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Tressel switches to run after Badgers seize lead
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal columnist
Published on Sunday, Nov 04, 2007
COLUMBUS: How can a football team that averages 5.9 yards per rush, whose quarterback throws two touchdown passes and no interceptions, whose defense brutalizes the opposing quarterback with 10 sacks and gives up only 12 yards on the ground, win by a mere 21 points?
How does a team that gives up five plays of 22 or more yards — including 50- and 46-yard passes — commits seven penalties for 76 yards, has possession of the ball for less than 28 minutes and allows a successful fake punt win by as many as 21 points?
Ohio State fans, this is your team, the No. 1 team in the country, to the chagrin of numerous analysts, partisans of LSU, Oregon and Oklahoma, and even some Boston College loyalists.
The Buckeyes didn't look like the meanest bully on the block in beating Wisconsin 38-17 Saturday afternoon, and in an Ohio Stadium bathed in warm sunshine, it was difficult to hide OSU's warts. But one thing became clear after the Buckeyes erased the Badgers' shocking 17-10 lead with 2:41 left in the third quarter:
Wisconsin's three-game winning streak in Columbus was about to end.
''Our season was on the line,'' offensive tackle Kirk Barton said. ''We've already had a one-loss season, last year. We don't want another one. We kind of looked at each other and were like, 'Hey, we don't want to feel like we did last year, we've got to win them all if we're going to be remembered around here as a special team.'''
So Ohio State took care of business for the 10th time in 10 games.
''I don't know that it was our greatest performance, but it was winning,'' OSU coach Jim Tressel said. ''And we got a chance to fight another round.''
Undoubtedly, pundits question the legitimacy of the Buckeyes' No. 1 ranking because of a schedule that included Akron, Youngstown and Kent State. The lopsided loss to Florida in last year's national championship game also lingers in the memory, as does the perception — which probably is correct — that the Big Ten has had better years.
Pundits are stumped
There is another element to this OSU team that has many college football pundits stumped. Yes, the Buckeyes have taken care of business, but with only two games to play in the regular season, it's difficult to tell what business this team is in.
At the outset of the season, it appeared the Buckeyes would rely on a staunch defense — maybe the best in the land — to carry them. Then in the middle of a win over Washington, quarterback Todd Boeckman started delivering passes from all parts of the field to all parts of the field — from the shotgun, as he rolled out, passes that traveled 50 yards, passes that ended up as touchdowns.
On the other hand, the toughness of running back Chris Wells, the unquestioned star Saturday, began to be doubted, a consequence of Tressel's secrecy concerning an injury to Wells' ankle, revealed only recently as bone chips.
Then there was the team's performance against the Badgers. Boeckman passed on six of the game's first seven plays, taking the team 75 yards for a touchdown. Boeckman kept throwing for the rest of the half, but he was not nearly as successful.
He threw for 71 yards in that first drive and 78 more the rest of the half. Boeckman delivered 21 passes in the first two quarters, but only seven after halftime. Why did he ease up? It wasn't working.
It was almost as if Tressel knew that one way or another, his team would win the game, so why not conduct a little research? Why not find out if Boeckman can be the player who carries the offense? Or at least make him responsible for being that man, just in case he needs to do it later.
Tressel takes action
When Wisconsin scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to take the lead and force the Buckeyes' gut-check that Barton described, Tressel finally took the ball out of Boeckman's hands and gave it to Wells, who responded as if running with the football was a substitute for breathing. In the final 21 minutes, 53 seconds, he gained 141 yards in 14 carries and scored on runs of 31, 30 and 23 yards.
Point the camera toward the kid from Garfield High, and the OSU highlight video will be completed before sunset. So why didn't Tressel do it earlier?
Wisconsin was crowding the line of scrimmage early, giving Boeckman room to hit his receivers. But when Ohio State kept on throwing, the Badgers backed off, often putting eight defenders around the perimeter.
''I don't think we got our gears shifted quickly enough, a little bit due to a couple of penalties,'' Tressel said. ''We found ourselves first-and-20 on a couple of those drives.''
Then again, maybe Tressel still isn't sure what kind of team he has. Is this Boeckman's offense, or Wells'? At least for now, they need to share. But on Saturday against Illinois, who knows?
And maybe the uncertainty is a good thing. Maybe the talking heads on TV aren't the only people who seem confused. Ohio State's future opponents probably aren't sure what to expect, either.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
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