SEPT. 7, 2006
EARLY OFFENSE WAS WORRISOME
By Scott Clifton
Coming into this season, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said publicly that he wanted to protect his defense by not putting it in bad field position with turnovers. I guess what he says and what he does are two different things.
OSU came out against Northern Illinois last weekend and scored touchdowns through the air on its first three possessions. And it was a sight for sore eyes. It was something that The Vest has rarely done in his first five seasons at OSU — throw the ball more than run it early in the year. But when you return eight offensive starters from a year ago, including quarterback Troy Smith and wideouts Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez that should be expected right? Only if The Vest is afraid of something. Afraid of something that he holds near and dear to his sweater —- his defense and special teams.
This is a coach that threw his way to an early lead against Marshall in 2004 only to shut it down and watch the Thundering Herd do things like strip the ball from Little Ross on their way to tying the game late. Only a 55-yard field goal by Mike Nugent saved the day. But The Vest knew what he was doing. He had a great kicker.
Last year, The Vest knew he had one of the best defenses in the country so he played things conservatively on offense hoping his team could somehow get through the first five games unbeaten. Then he could open up the playbook a little bit and everyone would be happy. It worked to perfection if you like starting 3-2 and having no chance to win a national title.
So this year, everyone and their mother knew the Buckeyes had a great offense coming back, but they had to replace nine defensive starters and the place kicker. But The Vest likes to punt and play defense. He's always been like that, and probably always will be.
I was pleasantly surprised to see OSU come out and take advantage of their talent. Spread the ball around the field. Lossen up the defense with the pass. Let Ginn run wild. Mix in a little Antonio Pittman. Everything looks good. Then it was 21-0 and The Vest is still throwing the ball -- every down!
Whoa! Hold on. It's 21-0 Tress, and the team across the field is Northern Illinois. I guess you can't just reload at Ohio State. Why else would The Vest be chucking the rock around the field? Oh, maybe it was NIU running back Garrett Wolfe being the freak that he is dropping 289 total yards on OSU. Or maybe it was the Buckeyes place kickers missing their only two field goal tries of the afternoon.
I know argument can be made to defend the Buckeyes defensive woes. Like NIU was holding downfield. Sure they might have been, but everyone holds. And OSU should have enough talent on the defensive side of the ball to shed those "blocks" and make a play. Or, the field was wet and the kickers couldn't get their footing on those long field goal tries (45 and 51 yards). It's Big Ten country. Precipitation tends to fall from the sky September through November on a regular basis -- get used to it.
Texas is no Northern Illinois. OSU defenders better improve in a hurry if they want to end this season where they began -- ranked No. 1. Granted, North Texas is no Ohio State, but the Longhorns return seven, uh, six starters from a year ago. Cornerback Tarell Brown pulled a Maurice Clarett and was driving around with a loaded 9mm and some marijuana so he won't be in uniform Saturday night. Nonetheless, UT will have plenty of defensive firepower to try to stop the Bucks offense. The key word being try.
Sure, I'm excited that The Vest is utilizing his offensive talent before week 6, but he better. His two favorite units -- defense and special teams -- probably won't be able to be counted on until the time The Vest usually turns the playbook to page two.
Scott can be reached via email at scottclifton@meanbrutus.com
