What's the ploy to stop Troy?

The Gators will try to do something that no other team has done this year.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Twelve teams this year have tried and failed to shut down Ohio State's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Troy Smith.
Next up: No. 2 Florida.
What the Gators do to hem in Smith and how Ohio State reacts will likely determine the winner of the national championship game on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
"Pretty much the same ways that the average defense tries to stop any offense," Smith said when asked what he expected Florida's defense to do against him. "It's about getting pressure on the quarterback and stopping the run. Forcing the offense to make mistakes that they don't normally make."
Smith is a two-way threat who can beat a team with his strong and accurate right arm -- his preferred weapon -- or by running the ball. He has done less of the latter this year than ever before, but the threat is still there.
His versatility is creating a lot of long nights for Florida's coaching staff.
"It's very difficult to defend a quarterback who can throw as well as scramble," said co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. "That really makes it hard because, the way you really stop a quarterback is to throw some pressure at him. But with a guy like Troy, you start pressuring him and you might find yourself giving up a big one because he can take off out of the pocket running."
Not so long ago, Smith was thought to be a runner with a strong arm, rushing for 611 yards on 136 carries in 2005.
This year, he has 62 carries for 233 yards. He has thrown the ball 297 times.
Anticipation
Ohio State's coaches are also working long hours trying to anticipate what the Gators will do on defense.
"It depends on how you want to cover us," said assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Darrell Hazell. "If you want to play two-man, that creates a problem for defenses because now you've got defenders on receivers with two high safeties and four down linemen. Then if Troy pulls it down [and runs], then there's nobody there to stop Troy."
A history lesson might be helpful.
The last time Ohio State played in a national championship game, against Miami in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, the Hurricanes crowded the line with extra defenders to stifle tailback Maurice Clarett. They mostly succeeded, but Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel offset that by using quarterback Craig Krenzel as a runner.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Krenzel -- never mistaken for Michael Vick -- had not carried more than three times in a game all season. Yet in Ohio State's biggest game in decades, the lumbering Krenzel rushed 19 times for 81 yards and a career-best two touchdowns.
Tressel doesn't foresee a duplication of that strategy against Florida.
"I don't anticipate that right now although I have not watched all that much film," he said. "But right off the top I wouldn't say that that's the first thing that pops into my mind."
Multiple concerns
Smith's tools give the Buckeyes several options -- and multiply the concerns for a defense.
"Troy can run the ball very efficiently if he needs to and can pass the ball like no other when he needs to," said Ohio State defensive tackle David Patterson, who has to play against his teammate almost every day in practice.
With as good of an arm as Smith has (30 TDs, 5 interceptions), can Florida afford to apply pressure with frequent blitzes, leaving at least one top receiver -- Ted Ginn Jr., Anthony Gonzalez or Brian Robiskie -- with single coverage? Also, if the Gators are effective in flushing Smith out of the pocket, aren't they inviting him to run for big yardage?
And if they cheat a man or two up to the line to try to shut down tailback Antonio Pittman (1,171 yards rushing), doesn't that open the door for Smith to pick them apart through the air?
"You can't just focus in on one thing," Mattison said. "When you play Ohio State, you've got to be strong enough to stop the run but at the same time you've got to be able to spin out and play their speed with your speed."
Hazell is guessing that Florida will try to cover as many bases as possible with a straightforward defense and then throw some wrinkles in to confuse Smith.
"The thing they'll probably try to do is disguise some coverages to try to create some problems," he said.
It all comes down to a life-sized chess match between the coaches on each side of the field, and so far, no one has figured out a way to win.
"The credit goes to our coaches putting in good game plans and it goes to Troy for having that knack for always finding the open player," Gonzalez said. "What would they [the Gators] have to do? I'd say they have to outcoach us and stop Troy."
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