Is fourth time a charm? Bucks LB Grant hopes so

Ohio State started full-scale preparations for the title game on Monday.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio State’s failure in last season’s BCS title game was difficult for all of the Buckeyes to handle.

It was particularly heartbreaking for backup linebacker Larry Grant, who is 0-for-3 in national championship games and determined to take advantage of his last shot.

“I’ve got to come out with a big one this time,” said Grant, who played in two junior college national title games while at City College of San Francisco before the Buckeyes’ 41-14 loss to Florida last January. “All of them were real tough to take. I know I’ve got the biggest one of my life showing up in a less than a month.”

Ohio State threw itself into full-scale preparations Monday for the Jan. 7 Bowl Championship Series showdown with LSU in the Superdome.

Ever since their last game, a 14-3 win over rival Michigan way back on Nov. 17, the Buckeyes have been waiting to finally get to work. They spent a lot of time on conditioning and lifting weights.

“We’ve definitely been emphasizing conditioning and strength more than last year,” defensive tackle Todd Denlinger said. “I think last year we got a little lax when it came to that sort of thing. It showed. Some guys were out of shape, we were slower. I don’t think it’s going to be that way this year.”

Quarterback Todd Boeckman added, “We’re doing a few things differently. Practices have been a little more uptempo, we’re running a little more between practices and the lifting is a lot more intense. Everything is kicked up another notch so that last year won’t happen again.”

But now the physical conditioning phase is over.

“The first couple practices we started just working on getting back to fundamentals and getting back to basics,” cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said. “Now we are starting to move into a little more LSU and more of their packages.”

The Buckeyes will work out for three days before splitting up Wednesday night for a holiday break, returning on Dec. 26 for harder, more concentrated bowl workouts. They fly to New Orleans on Jan. 2.

In the post-mortem of last year’s BCS loss, most Ohio State fans blamed a 51-day layoff between games and a lack of focus by a veteran team, in addition to Florida’s stellar play.

The Buckeyes have a 50-day layoff again this year, but coach Jim Tressel said he’s tired of hearing how that lengthy gap was his team’s downfall.

“As far as the layoff goes, I think a lot has been made of that,” he said. “I’ve seen some teams play a great game in their opener and they had six or nine months off. It’s all about how you use your time and how you are that day.”

Still, the Buckeyes have changed their travel plans and practice schedule this season. They will spend more time in Ohio and less at the bowl site.

A year ago, Troy Smith was making the rounds of the banquet circuit after winning the Heisman Trophy. Others were flying around the country for award dinners, too.

Plus four of the top offensive players were juniors who were contemplating leaving school a year early for the NFL draft (three of them left), besides the seniors who were already thinking about making a living playing the game.

“It’s hard to guard against life being a distraction,” Tressel said. “You have to work hard at being where you need to be mentally. I don’t look for that being a huge distraction but, again, we’re people and I’d like to think we’ll handle that well.”

The players are already looking forward to visiting New Orleans. Defensive lineman Nader Abdallah grew up in the city and wide receiver Brian Robiskie lived there while his dad was an assistant coach for the Saints. Both are already being consulted about restaurants, nightspots and shopping.