Irish balance has Tressel concerned

By ROB TODOR
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Make no mistake, Jim Tressel has an inner fire that burns as hot as any coach. He just does a better job than most of keeping it hidden.
For instance, when asked Sunday how important it was for him that Ohio State won today's Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Tressel responded that he would relish the memory more.
"Every season that I've been a part of has been satisfying in its own way," he said. "There have been times where we didn't win as many games as we had hoped and some maybe that we won more games than we deserved.
Last call
"This ball game to me, the part that's going to be hard at the end of it, win, lose or draw, is that we won't get to line up with A.J. Hawk any more, and Bobby Carpenter and Nick Mangold and a lot of those guys," he added. "As far as how it ends up and so forth, we'll find out about 7 o'clock, but it's always satisfying working with our kids."
Hawk, a linebacker, and Mangold, a center, are two of the Buckeyes' senior captains, along with safety Nate Salley and offensive tackle Rob Sims.
"Our seniors have done a wonderful job," said Tressel. "As you looked at the 2005 campaign you knew we were going to have a tough schedule. As it turned out it was one of the top couple schedules in the country. There were moments that things went just as we had hoped and moments when it didn't.
"Guys like A.J. Hawk and Nick Mangold, Nate Salley [and] Rob Sims, and really all those guys in that senior class and fourth-year juniors also, they would just not allow us to do anything other than move toward the next day, no matter what the score was in the course of the game or the record was at that moment of time," said Tressel. "They want to excel and they led us."
Irish balanced
In Notre Dame, the Buckeyes faced a diverse and efficient offense that ranked among the top five in the country in yards and points per game.
"They have tremendous balance," said Tressel. "Their folks up front are tremendous veterans, so they've seen it all. They've played so many games over their careers. You can't really show them anything that's going to frustrate them.
"They throw the ball to the tight end, they throw it to the backs, they throw it to those great receivers, they run the ball well, they screen well. They just give you so much, they apply pressure in so many different ways that their balance is extraordinary and their fundamentals are outstanding."
Tressel sounded a warning, though, about the Buckeyes being too concerned with one or two players.
"I don't know that you can say we need to shut down 83 [receiver Jeff Samardzjia] or 21 [receiver Maurice Stovall] or 88 [tight end Anthony Fasano] or 3 [tailback Darius Walker] or 10 [quarterback Brady Quinn]," he said. "My biggest worry is they look awfully good across the board."
OSU's weapons
Of course, the Buckeyes have some weapons offensively, as well, starting with quarterback Troy Smith.
"Troy is an excellent leader, I think, just naturally," said Tressel. "He's got something about him that people enjoy following him. I don't think you can be followed if you don't produce and he produces. He's just got a certain confidence and aura about himself that, hey, if you guys will follow me we'll have a chance.
"He's grown a lot and like all of us, you grow sometimes through your successes and sometimes through your setbacks and I think he's taken both situations throughout his career and he's worked hard to get where he is. He's worked hard to prepare for this football game. He knows it's going to be a challenge and we have a lot of confidence him."
Tressel, not surprisingly, believes the Buckeyes must run the ball well in today's game. He'll feature sophomore tailback Antonio Pittman, who rushed for 1,195 yards this season.
"Antonio Pittman has been one of the keys to us being here," said Tressel. "Antonio has gotten better and better all the time. That will be crucial [today]; you can't go against a team as good as Notre Dame and be one-dimensional, so Antonio is going to be a key part of our game plan."
todor@vindy.com