question directly, so I'll go off on a little bit of a tangent here...

The only difference I've seen so far in the D-line play is on the pass rush. We've played two teams with much more talent at OT than at OG. This was much more true with NIU than with UT. As a result of the opposing lines being stronger on the outside than the inside, combined with our own strength being up the middle; we had our tackles doing more serious pass rushing so far. Last year they were mostly just playing contain. I expect this to change going forward, with the vast majority of the sacks on the year going to defensive ends.

 

[Oh8ch]

This is a sandwich game?

Does that mean no nachos?