Wednesday, December 23, 2009
COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio State Buckeyes know Oregon tailback LaMichael James and quarterback Jeremiah Masoli headline one of the most prolific offenses in the nation, one that churns out 425 yards and 38 points a game.
They also know they’ve got to come up with a way to stop it on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl.
“You’ve got to play confident yourself. You can’t be so uptight about, ‘Oh, they scored all these points all season, we can’t let them do anything,’ ” safety Anderson Russell said. “Because that’s when you let them make big plays, when you play tight like that.”
It’s not as if the Buckeyes take a back seat on defense. They’ve surrendered just 11 touchdowns over the last 43 quarters and rank among the top 10 in the nation in five defensive categories, including rushing defense (fifth at 83 yards a game) and scoring defense (fifth at 12 points a game). No rusher has gained 100 yards on them all season.
To limit the Ducks’ hurry-up, anything-goes, spread attack, the Buckeyes have four major objectives:
UStifle the run. James, a redshirt freshman scatback, is averaging 123 yards a game and Masoli another 60. LeGarrette Blount, the starter a year ago who was suspended for half the season for punching a BYU player in the opener, adds an intriguing element because of his size and strength (6-foot-2, 246 pounds).
“That type of offense, it kind of presents mistakes,” Ohio State defensive tackle Doug Worthington said. “There are times that ... you start looking at doing too much then you will get caught. They do it for a reason — getting you confused.”
USlow the pace. The Ducks frequently go no-huddle to pose personnel problems for a defense, or to simply wear it down.
“It’s one thing to watch the film when the cameraman stops in between the plays,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “But when you watch them live and it’s rolling, they have a heck of a tempo.”
UPressure Masoli. A strength of the Buckeyes all year has been its active, aggressive front wall. It has posted 22 sacks, but more than that many of the game-turning plays of the season were initiated by a lineman getting in the face of the opposing quarterback.
Oregon’s offensive line is about the same size as one in the Big Ten, averaging 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds. It has only permitted Masoli, who seldom stays in the pocket on passing downs, to be sacked 12 times.
UPlay keepaway. Ohio State’s offense has moved the ball in fits and starts most of the season, but it cannot afford to repeatedly give up the ball after short series.
The Buckeyes haven’t not put together many time-consuming drives all season. They’ve hit double-figures on plays in a series just nine times. The average scoring drive is seven plays and takes up 3 minutes.
“That’s definitely a big thing,” tailback Dan “Boom” Herron said. “They definitely have a great offense, so we have to get the running game going and try to control the game with the running game, make first downs and get big plays.”