Game Thread THE GAME: #1 Ohio State 42, #2 Michigan 39 (11/18/06)

[osugrad21]

CPD

OHIO STATE INSIDER
Feeling about sixth makes sense


Wednesday, November 15, 2006Dennis Manoloff
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has won four of his first five games against Michigan -- sparkling in its own right, and positively spectacular when stacked against the record of his predecessor, 2-10-1 John Cooper.
But Tressel is not about to gloat as he prepares for his sixth game against the Wolverines.
Asked his feeling about being 4-1 against Michigan, he said, "It has nothing to do with 2006.
"That's the biggest feeling."
Bruce speaks:
Former Buckeyes coach Earle Bruce addressed the team Sunday night. Tressel, who was on Bruce's staff from 1983-85, makes sure to keep him involved with the program. For Michigan week, Tressel has Bruce on speed-dial.
If any Buckeyes player or coach has any doubt about the significance of the rivalry, it is erased after an Earle Bruce talk.
"Earle Bruce knows more about Ohio State-Michigan than anybody on the planet," center Doug Datish said.
"Every time he comes in to speak, it gets me pumped up," safety Brandon Mitchell said. "He is so into it."
Bruce, 75, typically tells jokes as part of his gig. The current players were not about to reveal them.

"You never know what he's going to say next," Mitchell said.
In 1951, Bruce was a sophomore running back at Ohio State but suffered a knee injury in the preseason and did not play again.
He joined coach Woody Hayes' staff until graduation. Bruce coached at Ohio State from 1979 to 1987, going 5-4 against Michigan, including a 23-20 upset at Ann Arbor in his finale.
Football 101:
Receiver Anthony Gonzalez insists he has no problem being a student during the week leading up to a huge game. Not surprisingly, Gonzalez, a junior from St. Ignatius, is one of the Buckeyes brainiacs.
"Class actually helps me," he said. "If you can maintain as normal a lifestyle as possible, you'll be better off. It just kind of dulls all the emotions that can come into it and helps keep your mind clear."
Running back Antonio Pittman, a junior from Buchtel, said it is never easy to study during Michigan week -- especially this one.
"Everywhere you go, there's going to be talk about Michigan," he said. "Sitting in class, people come up and say, Are you ready for the game?' and wish you luck. You have no choice but to think about it."
The nerves:
Senior defensive tackle David Patterson, a quality pass rusher, might be even better at throwing up. His pregame upchuck has become a source of comedy for his teammates.
"He gets so nervous before each game, he just about goes into convulsions," Mitchell said. "He's really loud with it. If he played quarterback, we'd lose every game. I have no idea what's going on with him. I've played a lot of games with him, and now it's like, Why?"
Patterson said he expects the pregame mess Saturday to be larger than normal, befitting the occasion.
Something must give:
The Buckeyes have victory streaks of 18 overall (nation's longest), 13 in the Big Ten and 11 at home. The Wolverines counter with 11 overall, seven in the Big Ten and four on the road.

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Running down dreams

OSU eyes outright Big Ten title and more

Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Doug Lesmerises

Plain Dealer Reporter Columbus- It might seem like a minor distinction, but awash in a scarlet sea of tradition, the Ohio State players have grasped the motivational nuance from the first day of preseason camp. The Buckeyes wanted to win this year, but they also didn't want anyone else to win with them. Hard as it might be to believe, the Buckeyes haven't won an outright Big Ten title since 1984. Since then, seven other teams have had a conference championship all to themselves, while Ohio State has been a co-Big Ten champ six times. But oh, that annoying co-. "You don't want to share a title with anybody," center Doug Datish said. "You've got that little co- in front of it with the hyphen that nobody wants to see. Also, if we win it, it'll be the first time since 1984. So anytime Ohio State football has been shut out of something for 22 years, it's a pretty rare thing, and we want to bring it back." Obviously, the desire for a solo victory came from the coaching staff, because the players have picked up on it as a group. Then Athletic Director Gene Smith addressed the team before the season about the chance to go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the polls, something no Ohio State team has ever done. In fact, only six teams - 1943 Notre Dame, 1945 Army, 1971 Nebraska, 1972 Southern Cal, 1999 Florida State and 2004 Southern Cal - have been atop the AP poll from the preseason through the end of the bowl games. "That would mean so much to everybody in this program simply because there [haven't] been that many teams that have done that," OSU quarterback Troy Smith said. "That would be legendary. Oftentimes teams and players come through here and they can just be another great team or another good team, and we have a chance to possibly be that team." Those two opportunities at history seemingly have driven the Buckeyes even more than the idea of a national title. Maybe that's because the fifth-year seniors have been part of a national title, but even that 2002 national championship OSU team had to share the Big Ten title with Iowa because the teams didn't play each other and both finished at 8-0. "I think all teams or all individuals have a goal that they would like to be remembered," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "They would like to leave a legacy. They like to be able to say, 'Hey, I was on that whatever, 2002 team or I was on that '68 team,' so absolutely people desire to leave a legacy." At least the Buckeyes know they can't tie the Wolverines on the field Saturday, as the teams did when both were undefeated in 1973. Good thing, because the Buckeyes dislike the tie so much, you wonder if they think it was invented in Michigan. "Sharing it is not really being the best," OSU running back Antonio Pittman said. "Being outright means that you were the undefeated team in the Big Ten. You know you won; you beat everybody. There's nobody who can beat you in the conference." Defensive end Jay Richardson said: "You don't want to tie. You don't want to do that. It's so tough to [win outright] because there are a lot of tough teams in the Big Ten, and the Big Ten is unpredictable. Everyone always beats up on one another." If the Buckeyes do beat Michigan on Saturday, they would be the 16th Ohio State team to win a championship alone. Overall, it would be conference championship No. 31, which would still trail Michigan's 42 titles. But the Wolverines have been part of so many ties, they've been solo champions only 16 of those 42 times. So, yes, a win by the Buckeyes would leave them tied with the Wolverines at 16 outright titles each. Then everyone would have a new motivation in 2007 about a tie needing to be broken. First things first. "I don't think that it's you want to make your mark necessarily," Datish said. "I think you want to add to it. The tradition here has been so great, so many great players and great teams and great coaches, we realize we're just a small blip on the radar. And if we can do anything possible to add to that and make it better, then that's what it's our job to do." To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
Hard as it might be to believe, the Buckeyes haven't won an outright Big Ten title since 1984. Since then, seven other teams have had a conference championship all to themselves, while Ohio State has been a co-Big Ten champ six times. But oh, that annoying co-.
"You don't want to share a title with anybody," center Doug Datish said. "You've got that little co- in front of it with the hyphen that nobody wants to see. Also, if we win it, it'll be the first time since 1984. So anytime Ohio State football has been shut out of something for 22 years, it's a pretty rare thing, and we want to bring it back."
Obviously, the desire for a solo victory came from the coaching staff, because the players have picked up on it as a group. Then Athletic Director Gene Smith addressed the team before the season about the chance to go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the polls, something no Ohio State team has ever done. In fact, only six teams - 1943 Notre Dame, 1945 Army, 1971 Nebraska, 1972 Southern Cal, 1999 Florida State and 2004 Southern Cal - have been atop the AP poll from the preseason through the end of the bowl games.
"That would mean so much to everybody in this program simply because there [haven't] been that many teams that have done that," OSU quarterback Troy Smith said. "That would be legendary. Oftentimes teams and players come through here and they can just be another great team or another good team, and we have a chance to possibly be that team."
Those two opportunities at history seemingly have driven the Buckeyes even more than the idea of a national title. Maybe that's because the fifth-year seniors have been part of a national title, but even that 2002 national championship OSU team had to share the Big Ten title with Iowa because the teams didn't play each other and both finished at 8-0.
"I think all teams or all individuals have a goal that they would like to be remembered," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "They would like to leave a legacy. They like to be able to say, 'Hey, I was on that whatever, 2002 team or I was on that '68 team,' so absolutely people desire to leave a legacy."
At least the Buckeyes know they can't tie the Wolverines on the field Saturday, as the teams did when both were undefeated in 1973.
Good thing, because the Buckeyes dislike the tie so much, you wonder if they think it was invented in Michigan.
"Sharing it is not really being the best," OSU running back Antonio Pittman said. "Being outright means that you were the undefeated team in the Big Ten. You know you won; you beat everybody. There's nobody who can beat you in the conference."
Defensive end Jay Richardson said: "You don't want to tie. You don't want to do that. It's so tough to [win outright] because there are a lot of tough teams in the Big Ten, and the Big Ten is unpredictable. Everyone always beats up on one another."
If the Buckeyes do beat Michigan on Saturday, they would be the 16th Ohio State team to win a championship alone. Overall, it would be conference championship No. 31, which would still trail Michigan's 42 titles. But the Wolverines have been part of so many ties, they've been solo champions only 16 of those 42 times.
So, yes, a win by the Buckeyes would leave them tied with the Wolverines at 16 outright titles each. Then everyone would have a new motivation in 2007 about a tie needing to be broken. First things first.
"I don't think that it's you want to make your mark necessarily," Datish said. "I think you want to add to it. The tradition here has been so great, so many great players and great teams and great coaches, we realize we're just a small blip on the radar. And if we can do anything possible to add to that and make it better, then that's what it's our job to do."

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Thank God I'm from Michigan and not Ohio
Robert Warner
The Enquirer

Tonight, when you crawl into bed, weary from another day of toil, stop for a moment.
Throw back the covers, kneel at your bedside, cup your hands in prayer and say eight words from the heart:
"Thanks, Lord, for not making me a Buckeye."
In these hours before nondescript silver helmets with red stripes butt up against the legendary blue ones with the maize wings and stripes, it's time to pause and consider our good fortune as Michiganders.
And to lament the fate of those stuck in a state with both Toledo AND Youngstown.
Scientists are pondering how Ohio could have screwed up Lake Erie ? again. They've found new dead zones, which I thought referred to Cleveland night life, but actually are areas of the lake where oxygen is getting depleted and bad algae run amok, sorta like former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett on a Saturday night.
Ohioans have a little trouble with counting. When they celebrated the centennial of Ohio's statehood, they did it twice. Some mouth-breathers counted the creation of the Northwest Territory in 1788 as the start of Ohio. Uhhh, no. Try 1803, when, you know, Ohio was granted statehood.
A few years later, we Michiganders had a little bizarre skirmish with the Ohioans over some swampy land at our southeast corner. It looked like war until President Andrew Jackson settled things in 1833 by giving the land to Ohio and consoling us with the Upper Peninsula. That swamp became the dumpy factory town now known as Toledo. Tahquamenon, Toledo. Fair trade? Yeppers.
Recently, I learned that Ohio State fans acknowledge one another this way: One will say "O-H" and the other will respond "I-O." Brilliant. Maybe they'll someday be able to move to full words, and instead of recognizing Ohio University, say "Ohio" and "State" to one another.
Then there's Cornhole. The game is as stupid as its name. It started down in the Cincinnati area and has grown a bit in popularity. Not too many folks 'round here are familiar, so I'll explain. You "huck" a small bag of corn at a wooden platform, horseshoe-style, and if you land it on the platform you get a point. Put it through a round hole in the platform, though, and you get three points and everyone shouts "Cornhole!"
Can't you just feel the excitement?
I did some research, and I guess Ohio means something like "big burning river," and the state motto is something like "With God, we can imagine we live in Michigan."
I also found out that they can't cut straight down there. The state flag is a mess of crazy zig-zags. It looks like the flag of a steamship line, not a state.
They have a lot of official things, including an official state beverage, tomato juice ? no kidding. I believe the state fossil is Woody Hayes, and the state reptile is Bobby Knight, who played basketball at Ohio State.
The state tree, of course, is the buckeye tree. I looked up some information about old Aesculus glabra. It turns out its fruit ? named by Native Americans because, when opened, it looks like the eye of a buck deer ? is widely known as the "stinking buckeye." I do not wonder why. The tree's wood used to be used for caskets. Again, I don't wonder why.
Turns out Ohioan William Henry Harrison's presidential campaign brought the buckeye to prominence. He used a log cabin decked out in raccoon skins and buckeye fruit as his symbol. He won the election, died 32 days after his inauguration and left a legacy: All Ohioans became known as Buckeyes.
So never mind that they're all nuts. No matter what happens Saturday afternoon, we'll still be up here, and they'll still be down there.
And I kinda like it that way.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Woodley's dreamy year

He's 2 sacks away from U-M record
November 15, 2006
BY MARK SNYDER
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

LaMarr Woodley's accomplishments

• ? Co-captain with OL Jake Long.
  
  ? Lombardi Award finalist.
  
  ? Leads team with 11 sacks, two short of U-M season record.
  
  ? Scored first TD this year on 54-yard fumble return at Notre Dame.
  
  ? 2004 All-Big Ten second team.
  
  ? 2005 All-Big Ten honorable mention.
  
  ? Second on U-M list of career tackles for loss with 51 1/2 ; leader is Mark Messner with 70.
  
  ? Sixth on U-M career sacks list with 22; leader is Messner (36).

LaMarr Woodley entered Michigan four seasons ago with a list of goals.
His high school coach at Saginaw, Don Durrett, referred to it as Woodley's "dreams."
The goals fit any player who was a top-20 national recruit, as Woodley was in 2003, but they were mostly individual objectives: wanting to earn All-Big Ten and All-America honors, for instance.
The senior co-captain and defensive end, who will play his last regular-season game for Michigan on Saturday at Ohio State, has revised the list slightly. Now it's about graduating -- he's on track for this winter -- and winning a national championship -- also a winter possibility.
"He's a different type (of) person now," said Durrett, who talks to Woodley twice a week. "His dreams are bigger than others. When a kid comes out of Saginaw, there's not always a lot there. But he's one of the few that kept dreaming."
Woodley was a high school captain, but he clowned around in class and at practice. He got by on sheer physical ability.
But serious? That was never Woodley -- until his U-M teammates made him a captain in August, changing his life. Never before had he assumed so much responsibility, and it made him focus more.
That may be the biggest change in Woodley -- his loyalty now is to his team, not to himself.
"You don't get another chance to do this again," Woodley said. "How you leave your last year, that's how you're going to be remembered, and that's how you're going to remember your life when you go back and look -- your last year in college, how did you finish? I want to leave on a positive note."
Woodley stood on the edge of greatness for two years. In 2004, he bounced between linebacker and defensive end, looking for a home. In 2005, he dominated at defensive end until a forearm fracture hampered the second half of his season.
"I knew he was affected, because a guy like LaMarr, ever since seventh grade, he never got hurt," said U-M teammate Jerome Jackson, who has lived with Woodley for four years, played with him at Saginaw and is as close to him as anyone. "For LaMarr, it was hard for him to handle an injury like that because I've never seen him hurt in my life until that.
"To see him in that pain, not playing, it kind of hurt me because I've never seen him like that before."
This year, Woodley is the biggest name on the nation's best defensive line, and he has grabbed greatness like one of the many quarterbacks he has sacked this year.
Woodley is tied for sixth in the nation with 11 sacks, one behind David Bowens' school record set in 1996.
"It's definitely one of the goals, just to be remembered in the Michigan tradition and Michigan history," said Woodley, one of four finalists for the Lombardi Award, given to the nation's best lineman. "That's been a goal since I got here -- even as a freshman. Every year I said I was going to break it, and this is the closest year that I actually got to it."
And if the sacks record comes against Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, Woodley will be right where he wants, with his list almost complete.
The only thing remaining? A national championship.

 

[osugrad21]

Morning Journal

Patterson purges the issue
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
11/15/2006


http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1699&dept_id=46370&newsid=17467434

COLUMBUS -- It's useless for David Patterson to eat a big breakfast on Saturday mornings. It's never with him long enough to do any good.


Patterson gets so nervous, dating back to his high school games, that he has developed a disturbing habit of vomiting before every game. It's become a tradition his teammates even enjoy. During his freshman season, they nicknamed him ''Willie Beamen,'' the quarterback from the movie Any Given Sunday who threw up before entering every game.

''If he played quarterback, we'd lose every game because he's so nervous before the game,'' safety Brandon Mitchell said. ''But now we've kind of gotten used to it. We know every week, Dave's going to throw up. If it doesn't happen, we're like ?Hold on, Dave didn't throw up. We must not be ready to play yet.' He's loud with it, too. He's gagging and everything. It's bad. Really bad. But we've played together about 40 games now, so we've gotten used to it.''

In his first appearance for Ohio State as a freshman in the 2003 opener against Washington, Patterson threw up for the first time.

On the ball.

''It's not a purpose thing. I don't plan to throw up,'' Patterson said. ''A lot of times I try to hold it down, but I just can't. I'm pretty sure with a game like this, as it gets closer and closer to game time, my stomach will start turning and turning even more.''

Added defensive end Jay Richardson: ''Every time he throws up now, I like it because it kind of gets me pumped up a little bit. If Dave doesn't throw up before this game, Dave has a problem.''

Scoreboard watching

For what it's worth, Ohio State and Michigan have six common opponents this year: Minnesota, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa, Northwestern and Indiana.

The Wolverines beat each of those six teams by an average of 16.3 points. The Buckeyes beat those six by an average of 33.8 points.

Ohio State's margin of victory against all six opponents was larger than Michigan's in all six.

Scouting Michigan

Mario Manningham could be the wild card in Saturday's game. He was making an early case for the Heisman Trophy before a knee injury derailed his season after six games. He missed a month following knee surgery, then returned two weeks ago.

But in two games, against Ball State and Indiana, Manningham has just two catches for 10 yards. The lingering question is whether Michigan is hiding Manningham for Saturday's game or if his surgically-repaired knee isn't quite right yet?

''I honestly think it was more about getting him on the field, just getting his confidence back in his leg,'' said ABC analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who will call Saturday's game. ''Anytime somebody has an injury like that in the middle of the year, I don't think it's all about how many catches he had, I think it's about getting out on the field and making cuts and getting your confidence back, so when he gets into this game, he knows what he can do and he knows what limitations he has, if he has any. I think that's the important thing and why they were able to get him involved in those two games.''

Manningham participated in just a handful of plays against Ball State. He started against Indiana and caught two passes.

''I watched him in the Indiana game and he was running pretty fast,'' Mitchell said.

 

[osugrad21]

Morning Journal

Win over Michigan must come before Sweet Desert
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
11/15/2006


http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1699&dept_id=46370&newsid=17467432

COLUMBUS -- Will Allen knows best about despair and jubilation.


In 2002 it was jubilation, when Allen was flat on his stomach, the ball in his arms and no time left on the clock.

In 2003 it was despair, when a return trip to the national title game was lost with a crushing loss in Ann Arbor.

The position these fifth-year seniors for Ohio State will find themselves in Saturday is similar to '02 and '03, when the outcome against Michigan determined whether or not the Buckeyes would play for the national championship.

The '02 team made it happen when Allen intercepted John Navarre's pass on the goal line as time expired. The '03 team fell short, falling behind 21-0 and allowing Michigan tailback Chris Perry to run for 154 yards in a 35-21 loss, the only time Lloyd Carr has beaten Jim Tressel in the series.

The seniors on this team were freshmen in '03. Quarterback Troy Smith and safety Brandon Mitchell, both in their fifth year, are still close with some of those former players, particularly Allen, who was a senior when the Buckeyes lost in Ann Arbor.

Mitchell called Allen Saturday night after Ohio State crushed Northwestern.

''He conveyed to me if there was anything in his life that he could go back and change, it would be that Michigan game (in '03),'' Mitchell said. ''A lot of the guys in that game were overlooking the Michigan game and looking forward to the national championship. He told me to make sure I conveyed to the other players and the other guys that we can't do that. The Michigan game is everything.''

Ohio State's wins over Michigan the previous two years had Allen feeling pretty good about Ohio State's chances in '03. Saturday night, Allen told Mitchell he spent too much time dreaming about the national championship and not enough time watching film of Michigan.

Now it's the biggest regret of his life.

''Everyone lives and dies by this game,'' Mitchell said. ''It can make your life, so to speak, because you always have those memories. I hear so many guys from the '69 team who lost to Michigan, the '96 team who lost to Michigan and those guys come back to this day and say if there's anything they could change, or if there's anything they hate living with, it's that loss to Michigan. So hopefully I won't have to do that.''

The loser of Saturday's game goes to the Rose Bowl, meaning the Grandaddy of Them All has never looked like such a rotten consolation prize.

''I haven't thought about the Rose Bowl,'' Troy Smith said.

Ohio State grew accustomed to having great seasons ruined by Michigan during the 1990s. The '95 team was 11-0 before losing to Michigan, 31-23. The '96 team was 10-0 before Michigan ended that with a 13-9 win. The '93 team entered unbeaten, but with one tie, and also lost to Michigan.

Now the Buckeyes are back in the same predicament, but clearly carry a different mindset with Tressel in charge. A win over Michigan again caps a perfect season and sends them to the national championship.

A loss? Some of the players, like Mitchell and tailback Antonio Pittman, admit a loss would ruin the season.

''My freshman year we didn't win a lot of games, but we won this game. That was the hope,'' Pittman said. ''Still beat Michigan, the rest of the season was like, ?Who cares?'

''As long as you win this game, like the 2003 year, they won all those games but lost to Michigan. They went to the Fiesta Bowl and won, but it wasn't a plus season. Some people would say we had a good year, but in people's eyes we really didn't.''

Smith said a loss wouldn't ruin the season, but it would leave a bitter taste because it would mean unfulfilled goals.

''Simply because we didn't finish what we started,'' he said. ''But around here, we're not thinking about losing. That's not in our thought process. It's about controlling what we can control because this is our destiny right now.''

 

[osugrad21]

Link

DREW SHARP: Conquering Troy

OSU's Smith could become a legend with win
November 15, 2006

BY DREW SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- They're forever erecting monuments around here. There's the Jack Nicklaus Museum next to the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex.
Word has it that the newest addition to "The Woody" will be the Maurice Clarett Wing, where OSU players will park their new SUVs.
Maybe soon they'll name something after Troy Smith. After all, he's one win away from earning the title of Supreme Michigan Killer. Come Saturday, Smith could be 3-0 quarterbacking against the enemy.
"If we're able to win Saturday and then win the bowl game," Smith said modestly, "the thing I would be proudest having my name attached to would be the team picture with everybody else with the words 'National Champions' on top."
As they say down here, the young man has been "Tressel-ized." Smith has learned well the verses from coach Jim Tressel's book of contrived humility. Never antagonize the enemy. Never give them ammunition that could be used against you.
But deep down, Smith knows the truth. He's the reason for Lloyd Carr's nightmares the past two years. He's the reason Carr brought in a new, more aggressive defensive mentality.
He knows Saturday's game revolves around him. If Michigan wins, it will be because they contained a guy who's responsible for more than 700 total offensive yards in the past two Michigan-Ohio State games.
And should the Buckeyes prevail, it may be because of a jaw-dropping play like his escape on what should have been a third-down sack in the fourth quarter at Ann Arbor, securing a Michigan victory. Instead, Hoodini in Scarlet and Gray found Anthony Gonzalez for a leaping catch that kept the Buckeyes driving for the game-winning touchdown.
Smith still wouldn't bite on the praise.
"I don't think it's just me," Smith said with a wry smile. "Anytime we get into a situation where we're playing the University of Michigan, I'm sure he has an understanding that it's going to be four quarters that he's going to have to play against 11 guys on defense and 11 guys on offense and special teams. I don't think it's just me."
He's the best player in the country and might not even need a victory Saturday to wrap up the Heisman Trophy, but what pleases his coaches and teammates most is how Smith has matured.
Smith received cash from an agent to pay a cell phone bill in 2004. The university suspended him for two games.
There's a moment for all great players when the light clicks on, and Smith learned from a friend's mistakes. Smith and Clarett came to Columbus in the same recruiting class in 2002, and nobody thinks Smith walked around with his eyes closed.
But watching Clarett waste a cherished opportunity steeled Smith's resolve. He proved he could win with his legs two years ago. He proved he could win with his arm last year. Now he wants to prove he can win with his brain.
He barged into the coaches' office first thing Monday morning munching a breakfast biscuit while Tressel and quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels broke down film. Smith snatched the clicker and identified the various defensive coverages for the coaches.
"He wants to know," Tressel said. "We might have been sitting there talking about a coverage, and he'd say, 'You know, that was nickel.' That wasn't just cover whatever, that was nickel cover whatever. He's just got a hunger for knowledge."
But what his teammates appreciate most is his thirst for competition.
"I hate throwing interceptions -- even in video games," Smith said. "The person who makes the interception, I want to hit him so hard because I really want the ball back. And then I hate watching it on film."
There's a quiet confidence among the players that Smith won't disappoint Saturday, regardless of the defensive changes Michigan has made.
"I would love to see Troy get a touchdown late in the fourth quarter and bust out a Heisman pose," fifth-year senior defensive end Jay Richardson said. "And then maybe we could stop seeing Desmond Howard doing it to us everywhere we look."
But an even bigger legacy awaits Smith should he turn the Blue blue a third straight time.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Can 'D' handle Smith, Ginn?

By Kevin Wright
11/15/06

Cornerback Charles Stewart and the Michigan defense must contain the explosive Buckeye offense if the Wolverines hope to win Saturday's matchup in Columbus. (STEVEN TAI/Daily)

There are still three days left until Michigan and Ohio State square off, but that's plenty of time to hype this game through the roof.

Yesterday, we looked at the Michigan offense verses the Ohio State defense, with the Buckeyes getting the nod.

Today, the Michigan defense and the Ohio State offense take center stage in part two of our three-part breakdown.

Michigan defense: Two plays stand out from the previous two years. Texas quarterback Vince Young scrambling 23 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter of the 2004 Rose Bowl and Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith running 14 yards for a crucial first down in the Buckeyes' game-winning drive last season.

Traditionally, the Wolverines have struggled to contain running quarterbacks, but with coordinator Ron English now manning the controls, this year's Michigan team has looked like a Southeastern Conference defense - hard-hitting, big and fast.

Already, the stingy Michigan defense has held mobile quarterbacks - Vanderbilt's Chris Nickson, Michigan State's Drew Stanton and Indiana's Kellen Lewis - to a combined 51 yards on the ground.

The Wolverine front four is arguably the best in the nation. Defensive end LaMarr Woodley, who is two sacks shy of breaking the Michigan's single-season record for sacks, is a force to be reckoned with coming off the edge. And defensive tackle Alan Branch has anchored the middle of a unit that ranks first in the nation against the run. This season, the Wolverines held both Northwestern and Penn State to negative rushing yards.

The secondary has been exposed as the supposed weakness of the defense. The unit struggled at times, surrendering several big plays when the opposition challenges them with the deep ball. The defense ranks sixth in the conference against the pass.

Still, cornerback Leon Hall continually discourages opposing quarterbacks to throw his way. And fellow corner Morgan Trent brings much-needed speed to the secondary and improved technique. He outran Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr., in the 200-meter dash at the Don Mitchell Roosevelt Memorial track meet in 2004.Ohio State offense: The Buckeyes' gameplan starts and ends with their signal caller: Heisman frontrunner Troy Smith. The quarterback has greatly improved his accuracy, and he leads the Big Ten in pass efficiency, completing 66.4 percent of his throws. With his ability to scramble and turn broken plays into positive gains, Smith is the spark for the Ohio State offense.

The fifth-year senior has thrown for 2,191 yards, 26 touchdowns and just four interceptions. On the ground, he's tallied 221 yards and one score.

But Smith doesn't have to do it all by himself. Wide receivers Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez form one of the best wideout combinations in the nation. Each has racked up over 600 receiving yards, with Ginn doing much of his damage deep and Gonzalez performing more as a possession receiver.

On the ground, running back Antonio Pittman remains a strong part of Ohio State's ball-control offense. Gaining over 1,000 yards on the season, Pittman averages 93.8 yards on the ground per game.

The Ohio State offense packs more of a punch with Smith calling the shots, but Michigan's defense may just be good enough to keep the Buckeyes dual-powered attack under control. Michigan boasts a talented linebacking corps that is technically sound and fast enough to contain Smith's scrambling. Even though the secondary has been shaky at times, Hall should be able to lock down Ginn and Trent can handle Gonzalez, especially with the way he silenced Notre Dame's Jeff Samardzija. The Wolverines defense will be the key to Michigan staying close and having a chance to win in this game.

Edge: Michigan

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Scott Bell: Without '69, this game wouldn't be The Game

By Scott Bell
11/15/06

On Saturday, arguably the most anticipated game ever in college football's most storied rivalry will take place.

But without a game 37 years ago, Saturday's matchup would be just another contest between two great teams - not the hype-fest that's dominated the media for the past month and taken on a life of its own.

The 10 Years War between Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes began in, and was defined by, the contest between the two in 1969.

Hayes's Buckeyes were the clear favorite. They had throttled Michigan by 36 points the year before, and entered the '69 game as the nation's No. 1 team.

Going into the '69 contest, Ohio State was riding a 22-game winning streak.

Sports Illustrated went as far as to say the only game worth watching that season happened every Thursday - when Ohio State's offense and defense squared off against each other in practice.

But Schembechler, Hayes's old acquaintance-turned-thorn-in-the-side, had other thoughts for the Buckeyes' march toward a National Championship.

Schembechler, a former assistant under Hayes at Ohio State, took over a struggling Michigan program in 1969 after coaching for half a decade at Miami (OH).

The opening in Ann Arbor surfaced after Bump Elliot's Wolverine squad were humiliated against the Buckeyes in the regular season's final game in '68.

At one point, the '68 matchup between Ohio State and Michigan was deadlocked at 14, but Ohio State then strung together 36 consecutive points to make the score 50-14.

Following the touchdown that put the Buckeyes at 50, Hayes elected to go for two. The attempt was unsuccessful, but Hayes's hubris salted the Wolverine wound.

If the mere act wasn't enough to fire up Michigan players for the next matchup, Hayes's post-game comments probably did the trick.

When asked why he went for two with the game in hand, Hayes responded: "Because I couldn't go for three."

So when Schembechler took over in between the '68 and '69 seasons, he made it his mission to reinforce the embarrassment that came from the debacle in '68.

And not just for Ohio State week, either. Schembechler had the Ohio State score displayed everywhere even before the season began.

"The one thing that he did to remind us about Ohio State was he took 50-14, and he it tacked up all over the place." said Jim Betts, a wide receiver for Michigan on both the '68 and '69 teams. "That was the score of the game the previous year when they went on to become national champions, so 50-14 was pretty prominent all year long."

By game week, Schembechler had the score tagged on the helmets of his players to further motivate them.

When game day came along, Michigan was fired up. The Wolverines jumped out to a 24-12 halftime lead.

By game's end, the Buckeyes still couldn't solve the Wolverines defense. Ohio State was still stuck on 12 points, and Hayes was so frustrated that he benched his high-profile quarterback, Rex Kern.

Schembechler's Wolverines won by 12. The game remains one of the legendary coach's fondest memories at Michigan.

"I'll never forget when Woody said at the dinner we had for him after he retired, and when he looked down at the podium at me and said, 'God damn you, you will never win a bigger game than that,' " Schembechler said on Monday. "And he was right - I don't think I ever did."

Michigan's 24-12 win against the top-ranked Buckeyes gave the Wolverines a berth to the Rose Bowl over their rivals. It also gave Schembechler a 1-0 record against Hayes, a mark that expanded to 5-4-1 by the time Hayes retired.

But maybe most importantly, the win put a Michigan program that had won just two of the last 20 Big Ten titles back on the map.

Without that game, this rivalry might not be what it is today.

Scratch that, without that game, the rivalry would not be what it is today.

Even though Ohio State has traveled to the Big House and beaten Michigan over a handful of times since that game - including last season's 25-21 win - it doesn't come close to comparing to the magnitude of what occurred on that afternoon in '69.

So when you're caught up in the media circus this week surrounding this game, take a step back and respect those who helped elevate the rivalry to its current place atop the college football world.

And if you see a current Wolverine on campus in the next few days, don't be afraid to slap a piece of paper that says 25-21 on his back.

I hear it works wonders.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Players stay true to their schools
Colts gear up for locker-room wagers as Michigan-Ohio State showdown looms
By Phillip B. Wilson
[email protected]


The call is coming. Marlin Jackson knows it.


The Indianapolis Colts cornerback will pick up the phone and hear a recording of a familiar marching band playing "Buckeye Battle Cry."
Hello, Mike Doss.
The injured Colts safety was lost for the season to a knee injury last month, but he hasn't forgotten what week it is. Ohio State-Michigan. The nation's No. 1 and No. 2 teams, both unbeaten, get it on Saturday at "The Horseshoe" in Columbus, Ohio.
Jackson played at Michigan. Doss was on Ohio State's national championship team in 2002.
Time for trash talk. And a bet.
"He'll definitely call," Jackson said, "and there will be Ohio State music in the background."
Doss, Jackson and fellow Wolverine Cato June have been cleaning up in wagers on their alma maters. The bets are an NFL locker-room tradition -- ex-Colts running back Edgerrin James once paid off a University of Miami loss in pennies. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello says these bets do not violate league rules as long as they're not for large sums of money.
June, a vocal outside linebacker, suffered a loss far greater than money when Ohio State beat his Wolverines two years ago. He had to wear an old Buckeyes helmet for a practice walk-through. Ex-Colts tight end Ben Hartsock, who played with Doss on that 2002 championship team, took a picture.
It's not just players. Colts coach Tony Dungy had to endure a June-like fate after his school, Minnesota, lost to California 42-17 early this season. Reserve safety Matt Giordano played at Cal. The humbled coach had to wear a Cal T-shirt the next week at practice. "It fits well. It doesn't look great, but it fits well," Dungy said on his last day representing the Golden Bears.
Dungy also was a June victim this season. The Wolverines won 28-14 at Minneapolis on Sept. 30. That one, the coach reported, was "a straight cash transaction."
Two weeks earlier, June nailed reserve linebacker Rocky Boiman when Michigan blew out Notre Dame 47-21.
"It's of a little more interest to the Notre Dame guys than the Michigan guys," June said leading up to the game. "You know, it's not the biggest game on our schedule, but it is a longtime rivalry."
Boiman, whose locker is just a couple of spots from June's, was certain his Irish would prevail.
"I think we're going to get 'em. I've factored in everything," Boiman said. "It makes it fun. Everybody has pride in their school and shows it, wearing the shirts and hats in the locker room."
But June won the bet, as he has often this season. "I'm still walking around with my money bag collecting, you know, not monetary things," he said with a hearty laugh, ". . . some candy, a couple dinner coupons, you know, stuff like that."
Linebacker Gary Brackett is proud of his school, Rutgers, once a doormat but now unbeaten. Brackett refers to the wagers as mandatory man bets, for dinner if nothing else. When Rutgers pounded Howard, dinner was on rookie safety Antoine Bethea. When Rutgers shut out Illinois, Brackett got receiver Aaron Moorehead but not defensive back Kelvin Hayden, who wouldn't bet.
"What was crazy was his hotel room was next to mine," Hayden said of Brackett. "At breakfast the next day, he was rubbing it in, reading the newspaper. He was talking about how we couldn't score. I'm really speechless. I really can't say anything about a 33-0 loss.
"Before the game, he wanted to make a small bet and I told him no. Two minutes into the game, it was 14-0."
Offensive tackle Michael Toudouze, a rookie from TCU, tried to push the tradition to an extreme when he asked for points when his school faced offensive guard Dylan Gandy's Texas Tech.
"He has no confidence in his team," Gandy said. "How could anybody who has pride in their school and for their program want points? I don't understand that."
Toudouze relented. The bet was straight up, and TCU won. No points needed.
But back to the big game at hand. Colts-Cowboys? No, Michigan-Ohio State. Let the bets and bragging begin.
"It will be crazy," June promised.
Rooting interest
Colts players with alma maters in the national title hunt:

Pos PlayerSchoolBCS rankS Mike DossOhio State1LB Cato JuneMichigan2CB Marlin JacksonMichigan2LB Rocky BoimanNotre Dame5TE Jerome CollinsNotre Dame5P Hunter SmithNotre Dame5LB Gary BrackettRutgers6

 

[TimSpencer's QB]

Here's an excerpt from a tsun fan's post on CSTV.com


NOISE
Ok, here is one category where I must give the nod to our Buckeye brethren to the south. Sitting inside the 'Shoe during a game is something akin to sticking one's head in a jet engine. When not hurling F-bombs at frightened Michigan fans or spelling other four-letter words such as O-H-I-O with the rest of the stadium like they're practicing for a really easy spelling bee, OSU fans can be a loud, intimidating bunch that turn The Horseshoe into one of the loudest stadiums in all the land.
Michigan Stadium...not so much.

O H

 

[osugrad21]

Link

The reality is that Tressel owns Carr


Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Jim Tressel has beaten Lloyd Carr in four of five times. The average score in their meetings is Ohio State 24.6, Michigan 21.2, about a field goal's difference.
Doesn't seem like a big gap.
Which only proves how little math has to do with reality and what an all-or-nothing business college football is.
Tressel owns Carr.
Don't try to make some stat geek argument against domination. Don't even think of painfully parsing the requirements for owning someone in a rivalry. Ohio State fans would laugh at you, while Michigan fans squirm in embarrassment.
The question is why?
Why did the balance of power change overnight when Tressel replaced John Cooper?
Asked if he had answers against Michigan that other coaches didn't, Tressel played the it's-the-kids-not-me card.
"Troy Smith spins and runs 46 yards, now come on, I don't have any answers,'' Tressel said Monday. "The Ohio State-Michigan game has gone on, and sometimes you come up on the good end, sometimes you don't. But if anyone pretends to think they have the answer, they've got a problem.''
Actually, a look at all five games shows he's right.
The games are, for the most part, tight. The difference is almost always one or two key players and performances.
In 2001, Jonathan Wells has 129 yards for Ohio State, and Michigan quarterback John Navarre throws four picks.
In 2002, Maurice Clarett is the difference, rushing for 119 yards in a tight game.
In 2004, Troy Smith shreds a once-touted Wolverine defense for 386 total yards.
In 2005, Smith goes for 337 total yards, including a career-best 300 in the air, and the Buckeye defense holds Michigan's rushing attack to 1.3 yards per-carry.
All wins for Ohio State.
Football is a team game, but it also has its star moments.
The only time a Michigan player has risen to that challenge in the last five years was 2003, when Chris Perry rushed for 154 yards and Navarre was almost technically flawless in hitting 21 of 32 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns.
It was, of course, Carr's only win against Tressel.
So, yes, this game is more LaMarr Woodley, Hart, and Henne vs. Smith, Ted Ginn Jr., and James Laurinaitis.
But coaches put players in position to win. They do it through off-season training, game-planning and play-calling. Tressel has pushed more of the right buttons than Carr, especially on game day.
How many more? It's impossible to say. Navarre would never have been the quarterback in 2001 if Drew Henson didn't leave school. Smith's elusiveness these last two seasons is, essentially, uncoachable.
Michigan fans can look at those things, and the tight point differential, plus maybe a few plays - a turnover, a missed first down, a made catch - and know, just know, that the gap isn't really that much.
They can taste how much better 2-3 or 3-2 would feel.
Only the gap is, in reality, huge, and the record is 1-4.
Whatever the hows and whys, it's a hole Carr won't ever dig out of. He doesn't have enough years left.
The best he, his players and Michigan fans can hope for is the chance to make Tressel and Ohio State hurt the way they've hurt the last few years.

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

40 years ago, it was just a game
OSU-Michigan played to little fanfare in 1966
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Todd Jones
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

With Earth wobbling on its axis because of a certain football game this week, it?s difficult to imagine a meeting between Ohio State and Michigan eliciting yawns.
Forty years ago, however, the Buckeyes and Wolverines played a game that was a polar opposite, in terms of anticipation, to the showdown set to be waged Saturday.
Instead of undefeated teams ranked as the nation?s two best, the 1966 game matched a 4-4 Ohio State club against 5-4 Michigan. They were unranked and tied for fifth in the Big Ten.
Some $5 reserve seats were available at the OSU ticket office the preceding Monday to that game, during a week dominated by news from the Vietnam War.
More than 1,100 media credentials were issued for this year?s OSU-Michigan game. About a dozen reporters covered the game on Nov. 19, 1966.
Michigan, coached by Bump Elliott, beat Woody Hayes? Buckeyes 17-3, but no one saw it unless they were in Ohio Stadium.
That game was not televised ? the last time an OSU-Michigan game wasn?t broadcast even locally.
College football junkies had their eyes turned north to East Lansing, Mich., on that cool, gray afternoon 40 years ago to see the nationally televised "Game of the Century" between No. 1 Notre Dame (8-0) and No. 2 Michigan State (9-0).
"That game was the big game," said Rick Volk, an All-America defensive back for Michigan in 1966.
Even those in Ohio Stadium that day couldn?t keep their attention on the 63 rd game between the Buckeyes and Wolverines.
"Everybody had transistor radios and were listening to the Notre Dame-Michigan State game, even though they were Ohio State fans," said OSU football historian Jack Park, who was in the Horseshoe that day. "I remember a Michigan fan brought a transistor TV in the stadium and he was watching the Michigan State game."
It?s easy to forget or not realize, but the 1966 game was played near the end of an era when Ohio State-Michigan garnered little if any national attention. Seven times from 1959 through 1967, both teams entered The Game with at least two losses.
In 1959, for the only time in series history, both teams had losing records (OSU 3-4-1; Michigan 3-5), and in 1967 only 64,144 in Ann Arbor watched 5-3 OSU play 4-5 Michigan.
The assassination of President John Kennedy occurred one day before the scheduled 1963 game. Both schools agreed to push back the game one week, and then only 36,424 showed up to see 4-3-1 OSU play 3-3-2 Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Even the famed 1969 game, when the Wolverines upset No. 1 Ohio State, had so little interest in Ann Arbor that Michigan provided OSU with 25,000 tickets to help fill Michigan Stadium.
So, in the context of time, it wasn?t shocking in 1966 that the national focus was on a game played elsewhere.
"That game was a pitiful game," said Bill Long, who started at quarterback for OSU as a sophomore in 1966. "We didn?t play the game emotionally, and that?s what that game is all about."
The Buckeyes had only scored eight touchdowns in their previous six games, were averaging just 225 yards of total offense, and their 4-4 record entering Michigan week included close losses to Minnesota (17-7), Illinois (10-9) and mighty Michigan State (11-8).
"By the time of the Michigan game, we just wanted the season to be over," Long said. "I can?t tell you what losing does to you psychologically. By that time, Woody was a basket case. Our practices were like Stalag 17. One practice, he lay down on the field on his belly and chewed the grass."
Michigan chewed up yards on offense, led by the nation?s leading receiver, splitend Jack Clancy, but other problems had the Wolverines heading to Columbus with a 5-4 record.
"We didn?t have a real good ballclub that year," said Volk, a senior that season. "Our team had really underachieved. We had some good players, but we had lost a little bit of chemistry."
Three nights before the game, national news out of Cleveland put OSU-Michigan further off the radar when Dr. Sam Sheppard was found not guilty of the 1954 slaying of his first wife.
A fire that had destroyed Lakeland Lodge at Buckeye Lake dominated the local news on the morning of the game. In sports, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax announced his retirement.
Up in East Lansing, a crowd of 80,011 (more than 4,000 over capacity) jammed into Spartan Stadium. Michigan State had issued 745 media credentials, then a record for a college football game.
The Notre Dame-Michigan State game had been scheduled for regional broadcast by ABC until the network received one legal suit and 50,000 letters asking it to be shown nationally. The NCAA finally told ABC that it could show the game nationally if the telecast was delayed in some areas.
In Columbus, a crowd of 83,403 did show up to see OSU-Michigan that day, but many of the fans left in the fourth quarter with the Wolverines leading 17-3.
"The stadium was like going to a wake," Long said. "We gave them nothing to be excited about."
The highlight of the day for OSU fans might have been at halftime when Sgt. Barry Sadler, touring the country as an official U.S. Army recruiter, sang the popular Ballad of the Green Berets song he had composed.
After the game, which included a combined five turnovers and 12 penalties, Hayes asked reporters about the final score of the Michigan State-Notre Dame game.
Told it ended in a 10-10 tie, Woody said, "Well, we played within three points of the national champions," referring to OSU?s earlier loss to Michigan State.
Even the victorious Wolverines shrugged their shoulders.
"It was an emotional game for me because it was my last game at Michigan," Volk said, "but at that point I was just glad the season was over and we had won."
[email protected]

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Breaston ends dry spell that didn?t bug him
Making big plays isn?t Michigan WR?s main focus
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Scott Priestle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

TOM STRATTMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Michigan receiver Steve Breaston caught a 62-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 83 yards for a score against Indiana.
With his speed, agility and creativity, Michigan receiver Steve Breaston is a big play waiting to happen. He has commanded attention since his freshman season, when he caught three touchdown passes, ran for two touchdowns and returned two punts for touchdowns.
Against Indiana last Saturday, he caught a 62-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown.
In between, though, there has been a lot of anxious waiting and few big plays. The touchdowns against Indiana were Breaston?s first of the season, and the punt return TD was his first in two years.
"It felt good," he said of ending the scoring drought, "but by the same token, we were winning. As long as we?re winning, I?m good with it. I?ll take a whole season of winning and I don?t score any touchdowns. I?m contributing in my way; everybody is contributing."
Not all Michigan fans share that sentiment. Breaston has caught heat on Internet message boards the past three years for not catching enough passes and not taking advantage of his obvious skills.
ESPN analyst and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, speaking on his local radio show, recently criticized Michigan?s use of Breaston, saying he had become "worthless ... outside of returning a few punts."
The Detroit News printed Herbstreit?s comments. Running back Mike Hart read them and passed them along to Breaston, and it has been a topic of conversation in the Michigan locker room.
"It just hurts," Hart said. "It?s just a game, and to say that, that?s attacking someone personally."
Breaston downplayed it. He was asked about Herbstreit?s comment multiple times after the Indiana game.
"It is what it is," he said. "I don?t use that as my motivation. I?m just motivated by the season we?re having. What?s said was said. I?m really not bothered by it."
Hart defended Breaston?s performance, saying he "does a lot of little things people don?t talk about. Look at the first downs he gets."
Breaston leads the team with 48 catches and is second with 537 receiving yards, a yard behind Mario Manningham. His 2,316 total yards ? including returns ? is second only to Hart.
If Breaston comes to Ohio State this weekend under a lingering cloud of disappointment, it is because his freshman season set the bar so high. He battled injuries as a sophomore and junior and has been overshadowed by Hart and Manningham this season.
Manningham emerged as Michigan?s big-play threat with a phenomenal four-game stretch in September and early October, when he caught eight touchdown passes. When he was sidelined for most of the next four games because of a knee injury, the passing game struggled and Hart became the focal point of the offense.
Breaston has only four plays from scrimmage of 20 or more yards, and only one of 30 or more yards ? the 62-yard TD catch against Indiana. By comparison, Manningham has 11 plays of at least 20 yards, Hart has 10 and No. 3 receiver Adrian Arrington has six.
"I told him (before the Indiana game) that I thought it would be his best game of the year," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "He made a big play in the passing game and had a big return ? a pretty good day of work when you only touch the ball three or four times. He?s had a great year, and he has done a lot of great things."
[email protected]

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

OHIO STATE NOTEBOOK
Twice-resodded field ready to go for big game
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The Ohio Stadium field, resodded two weeks ago for a second time this season, became a gridiron yesterday. It was painted with the stripes, numbers and end zone decorations.
In other words, it?s ready to go for what is being billed as "the game of the century" between top-ranked Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan on Saturday.
"As far as we?re concerned, the field should not be a factor, at least in a negative way," said Don Patko, OSU?s assistant athletic director for facilities management.
The turf, from Eastside Nursery near Groveport, was installed the week after the Oct. 28 game with Minnesota. The weather the following week was ideal "for letting Mother Nature do her job, and it did wonders," Patko said. "It?s nice and firm, and the seams are pretty much nonexistent."
The paint went on yesterday because there is the possibility of heavy rain the next two days. The field will be covered, Patko said.
Beanie?s back in line

Coach Jim Tressel will go into the game with the idea that all three of his running backs are ready for action, barring any unforeseen developments in practice.
The pecking order will be junior Antonio Pittman, who just topped 1,000 yards for the second straight season, and freshman Chris "Beanie" Wells and/or sophomore Maurice Wells, depending on the situation. In other words, as of now the coaches believe Beanie Wells left his fumbling troubles behind with a robust, 99-yard performance in a 54-10 win at Northwestern last week that seemed to get him back on track after suffering his fourth lost fumble the week before at Illinois.
"I think all three of those guys are important," Tressel said. "Pittman would get the most carries in a perfect world, with good health and so forth. Chris would probably get the next most, and Mo the third most.
"But when you say is (Beanie Wells) back on track, I hope so. I thought he did a good job running. I teased him a little bit Sunday about stumbling a little bit because he could have (taken) one to the house."
The stumble came after he ran over a defender in the hole and seemed on the way to a breakaway touchdown.
Call it the wrap II

Much has been made of quarterback Troy Smith wearing a wrap on his right throwing hand to protect a tender thumb. But the person snapping the ball to him, senior center Doug Datish, sports a similar wrap on his right hand. It?s not a gesture of sympathy.
Datish suffered a strained thumb and wrist earlier in the season. Though it healed, he kept the wrap, he said, because it made his shotgun snaps even more accurate.
"My problem earlier was that I was breaking my wrist," Datish said. "Obviously, wearing this I can?t break my wrist anymore, because it?s stuck in there."
[email protected]