Coach Tressel accepts the heat for Texas loss
His shuffling of quarterbacks prevented the offense from excelling.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The quarterback carousel at Ohio State has been unplugged.
Troy Smith will start for the No. 9 Buckeyes Saturday against San Diego State, while Justin Zwick -- the starter the first two games -- has been relegated to the sidelines. Coach Jim Tressel said he couldn't even say for sure if Zwick would play against the Aztecs.
It was difficult to tell who was in charge of the offense and what the game plan was during Saturday's 25-22 loss to Texas as Tressel shuffled in quarterbacks like relief pitchers in a high-scoring game.
Tressel has been roundly criticized on call-in shows and in chat rooms since the defeat.
Not always right
"You have to make decisions," Tressel said Tuesday. "I've never pretended that every decision I've made was right and I've been reminded of that."
Tressel waffled throughout the nationally televised game with No. 2 Texas, playing Zwick the first two series, then Smith for five, then Zwick for two, Smith for one, Zwick for two, and Smith for one. As a result, the offense never really got into a rhythm.
"There were some times when I didn't execute," Tressel said, discussing how well he coached during the game. "You have to start with yourself in the formula. I certainly didn't grade a winning performance."
Boiled down to the cold, hard numbers, Smith was 5-for-11 passing for 78 yards and a touchdown and added 13 rushes for 27 yards. He led Ohio State to points on five consecutive possessions and a 19-13 lead, then was suddenly replaced by Zwick.
The Buckeyes scored three points on drives with Zwick at quarterback. He ended up 9-of-15 passing for 66 yards and gained 11 yards on five carries. He fumbled the ball the last time he touched it, all but snuffing out Ohio State's final chance.
Sympathetic
Texas coach Mack Brown, speaking at his weekly news conference in Austin, said he was impressed with both Ohio State quarterbacks and understood the dilemma facing Tressel.
"The toughest thing that can happen is you play them both and lose," Brown said. "It just opens you up for criticism. It's a very difficult thing."
Tressel said after the game that he substituted quarterbacks based on his feelings at the moment. On Tuesday, he did not give concrete reasons for giving Smith the job.
Asked why he thought Smith was what the team needed now, Tressel said, "I think that throughout the course of time, it's demonstrated. We've had lots of practices, lots of games. It's not like we're guessing on some people that haven't been around for a while."
One thing Tressel said Ohio State's quarterback must do is get the ball in the hands of playmakers such as Ted Ginn Jr. and the rest of Ohio State's speedy receiving corps.
"What do we need from our quarterback?" Tressel said. "We've got to get the ball to people who can make plays with it."
Ginn touched the ball just three times on offense, catching two passes (dropping two others) and running once for a loss of 2 yards. It was as if Texas shut him down early and Ohio State forgot about him thereafter.
Wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who provided Ohio State's only touchdown on a perfectly thrown 36-yard pass from Smith, said he was relieved that Tressel decided on a starting quarterback.
"Rotating the quarterbacks was kind of frustrating for those guys," he said. "With the situation now settled that Troy is our starting quarterback, I think our offense and our team will feel more comfortable with it. It gives our offense a sense that, OK, now we can just focus on what we can do with this one quarterback instead of having a controversy."