Article published November 06, 2009
OSU wants signature victory
Tressel, Pryor seek win on big stage
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has not beaten a top 10 team since Michigan in 2006.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
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By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS - When coaches and athletes take inventory of their accomplishments, right after "what have you done lately" comes an accounting of signature victories - how they have performed against the very best.
For Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and his sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the opportunity for resume enhancement on both levels comes tomorrow, when the No. 15 Buckeyes face No. 11 Penn State on the road in a confrontation with many implications.
The winner is still in the Big Ten race, still contending for the Rose Bowl, and likely takes a jump in the polls. The loser is probably eliminated from conference championship contention, won't be passing out any roses, and should expect a dive in the rankings.
Pryor, a native of Pennsylvania who made a critical turnover in last year's game that opened the door for then No. 3 Penn State's 13-6 win, said he knows the importance of being victorious against top teams and what that means for a quarterback's legacy.
Last season, Pryor and the Buckeyes also lost to No. 1 USC and No. 3 Texas, while defeating No. 18 Wisconsin and No. 20 Michigan State. So far in 2009, Ohio State has faced two ranked teams - No. 3 USC (18-15 loss) and No. 25 Wisconsin (31-13 win). With the Nittany Lions currently ranked higher than OSU in both polls (Penn State is No. 10 in the coaches poll), Pryor has his opportunity.
"To tell you the truth, speaking as an individual, I haven't led us to a big win yet," Pryor said. "And that's what a quarterback needs to do, lead, and I haven't led us to a win in a big game."Besides the motivation of the dead-even rivalry - both teams have won 12 games in the series - Pryor said the Buckeyes are in a must-win mode after being upset at Purdue three weeks ago.
"We're just going to go in there and I'm going to go out and help the other 10 players on the field and try and get a win," he said. "I know our defense is hyped up and ready to go. So, it's up to me to lead the [offense] out on the field. That's what we need to do and that's what we need to focus on. That's going to be our focus from here on out because that's what it's going to come down to."
Tressel is 90-21 in his nine seasons as head coach of the Buckeyes and is 26-8 in Big Ten road games over that stretch. He has led Ohio State to four straight Big Ten championships, and over the past four seasons the Buckeyes have won at least 10 games each year, played in the national title game twice, and in BCS bowls the other two years.
Tressel is 34-13 overall against ranked competition, and 12-6 on the road against ranked teams. A concern for some is the fact the Buckeyes have lost their last six games in a row against teams ranked in the top 10 nationally.
Tressel, who has not beaten a top 10 team since the 2006 season when Ohio State beat No. 2 Michigan 42-39 and No. 2 Texas 24-7, downplayed any significance attached to that streak.
"We don't do a whole bunch of comparing to the past or comparing to what we hoped we would be," Tressel said. "We do all our comparing on where we are. And where we are is we know we're facing a great defense, and we've got to make sure that we eliminate anything that we can control and we don't go into that stadium and turn [over] the ball ... in what could be a very tough, tough football game."
Since 2003, Ohio State has gone 26-11 in games played on the road or at neutral sites for a 70.3 winning percentage. That is the sixth-best winning percentage in the country in those games.
Only Texas, USC, LSU, Boise State and Georgia have done better, with the Longhorns posting the best away-from-home mark in that time frame at 36-7 (83.7 percent).
Tressel said he won't harp on the Buckeyes' recent struggles against top teams and what they might need to do to overcome that, since this game is solely about facing this season's edition of Penn State.
"You don't really say anything about getting over any hump," Tressel said. "You talk about playing Penn State and what's it going to take to beat Penn State."
Contact Matt Markey at
mmarkey@theblade.com
or 419-724-6510.
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