OHIO STATE More balanced Buckeyes foreseen

In September, the Buckeyes must travel to Texas to take on the Longhorns.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- After years of relying on its rock-hard defense, a new age may be dawning at Ohio State.
With a 34-20 victory over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night, 16 seniors played their final game in an Ohio State uniform.
Gone are most of the central figures from a durable and dependable defensive unit which conceded an early touchdown and then shut the Fighting Irish down on six consecutive possessions while the offense built a two-touchdown lead.
Troy Smith, Ted Ginn and many of the other stars on the Buckeyes' volatile offense return.
"Probably for the last four or five years, we have been known as a defensive team," Smith said after completing 19-of-28 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns and running for 66 yards on 13 carries. "I'm sure we will still be known as a defensive team, even though we lose key and major guys.
The emphasis
"Now it's going to be more of a balance, the defense and the offensive team, hopefully."
The defense sustains the most losses, without question. Gone are two-time All-American A.J. Hawk and his running mates at linebacker, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel.
Safety Nate Salley and cornerback Tyler Everett, both three-year starters, also exhausted their eligibility, as did end Mike Kudla and tackle Marcus Green.
Nickelback Brandon Mitchell and backup corner Malcolm Jenkins will take up two of the spots in the secondary.
Up front, the Buckeyes will still have David Patterson and Quinn Pitcock. James Laurinaitis, a freshman who started in place of the injured Carpenter in the Fiesta Bowl, likely will slide into one of the vacant linebacker spots.
The only losses on offense are center Nick Mangold, left guard Rob Sims and wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who announced after the bowl game that he would skip his senior year to make himself eligible for the NFL draft.
Another key loss to graduation is kicker Josh Huston.
Smith, who was the Fiesta's offensive MVP, Ginn and tailback Anthony Pittman lead the returnees. Smith was nothing short of spectacular in victories over Michigan and Notre Dame, leading an offense that totaled 1,035 yards.
Ginn likewise saved his biggest performances for those two games, totaling 17 catches for more than 250 yards -- not counting several other big returns and runs. Pittman finished with 1,331 yards rushing, scoring seven touchdowns in Ohio State's final five games.
Foundation laid
Ginn said the Fiesta victory sets up another title run in 2006.
"It says a lot," he said. "We're going to go out all season and work hard and go back to square one and do everything right, come back and just try to make it out here again. That will be our goal."
It won't be easy. After opening the season Sept. 2 against Northern Illinois at Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes must travel to Austin to take on Texas, which beat them 25-22 in the second game this season.
Longhorns quarterback Vince Young, the hero of that game and a first-team All-American, has said he plans to return next year, which would make Ohio State's task considerably more difficult.
The Buckeyes, who were 10-2 this season, play Penn State, Bowling Green, Indiana, Minnesota and Michigan at home, and hit the road to play Iowa, Michigan State, Illinois and Northwestern.
Ohio State has won three of the last four Fiesta Bowls, taking the national championship with a victory in Tempe, Ariz., over Miami after the 2002 season. In the bowl rotation, the national title game returns to the desert again next year.
Even as Ohio State fans were dancing their way out of the stadium Monday, Smith said the Buckeyes didn't mind the familiarity of a fourth trip to Arizona in five years.
"The national championship is here next year," he said, the roars of the crowd still ringing in his ears. "We like that."