SEPT. 8, 2006

THE TEXAS GAME: POINT-COUNTERPOINT

Cal Remkey and Scott Clifton take turns answering five questions about an OSU-related topic:

1. Do these two teams deserve to be the top two teams in the polls heading into this game?

>> CAL REMKEY: I think so, but I think that the order is reversed. Until Texas is knocked off, they, more than anyone else, deserve to be number one. This is a team that returns 16 starters from a national championship team. They are experienced, if not loaded, at nearly every position.

Ohio State, while having a very good 2006 season, does not deserve the number one ranking. They do however deserve the number two ranking as much or more than anyone else. While they do return most of a very potent offense, the defense only returns two starting defensive tackles. I don’t know about you, but I would be bitching up a storm about any other school that was ranked number one with a paper tiger defense.

>> SCOTT CLIFTON: I think too much is made of what happened IN JANUARY! These two teams played very well, but it was nine months and several players ago. From what I saw so far this season Southern Cal would be my No. 1 and Texas would be No. 2 (they are the defending champions). Ohio State has too much inexperience on defense to be ranked in the top 2 spots this early in the season -- unless they escape Austin unbeaten.

2. What is the biggest matchup of the game?

>> REMKEY: A lot of people are probably thinking about individual match-ups here, and the Ted Ginn Jr. vs. whoever is going to replace Tarell Brown match-up, is looking very tasty. But in my opinion, the biggest match-up on Saturday night is going to be the Ohio State defensive line, going up against the Texas offensive line. OSU’s ability or inability to stop the Longhorns rushing attack is what is going to determine the outcome of this game. If the Buckeyes are able to slow down the Texas running game, and force Colt McCoy to beat them with his arm, we should be in for a very good game. But if the Horns are able to control the clock, and wear down the OSU defense, look out. The last thing that I want to see, as an Ohio State fan, is a shoot out where both teams are scoring at will. If that’s the case, then the Buck’s defense will be worn out by the end of the 4th quarter.

>> CLIFTON: There will be a lot of great matchups to watch on the field Saturday night, but the one I'm intrigued by the most will be between The Vest and Texas defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, who is unbeaten in his last 27 games (he led Auburn to an unbeaten campaign in 2004). We all know Tressel has been chomping at the bit to get another shot at Chizik after the Longhorns held the Buckeyes to just one touchdown and five field goals last year. And this matchup got even more interesting when UT cornerback Tarell Brown was suspended after being arrested Monday night. He was going to be the guy to try and cover Ginn. Now we'll see which coach makes the necessary adjustments in the game plan to take advantage of or fix what the other team is trying to do.

3. How much does Ohio State benefit from the suspension of Texas cornerback Tarell Brown?

>> REMKEY: Some. But let’s not forget, that the most important person who is not suiting up for the Longhorns on Saturday night is Vince Young. Brown’s absence will be talked about and hyped all week long, but Texas will have a scheme to counterbalance Ginn’s advantage. Chizik is a defensive mastermind and there is a reason that his teams have won 27 straight games, dating back to his days at Auburn. Don’t get me wrong though, I’d rather it be happening there than here, but I don’t think that the suspension will have as direct of an impact as people are anticipating. I do, however, look for Anthony Gonzalez to have a very good game as the secondary puts most of its focus on Ginn.

>> CLIFTON: Rather than in their play, I think the benefit will come from a slight distraction during game week. Texas has had to think about team policy, replacing a starter (although they're probably loaded with talent at corner) and adjusting to cover Ginn. They may have been able to just use Brown to neutralize the Buckeyes speedster, although I'm guessing they would have been in for a rude awakening if they would have tried that. Ginn is better than a year ago, but he didn't do too much in that game to make many UT faithful lose any sleep.So if OSU has any advantage it's a slight one at best.

4. How much pressure is on Jim Tressel to win a big game that isn't after the first of November?

>> REMKEY: I think that there is a good amount of pressure on Tressel here. He really hasn’t won a big out of conference game since Washington State in 2002. NC State in ’03, turned out to be an awful football team that finished with 5 losses. Last year’s Texas game sparked whispers that Tressel’s teams just do not start in the same manner that they finish. That is fine if there is a playoff at the end of the year, but when you almost have to go undefeated for even a shot at the national title, starting slow is not an option.

There is nearly as much pressure on Mack Brown to win a big game without Vince Young. Mack really hadn’t won anything at all in terms of championships, up until last season. Before “Vinsanity” hit Austin, Brown was being compared to John Cooper. If Texas loses this game, everyone will know that last year was made possible simply because of Young.

>> CLIFTON : I think there is a little bit of pressure -- to at least win a night game on the road. I realize this game will be against the defending national champs, but some of his other losses under the lights were upsets (Wisconsin in '03, Northwestern '04 and Penn State last year). It would be nice to think that The Vest isn't a member of the early bird special segment of the population just yet.

5. Can either one of these teams lose this game and still have a shot at the national championship?

>> REMKEY: Absolutely. Especially this season, where there is not a true top team or favorite to go undefeated. In fact, they could both end up losing a game this season and still have a shot at going to the national championship game. There is way too much parity this season, and a whole lot of unknowns. A wrench that could be thrown into this theory is that if Notre Dame also winds up with one loss. Obviously the Irish will be elevated to the number one spot in the BCS and the team that beats them could quite possibly be automatically placed as the number two team in the country, regardless of record.

>> CLIFTON: I would think that in a year when the race for the title is wide open, it may be hard to get enough help from several teams losing late in the year. It helps either of these teams that they are ranked in the top two and they are playing each other, so a loss probably keeps them in the top 10 -- a key to being able to work your way back into contention. Although, you can't follow that up with another loss a couple of weeks later to a ranked team on the road. Last year it was JoePa and the boys, this year Kirk Ferentz and Iowa are looming late in September.

Cal can be reached via email at calremkey@meanbrutus.com

Scott can be reached via email at scottclifton@meanbrutus.com