OHIO STATE Zwick's still the one despite uproar to get Smith playing time

Backup quarterback Troy Smith has become Columbus' most popular athlete.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Ohio State fans have a new rallying cry: Why not Troy?
Irate fans want Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel to give some playing time to backup quarterback Troy Smith at Iowa on Saturday.
Fans have been inundating local radio sports-talk shows, the sports editor of the daily newspaper and online booster sites with the same question: If you're losing games with Justin Zwick, why not try somebody else?
Tressel, however, has repeatedly said Zwick is his starter despite a free fall that has seen the Buckeyes lose their first two Big Ten games and plummet 18 spots to No. 25 in the span of two weeks.
Tressel didn't make any major concessions to the growing Smith Fan Club on Tuesday but did indicate that Smith might be able to get into a game for the first time in a month.
Outlook
"He would have to practice better than Justin," Tressel said of Smith. "Our goal is working to get adequate quarterback play ... so that we can be successful. We measure each guy individually and see if we're moving in that direction."
Tight end Ryan Hamby said the Zwick/Smith debate has moved into the Buckeyes' locker room.
"You know, to be honest, I'm sure there are guys saying, 'Man, maybe we should put Troy in. Maybe Troy should get a shot,' " Hamby said. "But game in and game out every week it's going to be Coach Tressel's call, hands down. That's a fact. That's the way it's going to go."
Zwick beat out Smith, a fellow redshirt sophomore, for the starting spot after Craig Krenzel graduated. Throughout spring practices and then through the heat of August, Tressel continually said Zwick had a slight edge on Smith.
Zwick started the opening-game win over Cincinnati but threw two interceptions and fumbled four times. Smith came on late and threw a touchdown pass.
Wins by whisker
Zwick threw two more interceptions the next week as the Buckeyes barely squeaked by Marshall on a last-second field goal, with Smith making a token appearance.
Over the last three games, Zwick has taken every snap. It may or may not be a coincidence that Zwick has also thrown more incompletions than completions in each of those games and that the Buckeyes have lost their first two Big Ten games for the first time in a dozen years.
In an ugly 24-13 loss to unbeaten Wisconsin on Saturday at home, Zwick and Co. mustered just 224 yards of total offense and failed to score an offensive touchdown for the fifth time in Tressel's 3 1/2-year tenure. Fans booed the play-calling and the team several times in the second half.
Zwick said he played better than he originally thought.
"Right after the game I thought things were a little bit worse than I ended up thinking after watching the film," Zwick said of his 15-for-31 passing day for 125 yards with no interceptions, no TD passes and five sacks. "There's some things to work on, and also some good things."
Watching his words
Smith last spoke with reporters two weeks ago. Asked then if he thought he was getting a fair shot at the starting job, he said, "That's for you guys to decide. I really can't say anything on that because I don't want to put myself in a position where I say [something] ... and the repercussions of what I said has something to do with my playing time or my future here."
Tressel said Tuesday he does not hold it against Smith that he publicly questioned why he wasn't playing.
"I don't hold things against people," Tressel said.
Zwick is 10th in the Big Ten in pass efficiency and ranks 89th in the nation. Ohio State's offense is 92nd of the 117 I-A teams in rushing, 70th in passing and 97th in total offense with Zwick at the helm.
Ohio State offensive lineman Kirk Barton said he saw nothing wrong with putting Smith on the field for at least a few plays, maybe more.
Deserves a shot
"I think he deserves a shot," Barton said of Smith. "They were neck and neck coming out of camp, so it's not like the kid's a stiff. He's a great player. He deserves it. He's been working as hard as anyone. I've never seen a harder worker than Troy Smith."
Barton added that the renewed competition might be good for Zwick: "You can't let people get complacent. If a guy thinks he's got the spot regardless of his performance, then he's got to get on the hot seat."
After Saturday's loss, Tressel said he didn't think making a change at quarterback was the answer. He said improvement must be made on the line, at wide receiver, and in the backfield just as much as at quarterback.