Northwestern and History Lesson

Ohio State @ Northwestern, 3:30 p.m., ABC

Here we are. November 10th, 2006, and only about a week and a few hours from the Ohio State vs. Michigan game. I know we're supposed to be focused on Northwestern at this time, but if you could show me a fan who is actually more concerned about Northwester than Michigan at this time, then I'll show you a liar. But this is the final road game for this class of Buckeye seniors, and let's look at this game a little bit and discuss what happened the last time Ohio State visited Ryan Field.

Old Memories
Fall quarter of 2004 was my last quarter as a student at The Ohio State University. I vividly remember this game and the entire afternoon leading up to it, but not so much the night before (bowling alley at our hotel=many pitchers of beer and the nickname of "The Rocket" for this guy). For those who don't know, I was the color commentator for the 2004 Ohio State football season for Ohio State student radio (visit their link at http:www.underground.fm) and this is where knowing Tressel's system comes from. My brother Austin and good friend D. Brown also took a class called Coaching Football EDU PAES 620 in the Fall of 03, which was taught by James Patrick Tressel and other Buckeye Coaches. In this class, Tressel schooled us well on his brand of football and also served as the genesis to understanding how he runs a football program.

Sorry, off on a tangent.....I get that from my dad.....but now back to football. What I remember from this game was that I expected us to go in and totally shut down Northwestern. They had a decent, almost poor man's Craig Krenzel-type QB in Brett Basanez, a shifty little back in Noah Herron, and a couple of WRs. But we were Ohio State, with a defense that only was yeilding something like 13 or 14 points per game to this point, and only giving up about 250 total yards.

And then we just got dominated by Northwestern. This game went into overtime, but from what I remember we were scrapping all game long just to get it into OT. Ohio State lost this game 33-27 in overtime, and if you didn't know any better you would've thought NU just won the National Championship after they beat us. Basanez threw a bunch of little passes across the middle of the field, and give the late NU Coach Randy Walker credit as they totally out-schemed Tressel and his staff. Noah Herron had a hell of a game, and Basanez and those WR's killed OSU with their well-executed crossing routes. That NU offensive line was probably the best they'd had in 12 or 15 years, that was led by 4 seniors, as Trai Essex is now in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Northwestern defense was also anchored by DT Luis Castillo, who is now with the San Diego Chargers (altough check this out http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2005/04/14/castillo_tells_nfl_he_took_steroids/ ...not very cool).

So, what should we take from the memories of this game? DON'T TAKE ANYONE LIGHTLY!!
This NU team isn't nearly as talented as the 04 version of the Wildcats, but they do have 2004 Ohio Mr. Football at running back, and his name is Tyrell Sutton. Sutton is an awesome back, althought the O-line isn't really that great this year. Sutton's numbers are handicapped because of their lack of a passing game, but is still capable of putting up solid numbers. Sutton is rushing for 83 yards per game, but is getting 5.8 yards per carry. There are no NU WRs that are in the Big Ten in receiving, and as a whole this team has nothing to offer on offense except for Tyrell Sutton. They have been unsettled at QB this year, and both times I've watched them they've had a terrible guy named Bacher (or some ridiculous French name that isn't as cool as Bobby Hebert). I watched the first half of the Michigan/NU game a few weeks ago, and whatever QB they had in there would repetitively shoot the NU offense in the foot.

What to look for....
Here is what I'd look for in this game:

• Run the ball. Work on offensive line execution and build confidence back up after a horrible performance in Champaign last week. NU gives up 145 yards a game rushing, so let's work the clock, minimize offensive plays (partially to lessen the chance of injuries), and also get Beanie Wells 12-14 carries in which he doesn't fumble the ball once (talk about a guy who needs to build confidence!).
• I really doubt we see much Troy Smith in the second half, that is unless we're only up by 10 or 13 late in the 3rd quarter. We will also rotate in some of the younger O-line guys in the second half, in order to give guys like Datish and Downing a little break (less wear and tear on the knees).
• Get Roy Hall some touches. The fifth year senior from Cleveland deserves it, and who really knows how many times his number will be called next Saturday.
• MOST IMPORTANT....COMMIT TO STOPPING THE RUN. This is and has to be the key for the defense on Saturday. I understand that Michigan's O-Line is 400 times better than that of what NU rolls out, but OSU should focus on stopping Tyrell Sutton and key on the fundamentals of tackling a very good running back. Next week when OSU plays Michigan, that will also be a day in which OSU will have to stop the run or they will not beat Michigan.

Fun Tidbit from 2004 NU game. We (Jeff Svoboda of the Buckeye Sports Bulletin, Ed Collari of the Winston Salem Warthogs, and myself) interviewed then Ohio State Athletic Director Andy Geiger during halftime of that game, and I noticed that he had his initials sewn into the cuff of his sleeve. I thought this was really cool, and when I become successful that is the first order of business for this guy's dress shirts. (Always amused by the little things).

So what am I predicting for Saturday? I'll take the Bucks, 41-6. The D will again be successful, and we will have the offensive swagger back on the offensive side of the ball. Enjoy the game Bucks fans, because we've only got 120 minutes of Big Ten football left this season.