Preview: Ohio State versus Washington
Richard Linde, 1 August 2007

Washington plays Ohio State, last year’s BCS runner-up to the national champion, on September 15 at Husky Stadium. This will be the third-game of a brutal five-game opening stint that features games against Syracuse, Boise State, the Buckeyes, UCLA, and USC. The Syracuse and UCLA games are on the road, and the other three are at home.

While Washington arguably plays the toughest schedule in the nation, Ohio State plays the ninth easiest schedule, according to one source. The Buckeyes go up against such power houses as Division I-AA Youngstown State, Akron, and Kent State, all three of those games played at home. Each of the eleven teams in the Big Ten plays an eight-game conference schedule, leaving plenty of room for scheduling, er hum, me ladies.

Last season, Ohio State finished 12-1, won the Big Ten title outright, and finished second in the polling. 

From that team, the Buckeyes lose 13 starters, 7 on offense and 6 on defense. I am counting FB Stan White (four varsity letters) as an offensive loss, while some people are saying the Buckeyes lose six players on each side of the ball. Gone is Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith at quarterback. Smith completed 65 percent of his passes last season, that is, 203 out of 311 passes, for 2542 yards, 30 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions.

Smith was drafted by Baltimore in the fifth round of the NFL draft. Seven other Buckeyes were chosen in the draft. 

Scarlet-and-gray coach Jim Tressel (62-14, 6 years at OSU) is returning 38 lettermen: 18 players on offense and 20 on defense. All of them are quality players – or it wouldn't be Ohio State – and they are ready to take over for the departing players thanks to the experience that Tressel has wisely given them in the past. Playing a couple of pasties (Washington excluded) at the beginning of the season will help the young players ease into the schedule.

Tressel does have an enviable situation at Ohio State, one in which he can develop young, quality players in what would seem, almost, at his leisure.

His football machine is one of perpetual motion, one that runs itself on infinite energy.

Thanks to the eastern mafia, the Buckeyes can play a soft out-of-conference schedule with impunity and not pay for it in the national rankings, as a Pac-10 team would. So, each year they seem to cruise along, whether they are loaded or booting up. Speaking of love affairs, the ESPN network covered the Big Ten’s football media day on July 31.

Tressel looks to stop the run first and put young QB Jake Locker in tenuous situation, forcing him to throw the ball. Jake will be working on his footwork this summer to improve his passing accuracy. As we all know, bad habits are hard to correct, and sometimes in the heat of battle, it's just easier to go what you have done in the past than to force yourself into unfamiliar territory.

If Tressel jumps off to a big lead, he can develop more young players in the second half and give young Locker a chance to work on his rhythm and shim sham shimmy. Coaches have to stick together, you know.

The 75,310 fans who attended the Ohio State spring game might have witnessed the closest game Ohio State will play this season at home, up until the time it plays Michigan State on October 8. The Gray beat the Scarlet 17-9.

Isn’t there anything better to do in Columbus, on a Saturday afternoon in the spring, than to watch a dull football scrimmage?

On a recruiting scale over the last 5 years, Ohio State has a national average ranking of 14th best in the country compared to Washington’s 31st, according to data on scout.com. In our six-stat comparator from last year, the Buckeyes boast a national average ranking of 14.1, while the Huskies post a 78.8, where lowest number wins.

With a new quarterback and young receivers, Jim Tressel is likely to go with a more conservative attack than last year’s offense, which featured among other formations, some five-receiver sets and two-back power running formations, those mixed with a quarterback draw or two.

"There’s very little in offensive football that we didn’t have in the package (last year)," Tressel says. "So will we be able to do all of that? I doubt it, early on. I don’t want to err and have (a new quarterback) do every little thing that we asked Troy (Smith) to do, because there’s a building process."

Almost fifty years ago, a young, sophomore-laden Husky team, coached by Jim Owens, traveled to Columbus and gave the Buckeyes (6-1-2) an unexpectedly close game, losing 12-7.

Twenty-point underdogs to the third-ranked Buckeyes and outweighed 33 pounds per man on the front line, the youthful Huskies out-gained the Buckeyes 276 to 196.

After the game at midfield, a disappointed Woody Hayes told Owens that he (Owens) needed to work on his offense.

That game presaged the following season in 1959, when the Huskies finished 10-1, and won the Rose Bowl.

This game gives Tyrone Willingham a chance to prove his mettle as the head football coach at Washington and should his team win or give the Buckeyes a close game, it would propel his Husky career forward, as it did for the incomparable Jim Owens way back in ’58. (*)

Quarterback (edge Washington):

Todd Boeckman (6-foot-5, 235, JR) is set to replace Smith at quarterback, and he’ll be pushed by Rob Schoenhoft (6-foot-6, 240, SO), who had a good spring. Boeckman has good mobility for his size, and played in three games last season, throwing 3 times and completing 2.

UW Comparator: This could be a break out game for Washington’s Jake Locker, who could possibly replicate John Elway’s feat, when he beat Oklahoma, 31-14, at Norman, Oklahoma in 1980, during a driving rainstorm.

Geez, don’t wish for a rainstorm.

Running Back: (edge Ohio State)

The Buckeyes lose Antonio Pittman, who rushed for 1233 yards last season. Pittman was drafted by New Orleans in the fourth round of the NFL draft.

However, OSU is doubly well off at tailback, returning Chris “Beanie” Wells (6-foot-1, 225, SO) and Maurice “Mo” Wells (5-foot-10, 190, JR). Each of the Wells’s played 13 games last season, and combined for 747 yards on the ground. They are not related; they give OSU a nice inside/outside combo.

Watch for true freshman blazer, Brandon Saine (6-foot-1, 205), who runs a 4.3, to take a few pigskins to the house as the season progresses.

FB Dionte Johnson (6-foot-0, 234, SR) gives Ohio State a powerful blocking back, along with Trevor Robinson (6-foot-0, 220, SR). Each has won three letters at fullback.

UW Comparator: The Huskies only have two scholarship tailbacks returning, but both must be reckoned with. The leading rusher from last year, Louis Rankin, is back, but he is the only one with any experience. Junior J. R. Hasty has resolved the academic issues that have kept him off the field. A couple of incoming freshmen are expected to help out at tailback.

Luke Kravitz and Paul Homer will get some work at fullback, as Mark Palaita has finished his career at UW.

Offensive line (big edge Ohio State)

Three offensive linemen from last season return: OT Alex Boone (6-foot-8, 320, JR), OG Steve Rehring (6-foot-8, 329, JR), and OT Kirk Barton (6-foot-6, 310, SR). Boone is a likely NFL first round draft pick, Rehring is good enough to play in the NFL some day and Barton, another NFL prospect, is considered to be an excellent blocker. Jim Cordle (6-foot-4, 285, SO) is the heir apparent to Doug Datish’s position at center, and Ben Person (6-foot-4, 315, JR) is expected to take over for T.J. Downing at right guard.

Juniors Jon Skinner (two letters) and Kyle Mitchum (1 varsity letter) will lend some experience to the rotation.

The rest of the backups are young and inexperienced, but they feature loads of talent, along with all the hoopla and hype left over from the recruiting battles. Mostly likely, they will live up to all the fanfare.

Barton and Boone have been named to the 2007 Outland Trophy watch list.

UW Comparator: Washington lacks depth here and has no one with NFL potential, let alone watch-list potential. But some people expect Washington’s starting five to be better than last season’s OL, which allowed just 19 sacks all year. The Huskies OL is big in size and is receiving a lot of emphasis from coach Willingham, who considers it to be the most important positional unit on the team. In March, his eyes sparkled noticeably, with just a hint of a smile on his lips, when I complimented him on what he was doing with the OL. I liked the offensive lines he put together at Notre Dame, and like his persona, in general.

Wide Receivers (edge Washington)

Ted Ginn Jr. (781 yards in 2006) and Anthony Gonzales (734 yards) have departed. Ginn and Gonzales were drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. Big wide receiver Roy Hall (6-foot-3, 240, 4.3), who played behind Ginn, Gonzales and Brian Robiskie, was a surprise pick in the draft going to the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round.

Replacing them will be Robiskie (6-foot-3, 195, JR) and Brian Hartline (6-foot-3, 180, SO). Each played in 13 games last season and together accounted for 639 yards.

Played sparingly as a freshman last season, Ray Small had eight catches in 10 games. Small is one of the fastest members of the team.

Considering the losses, the wide receiver position doesn’t appear to be the offensive strength of this team, although Robiskie has a chance to be Boeckman’s go to guy.

In fact, the wide receiver and quarterback positions remain questions that Tressel’s offense needs to answer going into the season. His offensive line and running backs should do just fine.

UW Comparator: Wide receiver, considered to be a strength of the Huskies, took a blow recently when incoming freshmen Anthony Boyles and Devin Aquilar were apparently lost to a non-qualifying SATs. They plan to retake the test in September. Look for WR Marcel Reece to do an imitation of Roy Hall during the game. 

Tight End (Even)

Rory Nicol (6-foot-5, 250, JR) returns at tight end. Last season, he caught 13 passes for 151 yards and 3 touchdowns, and they say he has speed and strength to burn. Jake Ballard, who was a true freshman last year, played in 12 games; he and Andy Miller (redshirt freshman) give the tight end position some quality depth.

UW Comparator: There is nothing to get excited about here, for either team. Willingham will run this position by committee.

Defensive linemen (Slight edge Ohio State)

DE Jay Richardson, and DTs Quinn Pitcock (98th selection in NFL draft) and David Patterson, all starters last season, have departed. That leaves DE Vernon Gholston (6-foot-4, 260, JR) as the lone returning starter. Gholston, who cannonaded the opposition for 49 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for a loss last season, will likely need double teaming this season.

The other DE, 6-foot-6, 270 pound Junior Lawrence Wilson accumulated 14 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, and 3 sacks in rotation last year, playing in 11 games.

DTs Todd Denlinger (6-foot-3, 280, SO) and Doug Worthington (6-foot-7, 274, SO) played in 11 and 7 games, respectively, last season.

The soft schedule, which opens with Youngstown State and Akron at home, will give the defensive tackles a chance to mold into run stoppers before the season gets tougher in October.

UW Comparator: Washington returns some experience on the defensive line, but, as a whole, the returning players are small compared to OSU’s big guys. The UW DL features no one like Gholston, who, incidentally, has been named to the Ted Hendricks Award watch list. The Hendricks Award goes to the most outstanding defensive end in college football.

Tressell wants to pound the ball up the gut, to ease his team into the game. It’s critical for this unit to stop that from happening, and, as part of the front seven, force some three and outs.

Linebackers (Big edge Ohio State)

Starters last season, Marcus Freeman (6-foot-2, 242, JR) and James Laurinaitis (6-foot-3, 243, JR) return at linebacker. Laurinaitis won the 2006 Nagurski Award, posting 115 tackles, with 4 sacks and 5 interceptions. He’s been named to the 2007 Bronco Nagurski watch list.  Laurinaitis is the son of professional wrestler Joe Laurinaitis, who is a member of the Road Warrior Animals.

Freeman had 71 tackles last season.

Larry Grant, Curtis Terry, and Ross Homan all return, sporting five varsity letters among themselves.

UW Comparator: The linebacker position is considered to be the strength of the OSU defense, while Washington’s linebackers will still be ramping up for the season, having lost two starters.

E. J. Savannah and Donald Butler can smack people around. Dan Howell made some big plays last season. This corps, however, lacks the utter ferociousness of OSU’s linebackers and won’t be on anyone’s watch list.

Secondary (Edge Ohio State)

Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, a first-team All-Big Ten selection last season, and safety Jamario O’Neal return to anchor the secondary. Tressell loses CB Antonio Smith and SS Brandon Mitchell, and he needs to find another corner to play alongside Jenkins and someone to step up at safety.

Donald Washington (6-foot-1, 195, SO) is expected to see a lot of passes coming his way, as opposing quarterbacks throw away from lockdown-corner Jenkins. Washington accounted for 41 tackles last season.

Six-foot-2, 210 pound junior Nick Patterson will take over the free safety spot.

The defensive secondary boasts some good speed, with some of its players in the 4.3 and 4.4 categories.

UW Comparator: Neither team has anything to crow about here, except for OSU’s Jenkins. UW only forced 14 turnovers last season, and its secondary was embarrassed by almost every Pac-10 team. Last season, UW finished last in the conference in Pass Efficiency Defense.

Specialists: (edge Ohio State).

Sophomore kicker Aaron Pettrey returns. Pettrey made 8 of 11 field goal attempts in 2006, with a long of 51 yards.

Returning punter A. J. Trapasso, a junior, averaged 40.6 yards per punt with a long of 60 yards.

UW Comparator: Washington is breaking in a new punter and a new kicker, having lost Sean Douglas and Michael Braunstein.

Last meeting

In their last meeting, Ohio State beat Washington 28-9 at Columbus on August 30, 2003. The final score could have been much worse for Keith Gilbertson’s Dawgs, who were bludgeoned, battered, bruised, and toyed with almost obscenely. Not turning the ball over via interception or fumble kept the score closer for the Huskies than it should have been, considering the marked disparity in quality between the two teams. UW posted an anemic 7 yards rushing.

UW has a 3-7 lifetime record against Ohio State.

Prediction:

A hungry Washington team will catch Ohio State flatfooted and over-confident, basking in the glory of two easy opening victories and in what could have been a national championship in 2006. Washington’s speedy front seven will test the running ability of the Buckeyes’ big, lumbering quarterbacks.

This is the time for emerging star quarterback Montlake Jake to shine and could be one of the big upsets of 2007. The poet in me says that Willingham will hand Tressel a brilliant scarlet vest…on a gray overcast tray...amidst the fury of a loud, raucous fray.

(*) Commentary:

Although Pac-10 teams look stronger this season, Tyrone Willingham needs to better last year's ninth-place finish in the conference race, to prove to us fans he's making some progress. That's my metric for him this season, and not necessarily that of his performance in the tough, out-of-conference schedule.

In my opinion, it's important to separate the two sets of games: conference from non-conference games. That way no excuses can be made for losing to a tough schedule; the coach is still accountable for his conference record, whatever the whims of the total schedule dictate.

Each year, the conference race is a constant measure, more or less, of the coach's progress, except that the number of home games his team plays varies from year to year. UW plays five Pac-10 teams at home this season (USC, Oregon, Arizona, California and Washington State). So, an advantage goes to Willingham this season. Next season, he'll play four conference games at home and five on the road.

Setting that milestone means Willingham needs to win at least four conference games this season, to better his 3-6 mark from last season.

Am I being overly harsh on him to expect at least four conference wins?

Egad, this will be his third season at Washington, and Notre Dame fired him after three seasons, albeit unfairly. 

Obvious wins are against Stanford, Arizona and Washington State, not to say they will be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Oregon could be the fourth win. It's at home and there is an exacting, painful payback long overdue.

Of course, if I had my druthers, I'd like to see UW win the conference.

As a fan and alum, I'm giving the coach five years to complete the rebuilding process before I start howling, but I would like to see some progress being made each season.

"Just win," he told me in Palm Springs in March. I'm holding him to that statement and respect his determination.