Scrimmage shifts focus to fall

Dan Herron of the Gray team runs toward Orhian Johnson (19) of the Scarlet team in Saturday's spring game at Ohio Stadium which drew 65,223 fans. TERRY GILLIAM / AP Enlarge

COLUMBUS - A few days from now, the score from yesterday's Ohio State Scarlet and Gray spring football game will be irrelevant, and forgotten by most.

It was essentially a glorified intrasquad scrimmage that just happened to be played in one of the nation's most historic stadiums, and just happened to be played in front of 65,223 fans who were all pancho-ed up and ready for the rain.

But what transpired did matter a lot in terms of Ohio State's preparation for the 2010 season and its pursuit of a sixth straight Big Ten championship, or more.

"I felt like it was really important to get out there in our stadium, before a bunch of our fans, and do some good things, some positive things," Ohio State wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher said.

"We've been going at it pretty hard all through spring practice, and this game gave us the chance to line up and make some plays - to go out and be productive on offense."

Even though the Buckeyes were split into two squads, and the experience and talent relatively evenly divided, the benefits were not diminished, said linebacker Brian Rolle, who like Sanzenbacher will be a senior when the 2010 season opens against Marshall in September.

"We gained a lot - both on offense and defense, and on special teams, too," Rolle said. "Practice is really important, but I think it makes you feel a lot better about the work you are doing when you can go out and get results on the field, in game situations. We're playing against ourselves, so we pretty much know everything the other guys can do, but the competition in a game like today is still very valuable."

By design, Sanzenbacher played just a few plays beyond the first quarter, while starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor played only the first quarter. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel used the bulk of the game to get his younger and less-experienced players some work in game-like situations. "We knew going in we weren't going to play a whole lot, so it was nice to do some good things when we had the opportunity," said Sanzenbacher, the Central Catholic grad. "I felt like we got it going pretty well on offense, and we got into a rhythm on that second drive."

Sanzenbacher caught three straight passes from Pryor on the Scarlet team's second possession, with the third going for a 12-yard touchdown. The Gray was the eventual winner, by a 17-14 score.

PRYOR RESTRAINT: Terrelle Pryor, who was coming off an MVP performance in the Rose Bowl win over Oregon, and off-season knee surgery, played just the first quarter yesterday. Pryor, who will be a junior, hit on 8 of- 12 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. As a precaution, Pryor was not allowed to run the ball, and was not supposed to get hit.

"I think he played a good game," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "You have to play the hand that was dealt you, and he knew that he wasn't going to play too much. He focused on what he could do, which is work on his footwork and his coverage recognition and decision making. I think he did a pretty fair job."

CROWD COUNT: The intermittent rain and the gloomy forecast were likely a factor in the crowd count of 65, 223. Last year's spring game, played in bright sunshine and 80 degree temperatures, drew a national record crowd of 95,722.

PINK THINK: Both teams wore pink-numbered jerseys that were scheduled for auction on the OSU athletics Web site to help raise funds for cancer research.

The game was one of several events to raise money for cancer research, in honor of Stefanie Spielman, the wife of former OSU All-American linebacker Chris Spielman.Stefanie Spielman's decade-long fight with breast cancer ended in November with her death at age 42, but the effort to raise money to support breast cancer patients and research continues. The Spielmans have raised more than $6.5 million.

LAX VICTORY: Prior to the spring football game, the OSU men's lacrosse team scored a 10-6 win over Air Force in the third installment of the "Showdown in The Shoe." The game drew a crowd of 31,078, breaking the national attendance record the Buckeyes set last year (30,192) for both on-campus and regular-season games.