COLLEGE FOOTBALL Ohio St. offense lacks punch

The Buckeyes will use the bye week to work on their lackluster attack.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel didn't spend much time enjoying Saturday's win over North Carolina State.
"We got through the preseason," he said. "Now we're going into the real season."
The seventh-ranked Buckeyes (3-0) have a bye this week, then begin Big Ten play at 9 p.m. on Oct. 2 at unranked Northwestern.
Ohio State has a 24-game winning streak against the Wildcats with its last loss coming in 1971.
Growing up
It figures to be an easy win for the Buckeyes -- if there is such a thing under Tressel -- but tougher games are ahead. But after close wins over Marshall and N.C. State in the last two weeks, Tressel feels like his young team has started to grow up.
"They've handled themselves well against three solid teams," said Tressel, whose team also beat Cincinnati. "But we haven't played teams like we're going to play."
Ohio State will use the bye week to work on its offense, which struggled against the Wolfpack. The Buckeyes had just 137 yards (64 rushing, 73 passing) and averaged just 2.2 yards per play.
They converted 2-of-16 on third down, averaged 1.6 yards per carry on the ground and had almost as many first downs by penalty (five) as they did running and passing combined (six).
Is Tressel concerned?
"If we didn't win, it would concern me," he said. "It was a challenge. Our offense knew that and was able to get some points when we got close."
Picking up the slack
Fortunately, the Buckeyes' defense and special teams have been superb. That's enough to keep games close, but they'll need more from the offense to compete for a Big Ten title. Especially with back-to-back games against Wisconsin and Purdue looming.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Tressel said.
Sophomore quarterback Justin Zwick has been inconsistent in his first three games. Against Marshall, he had his first 300-yard game -- just the second sophomore in OSU history to do so -- but he also had two interceptions for the second straight game.
He didn't turn the ball over last Saturday, but he finished just 10-of-21 with a long completion of 13 yards.
"We're not perfect on every play, but we don't expect to be," Zwick said. "We just have to keep getting better."
scalzo@vindy.com