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Sept. 5, 2006, 12:07AM
Potentially, Smith is this year's Young
By JOHN P. LOPEZ
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
FOR all the physical gifts God and genetics gave Vince Young, the greatest was one that could not be timed, measured or gauged.
Texas Fight was not an anthem to Young. It was a heavy-mettle beat in his heart.
Guts turned into Longhorns glory. Whatever it was that distinguished him from other talents made Young's heart bigger and better than that of anyone else on the field.
So it is, too, with the Ohio State beat in Troy Smith's heart. He leads. They follow. They worry. He calms.
A lot of similarities
Vince Young wore jersey No. 10. So does Smith. Young was a scintillating threat running the ball, but his accuracy as a passer was much underrated. Ditto with Smith.
Early in his career, Young had to share time with a touted, popular, good quarterback — Chance Mock — who in truth was not close to being in Young's league.
Such was the case with Smith, who even in last year's Texas-Ohio State brawl was sharing time with Justin Zwick.
Young replaced Mock, and many wondered what took so long. Same with Smith.
But most significantly, Young did not show the nation just how marvelous a player he was until the 2005 Rose Bowl. That's when he turned in a legendary effort against storied Midwest power Michigan.
One year later, the national championship game would be played on that same Rose Bowl field, and Young's coronation as one of the greatest college quarterbacks became complete.
So this is where the parallels between the Buckeyes quarterback and the former Longhorns great become practically scary. Especially if you are a Texas fan.
Terrific in Tempe
It was not until a special kind of night against storied Midwest power Notre Dame in last season's Tostitos Fiesta Bowl that the nation caught a glimpse of Smith's talents. Smith finished with 408 yards of offense that night against the Irish, including a career-high 342 yards passing, in what would be a 34-20 Ohio State victory.
And where is this year's national championship game? Back in Tempe, of course.
Even UT coach Mack Brown shakes his head and marvels at the tracks these two quarterbacks' careers have taken.
"I think they're the same guy," Brown said. "One's taller."
That would be Young, who is 6-5 to Smith's 6-1.
As these teams are measured and dissected in the days before Saturday's huge No. 1 versus No. 3 showdown in Austin, as they are analyzed and scrutinized, picked apart and put back together again, understand that the only thing that really matters is No. 10.
Just like last year.
"I relate him to what Vince Young did for us," Brown said of Smith. "He's so strong with his legs. He throws the ball downfield so well. He's so accurate.
"I expect him to do this year for Ohio State like what Vince did for us."
The greatest challenge for the Longhorns is making sure it doesn't happen
exactly like last year.
They do have a defense filled with experience and superstar talents bucking for Outland and Lombardi honors.
But then, so did Ohio State last year.
It was Young who determined the outcome of this game a year ago, running and passing terrifically but, most importantly, calmly directing the clinching drive and finishing it off with a perfect strike to receiver Limas Sweed.
When teams are this closely matched, all sorts of on-field and off-field factors will, to varying degrees, come into play. Let's go down the list of things to watch, shall we?
There's Texas quarterback Colt McCoy's play under pressure.
And there's the young, potentially susceptible Ohio State defense.
There's the vocal Longhorns crowd and a heated environment. And there's the Buckeyes' response to that environment and big-time Texas heat.
There's the impact of UT cornerback Tarell Brown's marijuana- and gun-related arrest early Monday morning. And there's the Buckeyes' other Heisman hopeful, the brilliant receiver Ted Ginn Jr., against whom Brown would be matched if he is allowed to play.
There's the Buckeyes' great offensive line. And the Longhorns' great defensive line. There's this. There's that.
But add it all together, and you've still got nothing compared to the one play Smith will have to make at some point Saturday night.
Rest assured, it will come down to that.
A year ago, Young made that play. The difference between another title run for the Longhorns and one for the Buckeyes could be whether Smith's budding legend again follows Young's lead.
"Troy Smith can take a negative play and make it a positive," Mack Brown said. "He's one of those once-in-a-lifetime guys."
Or twice-in-a-lifetime perhaps.
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EnlargePeterson: AP photo; all others: US PRESSWIRE
Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson, Rutgers' Ray Rice, Ohio State's Troy Smith and Tennessee's Erik Ainge, clockwise from top left, are among the nominees for college football player of the week.
