Game Thread Game Two: #1 Ohio State 24, #2 Texas 7 (9/9/06)

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[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]So who?s No. 1? Tressel, OSU stumble on vote[/FONT]
Thursday, September 7, 2006 [FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER [/FONT]

COLUMBUS When Jim Tressel said he voted Texas No. 1 on his coaches? poll ballot, he believed it.
But Stan Jefferson, Ohio State?s director of football operations, didn?t.
A miscommunication between Tressel and Jefferson, who submits the head coach?s ballot, led to the Buckeyes being ranked No. 1 on OSU?s ballot and Texas No. 2.
Tressel doesn?t vote autonomously each week. A brief discussion among the coaching staff is held. In the first poll, submitted before a game was played, Ohio State voted Texas No. 1, itself No. 3. Presumably, USC was No. 2.
However, when the first poll came out, the Buckeyes were No. 1. On Tuesday, Tressel told Jefferson to vote the ?same way as last time,? according to an Ohio State spokesman.
?Stan took that to mean how the last poll came out, and not how we voted the first time,? said OSU Associate Director of Sports Information Dan Wallenberg.
?That is how it got submitted incorrectly.?
Tressel said Tuesday he considered Texas to be the No. 1 team in the country. Ohio State is No. 1 in both the coaches and media polls. Texas, the defending national champion, is No. 2 in both polls.
?I?ve got them ranked No. 1 on our ballot because I think they deserve that,? Tressel said.
USA Today, which oversees the coaches? poll, reported the error between Tressel?s words and his ballot on Wednesday. Normally the newspaper does not reveal a coach?s vote unless it is publicly released by the coach and there is a discrepancy.
?When it came time to vote on the preseason poll, we voted Texas No. 1 and us No. 3 after talking about it as a staff,? Jefferson, a former Mansfield Senior High head football coach, told the Mansfield News-Journal. ?When I called in his poll (Tuesday), he did not tell me to put Ohio State No. 1. I put that down because we were No. 1 in the preseason poll. ... I did not have time to get with him (Tuesday) before the press conference. It was an honest mistake on our part. It was not meant as a psychological ploy.?

 

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Texas kicks off rugged month for OSU
BY JON SPENCER | THE (MANSFIELD) NEWS JOURNAL
COLUMBUS - Are the Ohio State Buckeyes being asked to bite off more steer than they can chew Saturday night?
Is it realistic to expect college football's No. 1 team - a team dealing with heavy personnel losses - to chug down a witch's brew of Longhorn, Nittany Lion and Hawkeye this month without suffering some sort of bellyache?
Hold the Gatorade, pass the Pepto.
Beating three nationally ranked teams over 22 days, beginning with Saturday's prime-time clash at No. 2 Texas, would be a monumental task for any team, let alone one that is replacing nine defensive starters and five first-round NFL picks.
"Brutal's a negative word," center Doug Datish said. "It's an opportunity. We're an opportunistic team and it's an opportunistic schedule. I wouldn't have it any other way."
The Buckeyes finished last season strong, rallying at Michigan and putting a 617-yard sleeper hold on Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. But they'll have to start this season even stronger if they plan to return to Arizona and play for a national championship Jan. 8.
Before the calendar flips to October, OSU will have traveled to Austin and No. 14 Iowa, with a home game against No. 19 Penn State in between.
"Who wants to play against teams that maybe aren't on your level?" Datish said. "We look at it as a huge opportunity. Everybody's going to be watching us.
"You can't ease into (the season). That's just not the way it is. It's a good barometer, playing good games earlier in the year, and it's a good learning experience for some young guys who are going to be in that big-game atmosphere pretty quick."
Saturday's No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup is the earliest ever and first in the regular season in a decade. It will be fun for the players, exciting for the fans and a ratings bonanza for ABC. Whether it is smart, without a playoff format to determine the national champion, is open to serious debate.
Strength of schedule apparently has no bearing on who reaches the BCS title game, so why go out of your way to booby-trap the path? There are plenty of mid-level programs and I-AA teams willing to take a paycheck and become sacrificial lambs for an Ohio State, which will have all it can handle navigating through the Big Ten.
Coach Jim Tressel knows it and, to his credit, doesn't care.
"To me, it's a tremendous bonus to coaching and playing at Ohio State that Ohio State has the philosophy that we not only want to be a part of a great conference, to be part of the greatest rivalry in college football, but we're also always going to be part of a marquee intersectional matchup," Tressel said. "Those things about running the table and having risks and all that, shoot, we've got a good league. There's not too many people who have run the table in our league lately. So, absolutely, I like being a part of this."
All of OSU's players seem to buy what Tressel and the administration - beginning with former athletics director Andy Geiger and continuing with successor Gene Smith - are selling.
"If you want to be a top-flight program, you shouldn't worry about playing a top-flight program," offensive tackle Kirk Barton said. "Our schedule in the future dictates that. We've got USC on board, along with Oklahoma and Miami. If you're getting recruited, those are the kind of games you want to play. If you win, you can tell your family, your kids and employees that you went down to Austin and beat Texas.
"That's the stuff you remember. You remember beating Notre Dame and Michigan ... those are the ones that are crystal-clear in your memory bank."
Texas athletics director DeLoss Dodds has gone on record stating that the Longhorns will avoid scheduling these blockbusters in the future.
"As we look around the country, you're seeing some mid-level games like this, but not No. 1 against No. 2," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "Thank goodness, if it was scheduled 12 years ago, it ended up matching up to be what both schools wanted it to be when they scheduled it."

 

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Ready for Texas-sized rematch?
BY JOSH PICHLER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Allan Kulick spent a lot of time in his car during the 2005 Ohio State-Texas game.
Kulick, president of Ohio State's Butler County alumni group, was at his 50th high school reunion in Vermillion, Ohio, on Sept. 10 last year. He thought there would be a television or radio at the event. He was wrong.
So, during his reunion dinner, Kulick kept tabs on the game, a 25-22 Ohio State loss, via his car radio before catching the end of the game - and the Longhorns' winning touchdown - on television at his hotel.

"It wasn't a whole lot of fun to watch," Kulick said.
Saturday night, Kulick will be among the thousands of Buckeye fans in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky who will gather around television sets to watch the rematch.
How big is this game? It's the first time since 1996 that the top two teams in the Associated Press poll (Ohio State is No. 1, Texas is No. 2) have played during the regular season.
In college football, one loss can doom a season, so Saturday's victor will likely be ranked No. 1 and have an inside track to January's national championship game.
There are more than 9,500 Ohio State alums in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, according to Ashley Schafer, director of alumni clubs for Ohio State University.
Last year, according the Nielsen ratings, more than 160,000 households in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky were tuned to the game.
Interest in this year's showdown could, if anything, be more intense given the teams' rankings, and extends past homes into businesses, taverns, and even the Reds clubhouse.
Outfielder Adam Dunn, 26, who was offered a scholarship to play football at the University of Texas, said Wednesday that he'll probably talk to Longhorns coach Mack Brown this week.
"I'm a realist," Dunn said. "It's going to be a very tough game. I think Texas will be able to run the ball on the Ohio State."
Local businesses are preparing for an onslaught of customers Saturday night. Alumni groups are having parties to attract new members.
And one Hyde Park man is setting up a 12-by-12-foot projection screen in his backyard so his neighbors can watch the game outside.
Perry Como, a 1992 OSU grad, says he expects about 40 adults, plus children, at his house.
Among those attendees will be Como's neighbor, Vicky Ott, who during the week is the executive director of Fernside Center for Grieving Children. On the weekends, Ott bleeds scarlet and gray. Last year's loss was tough to take, she said.
"It was great until the last five minutes ... it was really heartbreaking," Ott said. "It's just hard to lose in front of all the neighbors. Apparently, I took it pretty hard, from all the feedback I got."
Brett Little is in his third year as president of the Ohio State Alumni Club of Greater Cincinnati. Last year, Little was in Columbus for the Texas game, in an atmosphere that he described as electric.
This year, the club is hosting a party at the Fox and Hound English Pub & Grille in Mason. Little said he expects 75-100 members to show up Saturday. There are about 300 members in the club.
"We got a lot of our members just from parties like this," Little said.
While fans are hanging on every play, restaurants and bars will make sure glasses and stomachs remain full.
Lee Kinzer, general manager of Willie's Sports Caf? in Covington, said he's anticipating more than 500 customers to watch the game Saturday. Typically, 15 employees work Saturday night, Kinzer said. For this weekend's game, that number will increase to 25.
"It will be crazy ... it's really huge for business," Kinzer said. "There will be people here at noon and 1 p.m., and they'll camp out all day because they want the best seat, the seat right in front of the big screen."
Kulick plans on having a seat somewhere in Middletown. The 1968 graduate, who played baritone in the OSU band, is optimistic about the Buckeyes' chances. And at least the game is early in the season, he said, so if the Buckeyes lose, there is still time to recover and salvage the season.
Plus, Kulick saves his biggest nerves for the annual showdown with Ohio State's arch-nemesis.
"Nothing is ever as big as Michigan," Kulick said. "But (Texas) is a pretty darn important game."
Enquirer reporter John Fay contributed. E-mail [email protected]

 

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Hard to defend Buckeyes' Smith

By Mark Wogenrich Of The Morning Call
SATURDAY'S GAME Opponent: Notre Dame

When: 3:30 p.m.


Where: South Bend, Ind.

TV: NBC Radio: WAEB AM-790



Ohio State called just one designed run for quarterback Troy Smith last week, though it didn't go so well. Smith stumbled and gained a yard, prompting his coach to say, ''Troy looked like me running out there.''

''Once I saw it on film,'' Jim Tressel said Tuesday, ''he looked worse than me.''

Fine by Smith. The less he runs, the less he's known as a running quarterback.

Smith guides Ohio State into the gauntlet Saturday for the first September game between No. 1 and No. 2 in college football history. Top-ranked Ohio State's visit to No. 2 Texas already is developing a nice head of hysterical steam.

Ohio State's alumni association has rented out Texas' basketball arena for a pep rally featuring Archie Griffin, and Lance Armstrong is scheduled to be one of the guests in Texas fan Matthew McConaughey's stadium suite.

Into this atmosphere comes Smith, a fifth-year senior who thrives on big games and big plays. This year, Smith will attempt to become only the second quarterback to beat Michigan in three straight seasons. And let's not forget what he did to Notre Dame (408 yards of total offense) in the Fiesta Bowl.

But Smith also has made it clear that, this season, he wants to play quarterback without any adjectives or qualifiers (running, option, athletic). Throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns, while running only once, in a 35-12 victory over Northern Illinois, is a good start.

''One thing that's constantly bantered around is, so-and-so quarterback can do things with his feet but doesn't have an NFL arm,'' Tressel said. ''I don't know that Troy want to do any less with his feet; he just wants to do more with his arm and his mind.''

Smith, who rushed for 611 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, certainly won't abandon the run altogether. Actually, Texas expects him to cover plenty of ground after he threw all over the place last week.

''They have a great running game package for him, starting with the option and then, believe it or not, the quarterback power game,'' Texas co-defensive coordinator Gene Chizik said. ''They will run a little bit of sweep, but their aim is to spread you out and then run a power game inside with him.''

Smith was devastating when running the option last year, though it took time for him to settle in. After being suspended for the 2005 opener, Smith crept slowly into the season and largely was controlled by Penn State. In fact, one of the defining images of Ohio State's season was of Smith standing on his head after being sacked by Tamba Hali in the fourth quarter.

But what went less noticed were Smith's passing numbers. He ranked sixth nationally in pass efficiency (with a 63-percent completion rate) and threw for 16 touchdown passes. Smith took apart Michigan and Notre Dame, combining for 642 yards passing in the two games.

''In big games, he wants the ball and has delivered,'' Chizik said.

In his role as offensive leader, Smith naturally blunted the game's magnitude, saying, ''If we win at Texas and lose a week after, then how big really is the Texas game?''

Nevertheless, this game will go a long way toward defining the season, both for Smith and his team. He knows that, too.

''I'm looking forward to getting down to Austin and having some fun,'' he said.

 

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OSU out to avoid meltdown in Texas

By Rusty Miller

Associated Press

Associated Press
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and Heisman-hopeful receiver Ted Ginn Jr. could face temperatures near 90 degrees Saturday when the No. 1 Buckeyes face the No. 2 Longhorns in Austin, Texas.

COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Top-ranked Ohio State has thought of everything to prepare for Saturday night?s showdown at No. 2 Texas.
The Buckeyes have held two open practices at night to prepare for the 8 p.m. start. They?ve spent countless hours going over films of last year?s game and the Longhorns? opening-game victory over North Texas.
Nothing, however, can prepare them for the weather.
?There?s no way we could simulate the heat,? Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ?We?ve had lots of humidity here, but that?s not the same.?
The forecast calls for a high temperature approaching 90 on game day, with the lows near 70. Temperatures have been about 20 degrees lower in Ohio in recent days.
That?s ideal weather to leave a window open at night, but maybe not a good way to get used to the heat for a football game. Then again, things could be worse for Ohio State. Last year?s high temperature in Austin on Sept. 9 was 96.
?Everybody says how hot it is,? defensive end Jay Richardson said.
The Longhorns consider their 12th man to be the local weather forecaster.
?Weather is always going to be a factor, whether we?re up there in December and it?s snowing or down here right now and it feels like hell,? Texas running back Selvin Young said. ?They?re going to get a chance to see what our atmosphere is like. We won?t be able to tell until those guys are running to the sideline in the fourth quarter looking for water.?
Water, obviously, is the key. The Buckeyes have been told and told again to drink plenty of water in the days leading up to the game, on Friday?s flight and before, during and after the game.
?That?s one of the different ways that we?ve tried to prepare for the heat,? Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith said. ?We?re attacking it and drinking as much water as we can, which we try to emphasize every week. But I?m sure it will be overemphasized this week.?
Most warm-climate teams roll in replacements so that everyone gets plenty of time to replenish fluids and avoid having their stamina sapped by the oppressive heat.
The Buckeyes hope to follow that template, continually putting fresh people in the game. But that might be a problem on defense, where they have nine new starters and are particularly green in the secondary.
?We need to take a lesson from Texas and be committed in that type of heat to substituting,? Tressel said.
He said coaches, trainers and doctors cannot fall into the trap of letting a player stay on the field too long.
?You?re kidding yourself if you think someone?s going to just rise up and handle things just because they?re tough,? he said.
As if the heat wasn?t enough of a problem, Ohio State has had little success playing after dark. The Buckeyes have lost their last four regular-season night games, including their only two defeats a year ago (25-22 against Texas at home and a month later at Penn State, 17-10).
None of the Buckeyes have an explanation, particularly since they?re 4-0 in their last four bowl games, all played after dark.
?I don?t think that when the night comes, a switch turns on in our heads to play a certain way,? Smith said.
Right guard T.J. Downing said night games require patience.
?Maybe it?s the anxiety of waiting around all day ? that can get in guys? heads sometimes,? he said. ?It?s tough to really pinpoint anything but hopefully we can change our luck on Saturday.?

 

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Wodraska: Ohio State QB sees the value in second chance
Lya Wodraska
ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Texas or Ohio State? Can't make up your mind? One good reason to go with Ohio State in Saturday's showdown between No. 1 vs. No. 2 - Troy Smith.
It isn't about the impressive stats the quarterback has, how tall he is, how well he scrambles or how many games he has started. What makes Smith so successful, and why he is one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, is how well he plays in big games.
As a sophomore, he stepped in for an injured Justin Zwick and went 4-1, with a win over rival Michigan. In that game, Smith threw a 68-yard touchdown pass on the fifth play and ran for 145 yards, becoming the first Buckeye QB to top 100 yards rushing since Rod Gerald in 1977.
As a junior he rolled up 337 yards of total offense in another victory over Michigan, then put the finishing touch on Ohio State's season with an MVP performance - a career-high 342 yards and two TDs passing and another score rushing - in a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame.
So what is the big blemish on his record? Last year's 25-22 loss to Texas, of course. It wasn't so much that he couldn't devise an Ohio State comeback, but that he had to split time with Zwick.
Coach Jim Tressel made the decision to go with the two quarterbacks because Smith's biggest misread of an offensive situation came when he accepted $500 from a booster for part-time work he never performed.
When the NCAA violation was discovered, Smith was suspended for the 2004 Alamo Bowl and the first game of the 2005 season, against Miami of Ohio. With Zwick leading the Buckeyes to a 34-14 win in that opener, Tressel felt he had no choice but to allow Zwick to start the next week against Texas and work Smith into the lineup.
Smith got his time and led the Buckeyes on five scoring drives, but was denied the winning drive by the Longhorns' defense when he was sacked for a safety.
Smith, who already has earned a degree in communications, isn't talking up Saturday's rematch with the Longhorns with some sort of personal vendetta, approaching what could be the biggest game of the year with the kind of philosophy a coach loves to hear come out of his leader's mouth.
"I can't say it's the biggest game," he said. "If we win against Texas, and then lose to someone else after that, then how big was the Texas game?"
Smith said he gets his calm demeanor on the field by drawing on the privilege he feels in simply getting to play. In that respect, he has a lot to draw from. He is lucky the NCAA suspension was as light as it was,that his straying path as a teenager was set straight by Ted Ginn, a high school football coach and father of Buckeye receiver Ted Ginn, Jr., and that Ohio State's coaching staff reconsidered its initial plan and allowed him a chance at quarterback.
"I'm humbled by it all the way around," Smith said.
Smith hasn't taken much for granted since his run-in with the NCAA. He finished the 2005 season as the nation's fourth-rated passer, completing 63 percent of his passes and finishing with 16 passing touchdowns and 2,282 passing yards. Still, he spent the offseason working even harder rather than basking in those numbers.
"From the day he got here he has progressed," Tressel said. "I'm not sure when it occurred, but there was a moment when he decided that being a complete player meant more than just playing and practicing."

 

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[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Buyer Beware: Counterfeit UT/Ohio State Tickets[/FONT]
Sep 6, 2006 10:11 PM

As we countdown to kickoff this weekend, a warning has been issued. Counterfeit tickets are popping up for the UT/Ohio State game Saturday.
The game is sold out. UT police say they've already gotten a few reports of counterfeit tickets so be wary if you intend to buy from a non-university source.
"Be very, very careful on where you buy your tickets obviously with all the tickets being sold out and with a sold out game. The only tickets available are on the secondary market. I would be very careful and very hesitant on who you're buying your tickets from," UTPD Capt. Don Everett said.
Everett says the ticket takers will be extra cautious, looking for counterfeit tickets and will make sure to catch those at the gates.

 

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Dispatch

?D? is for determined
Buckeyes keeping their cool on defense despite flaws against Northern Illinois
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

JEFF HINCKLEY Ohio State?s defense, which is replacing nine starters from last season?s team, listens to instructions from linebacker James Laurinaitis during a 35-12 season-opening victory over Northern Illinois.

In the Ohio State meeting rooms this week, it was all quiet on the defensive front. Even after Northern Illinois running back Garrett Wolfe slashed the Buckeyes for 285 total yards, the coaches decided not to come down too hard on their mostly inexperienced players.
"It was more calm," fifth-year senior Quinn Pitcock said, breaking into a smile. "You can?t yell at the young kids too much; that?s when they tighten up." The first test for a rebuilt unit with nine new starters yielded mixed results. The Buckeyes registered four sacks and limited the Huskies to 12 points. On the only drive that Northern Illinois mounted while the game still was remotely in doubt, linebacker Larry Grant intercepted a pass.
But there was Wolfe, sticking out like a 5-foot-7 sore thumb. He had some big gains on swing passes and the like, but he also repeatedly found room up the middle.
In the span of six plays on a third-quarter field-goal drive, Wolfe ran for 9, 9, and 8 yards on up-the-gut calls. Often, Ohio State defenders seemed to be in the wrong gap or staying blocked too long.
That caused Huskies coach Joe Novak to give a frank assessment.
"I?ll be honest, they?re not as good as last year," he said. "They couldn?t be. What did they have, three or four first-round draft choices?" (It was three.) "But they?re not bad. That front group is good. They?ve got kids who can run.
"They?ll be a good defensive football team, but don?t compare them to last year?s. This group?s not going to be quite as good."
But they don?t have the luxury of time. The Buckeyes head to No. 2 Texas this week. The Longhorns boast a big, athletic offensive line and dual running threats Selvin Young and Jamaal Charles.
If Young was feeling good after watching what Wolfe did to Ohio State, he wasn?t letting on.
"Those guys were getting their feet wet against a scatback who can make anyone miss in a phone booth," Young said. "They?re going to go watch film and learn from it. They?ll play more fundamental football."
Ohio State substituted freely, ending with eight linemen, six linebackers and eight defensive backs playing a lot. Coach Jim Tressel and players alike said they expected the same liberal rotation in Texas.
"We absolutely envision rotating on both sides of the ball," Tressel said. "Partially because we still need to keep giving kids opportunities, and partially because heat is a real issue."
The lineup should look about the same, as well. On the depth chart, freshman Ross Homan now is bracketed with John Kerr at starting weakside linebacker, but Tressel downplayed that, saying only, "They?ll both play."
The general assessment was the young defense played hard but made some mistakes in pursuit angles, assignments and missed tackles.
The coaching staff didn?t seem overly concerned, players said.
"I think they thought it was some good, some bad and some ugly," tackle David Patterson said. "I think they were happy with the effort of the guys. I know some coaches were saying, ?We can deal with mistakes, but we can?t deal with people not giving good effort,? and I think the effort was there."
Coaches often say they notice the most improvement in a team between week one and week two. Can the Buckeyes? defense make a big leap forward so quickly?
"We have to," Kerr said. "If we don?t, then we?ve got a problem."

Dispatch reporters Todd Jones and Bob Baptist contributed to this report .

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Dispatch

COMMENTARY
Texas game proves colleges trump NFL
Thursday, September 07, 2006

ROB OLLER

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The marching band matters. So does the fight song, the student section and the national polls — regardless of whether the head coach or head water boy calls in the vote, right Tress?
The NFL is terrific; nothing against the NFL. But college football is better because of the pageantry and passion, not to mention the bands, overthe-top boosters and mascots named Brutus and Bevo. That point is being driven home this week as No. 1 Ohio State travels to No. 2 Texas for The Rematch, which is not to be confused with The Game or The Game of the Century or Catholics vs. Convicts or The Red River Shootout or the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Game labels — another reason to love college football.
Saturday night’s to-do in Austin tells us all we need to know about why the pro game pales in comparison. NFL rivalries can be regional but mostly pit city against city, as in Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh or Denver vs. Oakland.
The biggest college games, meanwhile, often include cultural divides. In the case of OSU-UT, the hot topic is whether Longhorns fans will be as rude to their Ohio visitors as Buckeyes fans were to UT travelers last season in Columbus, or as one Texas e-mailer called it, "that Third World dump of a town."
So the game isn’t just about Colt McCoy vs. Troy Smith. It’s also about supposed Southern hospitality vs. Yankee lack of manners.
It’s also about scarlet and gray vs. burnt orange and white. As silly as it might seem to those unfamiliar with college athletics, messing with traditional team colors is the equivalent of insulting someone’s mother. Few NFL fans would react negatively if their favorite team changed its jersey stripes. Ohio State fans, however, were ready to storm the athletic department when the Buckeyes this season unveiled sleeve stripes that lacked gray. There also was the issue a few years ago of the sacrilegious burgundy Nike shirts worn by Ohio States coaches, which prompted fans to take to the streets with pitchforks and torches.
College football also has the Horseshoe, Death Valley, the Big House, Between the Hedges and the Swamp. The NFL has the classic Frozen Tundra and … the not-so-classic Jungle.
College football has colorful coaches both living (JoePa, Bobby) and dead (Woody, Bear, Knute), while the NFL’s most personable coaches are all dead. College coaches also double as poll voters — or are supposed to, anyway — which brings us to another reason the college game trumps the pros.
College football is subjective, not objective like the NFL, so the college game is ripe for debate, and debate leads to controversy, which peaks interest and provides ammunition for alumni.
Those alums are important to the college game. They are emotionally invested in their teams in a way that pro fans are not. You cannot leave half of your brain cells on the beer-soaked floor of a campus bar without gaining some affection for your alma mater. And it’s hard not to root for the school in which you’ve invested half of your career earnings through the repayment of loans.
College football reverberates. Quick, hum the tune and recite the first line of the Miami Dolphins Fight Song. Uh, er, sorry, but "Yes, we’re the Miami Dolphins, Miami Dolphins, No. 1," doesn’t raise the hair on the back of my neck.
College quarterbacks run. NFL quarterbacks collapse. College cheerleaders actually cheer. NFL cheerleaders only, er, cheer you up. College halftimes are wonderfully corny. NFL halftimes are depressingly commercial.
College football gets in your blood, which this week bleeds either scarlet or burnt orange. The colors of craze.

Rob Oller is a sports reporter for The Dispatch
.
[email protected]

 

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Thursday, September 07, 2006

Dispatch

OHIO STATE VS. TEXAS
Bevo carries weight in eyes of Texas fans
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Todd Jones
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

SOMEWHERE NEAR AUSTIN, Texas — Snot slung from the nostrils of the 1,900-pound longhorn steer as one University of Texas student pulled on his horns and another yanked on the beast’s rope rein.
"Come on," Kyle Spencer said.
Bevo wasn’t quite ready to leave the comforts of his cattle pen to board the nearby idling trailer, owned by the Silver Spurs, the university group that transports, handles and cleans up after the famed Texas mascot.
"The second he sees that trailer he starts acting up," said Hamilton Madden, one of the four Silver Spurs. "He doesn’t know if he’s going to get loaded up to go to Pasadena or to Austin."
On this night, the eve of last week’s season-opening football game, Bevo was being transported to the University of Texas Golf Club for an appearance at a Texas Exes booster club party.
Just another day in the life of the most beloved cow this side of India.
"Come on," said Spencer, a Silver Spur, as Bevo relented and walked up the ramp into his air-conditioned trailer.
Spencer, Madden and fellow Silver Spurs Bryan Manfull and Jimmy Berry, all Texas seniors, will be with Bevo behind the south end zone Saturday when the Longhorns play Ohio State.
As usual before a home game, the Spurs will sleep the night before the OSU game next to Bevo’s pen in an open-air bunkhouse on the cattle ranch owned by Betty and John T. Baker.
The location of Bevo’s home is a guarded secret, kind of like the Batcave, for fear that fans of Texas’ rivals — especially those darned Texas A &M Aggies — might try to steal the mascot and do something dastardly to him such as paint him, as has been done.
"Not too many slick folks have ever been out here before," said Madden as a security code was punched in, the ranch’s two iron gates swung open and Bevo’s trailer headed down the road.
Texas A &M fans kidnapped the original Bevo in 1916, the first year Texas used a live mascot. They branded the steer with 13-0, the score of the Aggies’ win over the Longhorns the previous season. Embarrassed, legend says the Texas fans turned the score into letters that read "Bevo."
Actually, a writer for a university publication came up with that name as a play on "Beeve," a slang Texas term for cattle that’ll be eaten.
The original Bevo, deemed too much trouble to take care of, was barbecued in 1920 and eaten by Texas and Texas A &M fans. Bevo II was adopted as a mascot in 1936, and a live steer has served in that role since.
The love for Bevo XIV, pictured on the Texas football media guide cover, was evident last Friday as his trailer rolled down roads outside Austin. Other car horns honked with approval and fans flashed the "Hook ’em Horns" hand signal.
When the Silver Spurs’ trailer arrived at the UT Golf Club, a swarm of children ran toward it in delight. "Bevo! " they yelled as the 4-year-old steer emerged.
"Stuff like this is kind of stressful," Madden said. "You’ve got so many little kids running around. If one of them gets hit by a horn, oh, my job gets a lot worse. He’ll give you a nudge, but a nudge to him could break a rib."
Bevo is docile in nature. He was bred to be a show steer and castrated at birth. Still, he can get ornery with his horns (measuring 67½ inches from tip to tip), especially if he doesn’t get to eat his daily 60 pounds of grass.
"Last year at the Kansas game, he was sick and didn’t want to be there," Madden said. "He tore one handler’s shirt up the back and tore another guy’s jeans from the knee up to the butt cheek. It’s our job to take the hit."
Fans throughout Texas rent Bevo (funds go toward insurance and veterinarian fees) for public and private functions, some of which are charity events called a "Bull Drop." At those, people gamble on what numbered square Bevo will relieve himself on.
"I took him to my cousin’s wedding," Madden said. "It was a UTthemed wedding. His fiancée was really surprised and happy."
The four Silver Spurs, who are elected, are also happy to put in as much as 15 to 20 hours a week looking after Bevo. Why?
"The girls," Spencer said.
"They all know we’re going to be on the field (during games) and a bunch of them ask if they can be on the field with us," Manfull said.
The Silver Spurs recently took Bevo to a Texas sorority house, where he stood for photos with the pledges in their best gowns. Those freshmen ended up screaming when Bevo crapped on the front lawn.
"They looked at us like we were supposed to pick it up," Berry said. "We left it there for them as a souvenir."
No solid souvenirs, just memories, were left last week at the University of Texas Golf Club. As darkness fell, children and adults continued to pose for photos with the state’s most famous steer.
"Bevo means everything to Texas fans. He’s the icon of Texas football," said Greg Garner, the club pro.
[email protected]

Dispatch

It’s work, not a party, for OSU
Pregame revelry won’t be a part of travel itinerary
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

HARRY CABLUCK ASSOCIATED PRESS If the Buckeyes score a lot of points Saturday night, they’ll be displayed on a new 81-foot tall, 136-foot wide scoreboard that is the largest high-definition video display in collegiate sports.
If things go according to plan, the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will walk into their game at No. 2 Texas on Saturday night with blinders on.
All this despite there being a big-time party going on around them from the time they arrive Friday until they leave early Sunday, Austin prides itself on being the "live music capital of the world." Most of those notes rise from bars and clubs — such as the Blind Pig Pub — on raucous Sixth Street.
Texans also brag about their capitol building being bigger than the nation’s capitol, and of their University of Texas campus being one of the world’s largest, and of the nearby Hill Country being God’s gift to scenery. And there’s the barbecue joints, the Mexican restaurantes and all manner of fine dining.
This weekend in particular — with the biggest game in college football in town, with 40,000 or more Ohio State fans primed to swell the downtown crowd — the Buckeyes can forget about it all, because their itinerary reads like this:
Fly to Austin on chartered jet, board buses for hotel, eat dinner, board buses for walkthrough at stadium, board buses for hotel, meet, sleep, wake up, eat breakfast, meet, stretch legs with walk, watch TV games, meet, eat early dinner, board buses for stadium, play game, board buses for airport, fly back to Columbus.
The few Buckeyes queried this week seemed to have little knowledge of what they’ll be missing.
"I’m not too familiar with that area," defensive tackle David Patterson said.
Offensive tackle Kirk Barton recalled one interesting nugget.
"I know they had Real World there about two years ago," he said. "That’s about it. And I know they love their Longhorns."
He wasn’t that interested in filling in the other blanks this weekend. This is no bowl trip for the Buckeyes, who have their No. 1 ranking exposed. Their team hotel is just a few blocks and a bridge from Sixth Street, but it might as well be in the next county.
"It’s a business trip," Barton said. "You’re on the plane, then you’re getting ready, doing your routine. You’ve got to be ready to go at 7:10 (Saturday night)."
But they’ll get a sense of what’s going on around them in the couple of hours before kickoff, lineman T.J. Downing said.
"I’ve heard that Austin is similar to Ohio State’s campus, and I know they are going to have a lot of fans that are probably going to have a lot of cocktails in them, and they’re going to be loud and they’re going to be ready to go," Downing said. "We’ve got to deal with and adapt to that environment."
As Patterson said, the players know the game is the main attraction.
"That’s why we put in all of this work," he said. "That’s when we’re going to have our fun."



Dispatch

Suspended player passed test
Thursday, September 07, 2006

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Suspended Texas cornerback Tarell Brown passed a drug test after he was arrested on misdemeanor drug and weapon charges, his attorney’s office said yesterday.
Brown, a starter, and backup linebacker Tyrell Gatewood were arrested early Monday along with former Longhorns linebacker Aaron Harris.
Travis County sheriff’s deputies said they found less than 2 ounces of marijuana in the car the three were in.
Deputies also said Brown was holding a 9 mm handgun in his lap.
Brown and Gatewood were charged with misdemeanor possession. Brown was also charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Line dancing: Ohio State upfront
By D.Laurant on September 7, 2006 01:00 AM
Permalink | Comments (0) | RSS | [+] More Ohio State News

Most of the hype you'll hear prior to Saturday's meeting of No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Texas in Austin will revolve around the skill position players -- Troy Smith, Antonio Pittman, Ted Ginn Jr., Jamaal Charles, Selvin Young, Colt McCoy.

Yet both teams will also be laying it on the line - literally. For, whoever controls the line of scrimmage in what promises to be near-100-degree heat should wind up controlling the polls at day's end.

The Ohio State d-line may be under the most pressure. With new linebackers and a rebuilt secondary, the Buckeyes can't afford to give Texas QB Colt McCoy time to pick out his second and third passing options. But the Longhorns' offensive front, anchored by Outland Trophy candidate Justin Blalock, won't be a pushover.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes' offensive line will face a stern challenge from quick defensive ends Tim Crowder and Brian Robison and All-Big 12 tackle Frank Okam.

So ... who are these guys?

Buckeye coach Jim Tressel had to be encouraged with the performance of DEs Vernon Gholston and Jay Richardson in the season-opening 35-12 victory over Northern Illinois. Gholston had five tackles, two of them for a loss, Richardson notched three tackles and a TFL.

DTs Quinn Pitcock (6-foot-3, 295) and David Patterson (6-3, 285) are seniors and two-year starters, but Gholston (6-4, 260) and Richardson (6-6, 276) are replacements. The former is a converted linebacker, while Richardson played behind Mike Kudla last season. Interestingly, Richardson had his best 2005 game against Texas, collecting three tackles and forcing a fumble.

The OSU offensive line, meanwhile, features a trio of tough, seasoned, Northeast Ohio products -- C Doug Datish (6-5, 295), G T.J. Downing (6-3, 305) and T Kirk Barton (6-6, 310).

All three come from storied programs in the Land of the Lake Effect Snow. Downing played his high school football in Canton; Barton played his in neighboring Massilon. Canton and Massilon are two communities in which prep football is exalted. Datish, meanwhile, comes from Warren, which produced Paul Brown, Paul Warfield and (dare we mention it?) Maurice Clarett.

The other two starters will be 6-8, 325-pound Cleveland product Alex Boone (who received a lot of publicity during the offseason for his battle with alcohol addiction) at right tackle and Tim Schafer (6-5, 290) at the guard spot opposite Downing.

Their assignments are clear -- keeping the Longhorns off Troy Smith and Antonio Pittman on one hand, making life as difficult as possible for new Longhorn QB McCoy on the other. And if they don't play at a high level, it could be a long plane trip back to Columbus.

Get more on the Ohio State Buckeyes at RealFootball365.com

 

[rocketman]

Ok, a little report from behind the lines....

I flew into Austin around 11:00 AM local time, the plane was about 40% Buckeye fans. We checked into our hotel and went downtown to check out campus, 6th street, etc. On 6th Street there is an apartment complex in which one of the tenants must be an Ohio State fan, because he drapped a giant "GO BUCKS!" banner over his balcony, with a giant inflatable Brutus sitting in a lawn chair. That was cool. Plenty of Buckeye fans down here. We went up Guadalupe (felt eerily similar to High Street - what I guess is the main drag on UT's campus - honestly, like a mirror image of High, they even have a Pita Pit!). We saw the state capitol building, which was cool...nothing but Buckeye fans there. And, we walked around the stadium, where Longhorn fans and a few Buckeye fans are setting up their tailgates. Whenever I'm not partying or whatnot, I'll bring you guys more reports.

 

[ytownbuckeye]

cannot wait for kickoff

 

[OSUScoonie12]

Most Detailed OSU-Texas Preview...Ever

Check this site out...i have never seen a preview so detailed before. Some of you many have seen it already. I would paste it here, but is waaay to big/long.


http://www.rpongett.phpwebhosting.com/osupreview.html

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

thanks, scoonie, but that link has been posted a handful of times already. something tells me that this thread may not last much longer.

 

[Best Buckeye]

cannot wait for kickoff

Oh Lord dont start that yet lol