Buckeyes' Anderson will tackle his chance
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The bad taste of losing to his biggest rival is still fresh to Tim Anderson.
Motivation to play well in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will not be difficult for the Ohio State senior nose tackle from Clyde.
And not just from a team perspective.
The Buckeyes' 35-21 loss to Michigan on Nov. 22 didn't just plummet them from a possible return trip to the national championship game.
Also lost was Ohio State's bid for a second straight Big Ten championship and the aura of invincibility for a defense that had gained national recognition.
Personal frustration
And, personally for Anderson, there remains the feeling of an opportunity lost, or perhaps even given away. "It's something I won't quit thinking about for a long time," he said Sunday. "To play the way I did has been hard for me to deal with. "I'd definitely put it up there -- I wouldn't say it was the worst game I've ever had, but it was right up there."
Through 11 games, the Buckeyes had allowed only three opponents to rush for more than 100 yards -- Northwestern, Wisconsin and Purdue -- but they gave up a combined 23 points in those contests, and won two of them. But Heisman Trophy finalist Chris Perry of Michigan rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns all by himself.
"We do feel like we're a great team," said Anderson, "but we definitely dropped the ball against Michigan. "We want to prove we can still pick it up and run with it. This [the Fiesta Bowl], I would say, is a 'pride game.' "
Another All-American
Anderson's opponent most of the night will be Kansas State center Nick Leckey, who was a consensus All-Big XII selection and earned some All-American recognition.
"Their center is probably their best player on the offensive line," said Anderson. "They all block hard, they're very good on combination blocks and they stay on their blocks. They play the whole play, which is not something you see a lot of offensive lines do. A lot of linemen won't block all the way to the whistle."
In last year's Fiesta Bowl, Anderson played very well against Miami's All-American center Brett Romberg, allowing his teammates like defensive end Will Smith and linebacker Cie Grant to make many big plays. He'll need a similar performance Friday night against one of the most explosive offenses in the country.
"You can't try to focus on stopping either [quarterback Ell] Roberson or [tailback Darren] Sproles," said Anderson. "In all the film we watched, if a team shut down one the other one stepped up.
"Sproles is so small I lost him in the films a few times. His vision is very good, he's quick and he's fast."
Playing for coach
The entire defense is also motivated to play well for coordinator Mark Dantonio, who last week was hired as head coach by the University of Cincinnati.
"I definitely want to send him out on a high note," Anderson said. "I want to get him feeling good about the Buckeyes before they play."
Ohio State is scheduled to open the 2004 season against Cincinnati.
Anderson hopes, though, that the end of the week won't have a similar result as the start. Some of the team went to a local casino Saturday night; Anderson said he "fell into the hole a little bit" playing blackjack with teammates Joe Bradley, a junior linebacker, Fred Pagac Jr. and offensive lineman Alex Stepanovich.
"It wasn't about the money, but about spending some time with my friends."
Which, as time goes by, will be the memories that last as the pain of the losses fade.
XRob Todor is sports editor of The Vindicator. Write to him at todor@vindy.com.