Article published November 08, 2008
Early kickoff suits Buckeyes
OSU eager to face Northwestern
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
EVANSTON, Ill. - Ohio State has not won a football game in 20 days. For the Buckeyes and their fans, that has to really stick in their craw, if indeed the current anatomy includes such a pseudo organ.
The Buckeyes were off last week, lost to No. 3 Penn State the previous week and have not enjoyed victory since playing at Michigan State on Oct. 18.
Ohio State arrived here yesterday hoping to end its intestinal disorder, and host Northwestern will engage in brunch with the Buckeyes this morning, since the game has a before-noon local kickoff time. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said that schedule suits his team just fine.
"I think our guys like the fact that it's an early start because they get a chance to go on the road, wake up and go play a football game, and not have to sit around and be nervous and all those types of things," Tressel said. "I think we'll get to some traditional November Big Ten weather, and I think our guys are excited to wake up early and tee it up."
Although the Buckeyes have hammered the Wildcats by a combined score of 160-24 over the last three seasons, nobody in the Ohio State camp seems to expect any result today that will adhere to that trend.
Buckeyes tight end Rory Nicol said those lopsided scores will likely serve as a big motivator for an improved Northwestern team."I'm sure that's all they are thinking about," Nicol said. "We have strapped it on them and we've gone after them and we've been really successful, and I'm sure their seniors and their guys that haven't beat us, that's all they want to do - beat Ohio State. It just seems we've kind of been on top of our game when we've played them."
Northwestern's 24-17 win at Minnesota last weekend revealed that the Wildcats have an offensive threat they had not been utilizing much. Junior quarterback Mike Kafka started the game in place of injured senior C.J. Bacher, and Kafka rushed for 217 yards on 27 carries, setting the Big Ten single-game rushing record for a quarterback in the modern era.
Kafka also threw two touchdown passes in the game. Ohio State expects to see both Kafka and Bacher at quarterback for Northwestern in today's game. The 6-3, 210-pound Kafka presents some unique issues for the Ohio State defense.
"He's a big guy, and a lot faster than one might think," Tressel said. "I don't know if they went into the game saying he was going to have a mega rushing day, but he had a couple broken runs and he got rolling with a little bit of confidence.
"Obviously, he knows their pass system, and it looked like he could add a dimension as a runner as well, and it's all about knowing the strengths of your guys."
With Kafka such a threat to advance the ball with his legs, the Buckeyes' defense comes under the gun to prevent any kind of performance similar to what he did against Minnesota. Ohio State senior defensive tackle Nader Abdallah said he thinks the guys up front are prepared for that challenge.
"I can't really say what it is, but it's just kind of clicked the last two or three games," Abdallah said. "I feel like I'm improving, but it's not just me, I think the whole defensive line has improved incredibly. Guys are just stepping up to the plate. It's not about talk, it's about going out there and taking care of business."
Nicol said that beating Northwestern is the first step the Buckeyes need to take in order to close the season strongly. Ohio State is behind unbeaten Penn State in the Big Ten standings, and the Buckeyes play at Illinois next week, and then finish the Big Ten schedule at home against rival Michigan. Nicol said the polls and how the Big Ten championship ultimately gets decided are not on his mind.
"The biggest thing we need to concern ourselves with is winning these three games, because we've still got a great chance to get into a BCS bowl," Nicol said. "All those other things are going to have to take care of themselves. The only thing we can control is what we do and how successful we are."
Contact Matt Markey at:
mmarkey@theblade.com
or 419-724-6510.
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