OSU Notebook: Buckeye defense not satisfied
9/12/2010COLUMBUS - The Ohio State defense had just held Miami to a single offensive touchdown, intercepted quarterback Jacory Harris four times, and upheld its share of the deal in a 36-24 victory.
"We're happy with the win, but not satisfied," senior linebacker Ross Homan said. "We set really high standards, and we want to keep people out of the end zone. With this defense, we expect to get turnovers and we want to score off those turnovers and help this team win games. We're happy to win, but I feel like we kind of looked bad at times."
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was a little more charitable in his assessment of his defense, which faced the same Miami team that had scored 45 points with five offensive touchdowns in a rout of Florida A&M just over a week ago.
"Defensively, I mean, we flew around and our guys up front are relentless and those linebackers are active and the [defensive backs] will hit you," Tressel said. "They did a heck of a job against a very talented team. They've [Miami] got some good guys, but our defense was smacking them, and there's no question our defense loves to play the game."
Ohio State defensive tackle Dexter Larimore, who sacked Miami's Harris for one of his two tackles behind the line, said the Buckeyes' are pretty harsh in their self-review.
"We're never happy," Larimore said. "We did a good job, but not a great job. We can always get better and improve. We pride ourselves on being stingy."
Defensive back Chimdi Chekwa had two interceptions, while defensive linemen Nathan Williams and Cameron Heyward each had one. Heyward returned his pick 80 yards and set up a 13-yard touchdown run by Terrelle Pryor.
KUDOS TO QB: Miami quarterback Jacory Harris, who had a very rough outing, said he's confident Ohio State junior Terrelle Pryor will have a big hand in the Buckeyes' success this season.
Pryor completed 12-of-27 passes against the Hurricanes for 233 yards and a touchdown, without an interception. He also led the Buckeyes in rushing with 113 yards on 20 carries, and scored a touchdown.
"He's a great player and people expect good performances from great players," Harris said about Pryor. "He did what he needed to do and they came away with the victory. After the game, I told him to keep it going and stay undefeated. He's a great quarterback. I'm sure he's going to lead his team to where they want to be."
RECORD DAY: Ohio State senior kicker Devin Barclay had a school record tying five field goals, but missed from 32 yards out in the fourth quarter on a sixth.
"That's great, but I'm not too focused on the individual side of things right now," said Barclay, a former professional soccer player. "I'm more focused on getting the win. It certainly feels great, but if you get a school record and lose it wouldn't have meant anything. I'm just glad we got the win."
CROWD CONTROL: The game drew the sixth largest crowd ever at Ohio Stadium - 105,454.