Football
Buckeyes Know Big Ten Will Be Won in the Trenches
By Brandon CastelThere's unlikely to be much communication crossing the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania this week as the two neighboring state's flagship college football programs get set to square off.
If the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions were forced to sit down for a talk before their 3:30 kickoff in Happy Valley Saturday, the two teams probably wouldn't have much to say to each other after last year's 13-6 slugfest in Columbus. One thing the two sides could agree on, however,
"The answer to the question's easy, it starts up front," said Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel.
"(Whichever) team blocks the other better is going to have a big head start in having a chance to win."
The same can be said for a Big Ten title.
With a trip to No. 11 Penn State this week and No. 7 Iowa coming to Columbus next week, the Buckeyes control their own fate in the month of November. They face two of the toughest defenses in the conference and will undeniably need to win all three games (the last being a trip to Ann Arbor) if they want at least a piece of a fifth straight conference championship.
"We're talking about going 3-0 in November. That's all we're talking about right now and it starts Saturday," senior safety Anderson Russell said.
Protecting Pryor
All eyes will undoubtedly be on OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor this week – not that they aren't most other weeks – as the preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year returns to his home state to take on Ohio-native Daryll Clark, the current front-runner for that award.
While quarterback play will certainly be a big part of what determines the outcome in State College Saturday, Ohio State's junior wideout Dane Sanzenbacher knows the Buckeyes are going to have to play better up front if they are going to give Pryor a chance to be effective against a Nittany Lion defense that ranks first in the Big Ten in scoring, passing, rushing and total defense this season.
"It's going to be a tough test. Both teams are good up front and that's where it starts; especially with a young quarterback going into a tough environment. It's going to be loud and hopefully we can get things rolling early and take the crowd factor out of it."
Sanzenbacher and the offense had major issues with crowd noise the last time they went on the road in the Big Ten, and it ultimately helped lead to their unexpected demise at Purdue.
Even with the bipartisan crowd in West Lafayette, the Ohio State offensive line had major issues hearing the snap count from center Michael Brewster and by the end of the game guys were either jumping offside or getting off the ball late.
As a result, Pryor was sacked five times in that game, leading the Buckeyes to implement major changes in their on-field communication for this road trip.
"Everything we did today was silent. In (2007) when we played at Penn State, I came up with some hand signals, so it's all (nonverbal) communication this week, all silent counts," said tackle Jim Cordle, who was the team's starting center on their last trip to Happy Valley.
The Ohio State coaches know first-hand how loud Beaver Stadium can get, especially during a whiteout like the one the Buckeyes faced back in 2005 when they were shutout in the second half of 17-10 loss.
"You'd rather not do it but you have to do it there," Cordle said.
"We have to watch the ball and obviously all that's geared towards not letting what happened at Purdue happen this week because it's a lot louder."
Getting to Clark
With the way these two defenses have played in 2009, this game could very well come down to which defensive line can control the game.
"I think good defense starts when you're good up front and both teams that you'll see in State College are good up front," Tressel said.
The Nittany Lions currently rank first in the Big Ten with 32 sacks and 79 tackles for loss. The Buckeyes are second in the conference with 26 sacks and sixth with 56.5 tackles for loss, but also didn't benefit from a non-conference schedule that included Akron, Syracuse, Temple and Eastern Illinois.
That being said, Penn State has allowed only 10 sacks all season long (compared to 15 by OSU), so the Buckeyes know they are up against another tough task this week.
"(They are) very physical, very quick. They use their hands well. They've always been known to have great O-linemen and they do again," OSU linebacker Ross Homan said.
"They finish blocks, they're very quick out of what they do and it's going to be a challenge for us."
The Nittany Lions have not run the ball as well this season as they did a year ago (182 yards per game in 2009 compared to 205 in 2008), but tailback Evan Royster has run for 100+ yards in each of his last four Big Ten games, which is why the Buckeyes are happy to have nose tackle Dexter Larimore back in the middle of their defense.
"Any time you get a physical presence like Dex in there, it's going to help us out a lot," senior captain Austin Spitler said.
"(To) outsiders, he's just a nose tackle, a lot of people aren't going to understand what he brings to the table and how he helps the linebackers out."
He also helps out the defensive ends by taking on double teams for guys like Thad Gibson, who had a breakout game in last season's loss to Penn State.
"They're a good team, I think their quarterback is, next to Terrelle Pryor, one of the best quarterbacks in the league," Gibson said.
"They're going to make plays, it's just who's going to fight the hardest the longest."
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