Rushing game is in need of CPR

Maurice Hall and Lydell Ross combined for just 3 yards.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State football team has its work cut out in replacing suspended tailback Maurice Clarett.
In Saturday's triple overtime win over No. 24 North Carolina State, the famed Buckeyes' rushing tradition was nowhere to be found.
On 32 carries, the Buckeyes gained 44 yards.
Leading the way was quarterback Craig Krenzel who rushed 13 times for 37 yards.
Tailbacks Maurice Hall and Lydell Ross combined for 3 yards on 17 carries.
"We certainly need to get it going better than it is," said coach Jim Tressel who estimated that five of Krenzel's carries were planned runs.
No thanks
How bad was the rushing game? In the three overtime periods, none of the tailbacks touched the ball.
Hall, a junior who had 370 yards on 78 carries in 2002, said, "We need to take a step back, watch some film and focus on next week. The running game did not look good today, but we got the win and that's all that matters."
Hall had 13 attempts for 2 yards while Ross had 1 yard on four tries.
"It's not where we want it be at all, nowhere close," said Ross. "We need to get a lot better."
Ross said mental and physical mistakes are the culprits.
"We worked hard, we studied, we practiced on what we were going to see," said Ross, who had 619 yards on 166 carries last year.
Defensive miscues
Also contributing to the Buckeyes collapse were penalties, particularly by the defense.
"Our last two weeks, I've never seen so many penalties," said Tressel, referring to last week's 16-13 win over San Diego State. "I think we had 69 all of last year, 14 games. We had to have 25 between these two weeks.
"It's a concern, but we're going to play aggressively. We've got to do a better job," Tressel said.
In the first overtime, the Buckeyes were caught roughing the passer.
A pass interference call in the second overtime gave the Wolfpack a first-and-goal from the 2.
And in the final extra session, the Buckeyes were caught for offsides, a facemask grab and holding on three consecutive plays for a first-and-goal from the 4.Still, they won.
Never let up
"We never let up," linebacker A.J. Hawk said. "I think that type of attitude has proven to be one of our standards."
Cornerback Dustin Fox said the Buckeyes' experience in close games (including the double-overtime win over Miami in the Fiesta Bowl) paid off Saturday.
"We have faced adversity before and we know when we are in tough situations, we can't tense up," Fox said.
"It was emotional -- it was definitely exciting to see the refs shake their head to say he didn't get in," referring to the Buckeyes stopping Wolfpack tailback T.A. McClendon at the 1 on the game's final play.
williams@vindy.com.