Print | Comments | Tell a Friend | Larger Text | Smaller Text | Bookmark and Share

Local Sports

Saturday, December 26, 2009

College football: Buckeyes' game plan gets back to basics
Little Caesars
By RUSTY MILLER

AP Sports Writer

COLUMBUS -- Most teams' offensive playbook grows into an encyclopedia as a season wears on.

Ohio State's became more like a pamphlet.

The Buckeyes reverted to the hallowed tactic of “three yards and a cloud of dust” to win their final five games, capture a fifth straight Big Ten title and earn a berth in the Rose Bowl against Oregon.

Who would have thought that Woody Hayes' was ahead of his time?

“I guess you can even look at it statistically,” coach Jim Tressel said. “Particularly in the back half of the year, we did a much better job taking care of the football and a much better job running the football. Therefore, we did a much better job winning.”

Hayes, of course, relied on an offense as subtle as a sledgehammer to pound the ball between the tackles for 28 years while glowering from the Buckeyes sidelines.

Before the season's first snap, the strength of the current Ohio State offense was thought to be Terrelle Pryor, a state-of-the-art quarterback in the mold of Tennessee Titans hybrid Vince Young.

But when Pryor threw eight interceptions as the Buckeyes went 5-2 to start the year, Tressel and his offensive staff changed gears. They downshifted to the running game.

“Earlier in the season, we didn't get the running game going like we wanted to,” said tailback Dan “Boom” Herron. “We tried something different in the middle of the season and continued it at the end of the season, and it worked out pretty well.”

What Ohio State tried was running first, running second and running third, and passing only when necessary.

In each of those last five games, the Buckeyes rushed for at least 200 yards a game.

After rushing for just 66 yards in a stunning 26-18 loss to Purdue (which would end up 5-7) on Oct. 17, the Buckeyes averaged 258 yards in the five-game sprint to the finish. It was the first time an Ohio State team rushed for at least 200 yards in five games in a row in 17 years.

“After the Purdue game, we really got our act together and played well,” said Brandon Saine, who shares the tailback workload with Herron. “The offensive line started to play with a little bit of a chip on its shoulder.”

The line began to get healthy at about the same time the Ohio State offense took off.

“We knew what was at stake,” said tackle Jim Cordle. “We just didn't have that we-can't-lose-a-game attitude at Purdue and we lost. We carried that through and picked up and got healthy. We went back to some formations and plays that are our identity.”

Pryor has been the Buckeyes' go-to guy under center for the last 22 games, but he's still only a sophomore and occasionally tries to do too much. But with the ground game churning out yards, he has been able to concentrate on handing off or running the option. The Buckeyes didn't need to rely on his throwing.

Over the last five games, he had just two interceptions and rushed for 340 yards and three touchdowns.

So in the age of spread offenses, five wide-outs and the wildcat formation, the Buckeyes turned back the clock to the 1960s and 1970s.

“What did we do better?” Tressel said rhetorically. “We rushed for over 200 yards a game in the last month or so and if you can do that you're going to have a chance to be your conference's champion. And that we are.”


Subscribe to The Courier.
Comment on This Story
NOTE: Comment moderation has been enabled. If you see a comment that violates our Electronic User Agreement, please e-mail webmaster@thecourier.com. Thank you. If you are having problems viewing this Web page, please contact our Internet Department to help us diagnose and correct the problem. We may contact you for more information. Thanks in advance.
Your e-mail address will not be displayed on this website or shared with anyone. It is used by our online editor for contacting purposes.
Comments are moderated by The Courier according to its Electronic User Agreement within one business day. Comments that slander others or include language that violates the agreement will be rejected. All comments that impart opinion and information are welcome.

SBO

   SPORTS VIDEO

Talkin' football

Fostoria Review Times sports editor Scott Cottos joined Courier sports reporters Jamie Baker and Dave Hanneman to talk about four key games coming up in Week 2.
   SPECIAL SECTIONS
Summer Coupons
   AREA SPORTS

Local Sports
Duffel Bag

Duffel Bag

The Courier's Sports Duffel Bag carries local sports announcements like camps, clinics and coaching vacancies.

  LATEST COMMENTS Last 10 comments submitted by our readers...
j wrote in article "Many winners named as Hancock Fair opens":
Good but little expensive
“ The fair was interesting, but at $5 for the more popular rides on the expensive side, same with the food, many people commented... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 10:37:10 AM
JM wrote in article "McComb couple is serious about fair competition":
Very nice!
“ What a lovely article. Will have to check out their goods at the fair. ” Read More...
9/2/2010 10:21:42 AM
Ed wrote in article "Shooting video released":
Dirt bag...
“ A head shot would have put an end to the both dirt bag's chance of getting more money. NATE: could it be that you have some fir... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 9:53:26 AM
Yfkm wrote in article "Heroin outbreak":
Denial
“ To Tony and TL Every good citizen, parent and public official advocates the eradication of drugs from our communities; you are n... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 9:08:20 AM
Penny Musgrave wrote in article "Shooting video released":
Benton Ridge Shooting
“ Although I am all for catching the criminal, I don't condone what was done to this guy. They converged on him like gangbusters b... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 8:43:07 AM
Yfkm wrote in article "Parole denied in murder case":
Unqualified reassurance
“ To Tony - here is another example of your inability to see situations as they really are. It is obvious that you are so self in... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 8:42:45 AM
JP wrote in article "Pigskin Picks":
Wood Shed???
“ "Bubba," why would a Tiger take a Polar Bear to the wood shed? Wouldn't it be more likely that: Tigers knock Polar Bears into a... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 7:16:48 AM
poor victim!!!!! wrote in article "Shooting video released":
Nate
“ Nate your a moron and obviously do not know a thing about use of force. Also most taser cartridges carried have a 15 ft to 35 f... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 7:15:05 AM
Ryan wrote in article "Shooting video released":
Research
“ It doesn't matter if there was a weapon found or not. An officer's job is based upon perception and their objective reasonablen... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 7:05:15 AM
Derek wrote in article "Shooting video released":
Nate......what???
“ Nate, first of all, police officer's don't carry mase. If they did, the would carry maCe. Now, if you did some research, you'd... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 4:02:04 AM
Findlay Implement: John Deere
   LOCAL HEADLINES
  NATIONAL SPORTS