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Articles
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No running game at Columbus? Singleton' loss is doubling troublesome By: Malamute, 28 August 2003
Why on earth would a school that is coming a controversial jettisoning of its former football coach want to subject itself to a mismatch—at least on paper—by playing the defending national champion on its own home turf to start its season? It’s all about money, and the decision to play the game was made years ago by the schedule makers who were wearing dollar-colored glasses at the time. You don’t see Miami, Florida, Notre Dame or Florida State lining up for this big-bucks deal at Columbus. You can’t win the national championship by pulling a Washington. No one is that dumb. J The correct formula for winning the national championship is to play a couple of patsies to start the season, then alternate between patsies and tough guys, always making sure there are never two tough guys in a row with which to butt heads. Three toughies in a row ensure that you're toast for a national championship. A formula for an unsuccessful season: Try playing the Trojans at the Coliseum, Arizona State at Tempe and Washington at Seattle all in a three-week period. There isn’t a college football team in America that wouldn’t lose at least one of those games, and that’s the reason no prescient prognosticator ever picks a Pac-10 team to win a national championship. Here’s how we see the game; after all of this negativity, we’ll weasel a bit and say it will be closer than people think--because Washington is a very good football team, the best it has been since the 2000 season when it won the Rose Bowl against Purdue. The following is based on what I saw of the Buckeyes during their spring game and on what I saw of the Dawgs at Olympia.
In the last two years, the UW has lost some big games on the road, and has been blown out in several of them. In those games, not being able to run the ball effectively has contributed to poor field position, putting quarterback Cody Pickett in untenable situations. Not turning the ball over is key for the Huskies in this game. If the Dawgs adhere to their prior formula for losing big games on the road, it will be all over before the fat lady sings. Obtaining good field position from which to start its drives is paramount, meaning the Huskies must be able to run the ball effectively and kick it well; going into the game, both of these facets are big question marks for the Huskies. The Huskies’ runners struggled for yardage against the first-team defense at the Olympia training camp. The young punters and kickers have been consistently inconsistent. Losing tailback Chris Singleton (photo above) to a broken foot for 6-8 weeks could unravel the Huskies' running game before it even begins to rock and roll. The timing couldn't have been worse, coming just three days before the game. Singleton's loss is "doubling" troublesome when you think about what could have been: with fullback Zach Tuiasosopo in the same backfield with him. Tuisasosopo had a stellar camp at Olympia, looking to be the best power runner the Dawgs have. He's lost to the Huskies until his felony malicious mischief charges are resolved on September 25. Singleton's loss puts added pressure on tailbacks Rich Alexis (he's had shoulder problems in the past) and Shelton Sampson, who suffered from migraines during the Olympia training camp. Redshirt freshman Kenny James, who missed most of spring practice because of a sprained knee, is listed as the number two tailback. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel (156-62-2 in 17 years’ coaching) has set high standards for his team. On a per game basis, he would like for his defense to hold opponents to 13 points or less and for his offense to score at least 40 points; he wants to run the ball for 200 yards plus and pass for at least 250 yards. Fun Corner; some hype for Cody: Think of what the Caldwell Cowboy from Chicken Dinner Road—that moniker should give those biased eastern sportswriters pause for thought—could do with a viable running game. J Pickett’s statistics are truly amazing—4458 yards passing last year—considering the Dawgs’ anemic running game in 2002, the worst in school history. An optimistic prediction: Ohio State 30, Washington 27 Table 1. Statistics from the 2002 Season *
* Statistics were obtained from Collegio Football: www.sophosoft.com Reference: Ohio State Spring Game
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The
upcoming game between Washington and Ohio State looks like a setup: A setup for
the Ohio State fans and for the moneymakers at the two schools. A large TV
audience and 100,000 fans in attendance ensure that both schools will post a
positive cash flow to start the season.