Ohio State at Texas
* Date, Time: Sat., Sept. 9; 8:13 p.m. (Eastern)
* Location: Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium
* TV: ABC (national broadcast); Announcers: Brent Musberger, Bob Davie, Kirk Herbstreit, Lisa Salters.
* 2006 Records, Rankings: Ohio State, 1-0, ranked first in Associated Press poll and USA Today coaches poll; Texas, 1-0, ranked second in AP poll and coaches poll.
* 2005 Records: Ohio State, 10-2, 7-1 Big Ten (tied for first); Texas, 13-0, 8-0 Big 12 South (first).
* Coaches: Ohio State, Jim Tressel (sixth year at OSU, 51-13; 21st year overall, 186-70-2; vs. Texas, 0-1); Texas, Mack Brown (ninth year at Texas, 84-19; 23rd year overall, 170-93-1; vs. Ohio State, 1-0).
* Series History: Texas won the first-ever meeting between the schools last year, prevailing 25-22 in Columbus. Texas was ranked second nationally and OSU was fourth for that game, played on Sept. 10.
* Texas Schedule: Sept. 2, North Texas, W 56-7; Sept. 9, Ohio State; Sept. 16, at Rice; Sept. 23, Iowa State; Sept. 30, Sam Houston State; Oct. 7, vs. Oklahoma (in Dallas); Oct. 14, Baylor; Oct. 21, at Nebraska; Oct. 28, at Texas Tech; Nov. 4, Oklahoma State; Nov. 11, at Kansas State; Nov. 24, Texas A&M.
* Texas Key Players (2006 Stats): QB Colt McCoy (12 of 19 passing, 178 yards passing, 3 TDs, 0 INTs), RB Jamaal Charles (14 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD), WR Limas Sweed (5 catches, 111 yards, 2 TDs), CB Aaron Ross (9 tackles), FS Marcus Griffin (8 tackles), DE Brian Orakpo (2 sacks).
* Texas Fast Facts: Location: Austin, Texas; Enrollment, 50,403; Nickname, Longhorns; Colors, Burnt Orange and White; Stadium, Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (surface, grass; capacity, 85,123).
Depth Charts
Ohio State Offense
SE 8 Roy Hall, 6-3, 240, Sr.
80 Brian Robiskie, 6-3, 195, So.
LT 75 Alex Boone, 6-8, 325, So.
71 Steve Rehring, 6-8, 329, So.
LG 68 Tim Schafer, 6-5, 290, Sr.
or 71 Steve Rehring, 6-8, 329, So.
67 Kyle Mitchum, 6-5, 295, So.
C 50 Doug Datish, 6-5, 295, Sr.
54 Tyler Whaley, 6-1, 270, So.
or 64 Jim Cordle, 6-4, 280, R-Fr.
RG 72 T.J. Downing, 6-4, 305, Sr.
63 Ben Person, 6-4, 315, So.
RT 74 Kirk Barton, 6-6, 310, Jr.
79 Jon Skinner, 6-5, 300, So.
TE 88 Rory Nicol, 6-5, 250, So.
87 Brandon Smith, 6-3, 252, So.
FL 7 Ted Ginn Jr., 6-0, 180, Jr.
4 Ray Small, 6-0, 175, Fr.
QB 10 Troy Smith, 6-1, 215, Sr.
12 Justin Zwick, 6-4, 225, Sr.
TB 25 Antonio Pittman, 5-11, 195, Jr.
34 Maurice Wells, 5-10, 190, So.
or 28 Chris Wells, 6-1, 225, Fr.
FB 89 Stan White Jr., 6-2, 242, Sr.
49 Dionte Johnson, 6-0, 234, Jr.
SL 11 Anthony Gonzalez, 6-0, 195, Jr.
9 Brian Hartline, 6-3, 180, R-Fr.
K 20 Aaron Pettrey, 6-1, 195, R-Fr.
85 Ryan Pretorius, 5-9, 180, So.
Ohio State Defense
DE 99 Jay Richardson, 6-6, 276, Sr.
87 Lawrence Wilson, 6-6, 270, So.
DT 97 David Patterson, 6-3, 285, Sr.
98 Joel Penton, 6-5, 290, Sr.
DT 90 Quinn Pitcock, 6-3, 295, Sr.
92 Todd Denlinger, 6-3, 280, R-Fr.
DE 50 Vernon Gholston, 6-4, 260, So.
78 Alex Barrow, 6-5, 275, So.
SLB 1 Marcus Freeman, 6-2, 242, So.
55 Curtis Terry, 6-2, 234, Jr.
MLB 33 James Laurinaitis, 6-3, 244, So.
6 Larry Grant, 6-3, 225, Jr.
WLB 52 John Kerr, 6-1, 233, Sr.
or 51 Ross Homan, 6-1, 237, Fr.
CB 2 Malcolm Jenkins, 6-1, 202, So.
13 Andre Amos, 6-1, 180, R-Fr.
FS 23 Nick Patterson, 6-2, 210, So.
21 Anderson Russell, 6-0, 190, R-Fr.
SS 32 Brandon Mitchell, 6-3, 205, Sr.
3 Jamario O’Neal, 6-1, 200, So.
CB 14 Antonio Smith, 5-9, 195, Sr.
20 Donald Washington, 6-1, 195, R-Fr.
NB 21 Anderson Russell, 6-0, 190, Fr.
14 Antonio Smith, 5-9, 195, Sr.
P 15 A.J. Trapasso, 6-1, 220, So.
48 Jon Thoma, 6-1, 190, R-Fr.
LS 68 Drew Norman, 6-0, 230, Sr.
Texas Offense
LT 79 Tony Hills, 6-6, 295, Jr.
74 Adam Ulatoski, 6-8, 290, R-Fr.
LG 64 Kasey Studdard, 6-3, 305, Sr.
71 Chris Hall, 6-4, 280, R-Fr.
C 62 Lyle Sendlein, 6-5, 305, Sr.
67 Dallas Griffin, 6-4, 275, Jr.
RG 55 Cedrick Dockery, 6-4, 315, So.
or 63 Justin Blalock, 6-4, 329, Sr.
RT 63 Justin Blalock, 6-4, 329, Sr.
or 74 Adam Ulatoski, 6-8, 290, R-Fr.
FL 2 Billy Pittman, 6-0, 198, Jr.
8 Jordan Shipley, 6-0, 184, So.
QB 12 Colt McCoy, 6-3, 195, R-Fr.
7 Jevan Snead, 6-3, 215, Fr.
SE 4 Limas Sweed, 6-5, 219, Jr.
9 Nate Jones, 6-2, 195, Jr.
TE 87 Neale Tweedie, 6-5, 265, Sr.
16 Jermichael Finley, 6-5, 220, R-Fr.
TB 22 Selvin Young, 6-0, 215, Sr.
25 Jamaal Charles, 6-1, 190, So.
FB 3 Chris Ogbonnaya, 6-1, 220, So.
32 Marcus Myers, 6-3, 250, Sr.
WR 6 Quan Cosby, 5-11, 200, So.
or 9 Nate Jones, 6-2, 195, Jr.
K 97 Greg Johnson, 6-1, 195, Sr.
or 15 Hunter Lawrence, 6-0, 180, Fr.
Texas Defense
DE 80 Tim Crowder, 6-4, 270, Sr.
98 Brian Orakpo, 6-4, 238, So.
DT 97 Frank Okam, 6-5, 315, Jr.
95 Aaron Lewis, 6-4, 275, So.
NT 96 Derek Lokey, 6-2, 275, Jr.
or 99 Roy Miller, 6-2, 300, So.
DE 39 Brian Robison, 6-3, 275, Sr.
95 Aaron Lewis, 6-4, 275, So.
WLB 4 Drew Kelson, 6-2, 215, Jr.
38 Roddrick Muckelroy, 6-2, 230, R-Fr.
MLB 44 Rashad Bobino, 5-11, 230, So.
11 Jared Norton, 6-3, 236, Fr.
SLB 40 Robert Killebrew, 6-2, 230, Jr.
33 Scott Derry, 6-3, 230, Jr.
CB 5 Tarell Brown, 6-0, 200, Sr.
or 28 Brandon Foster, 5-9, 180, Jr.
FS 26 Marcus Griffin, 6-0, 195, Jr.
18 Matt Melton, 6-0, 210, Sr.
SS 27 Michael Griffin, 6-0, 205, Sr.
12 Robert Joseph, 6-2, 195, Fr.
CB 31 Aaron Ross, 6-1, 192, Sr.
29 Ryan Palmer, 5-10, 185, So.
P 97 Greg Johnson, 6-1, 195, Sr.
17 Trevor Gerland, 6-2, 190, R-Fr.
Breaking It Down
* When Ohio State Has The Ball: The Buckeyes came out of the gate strong in their season opener against Northern Illinois. OSU accumulated 488 yards total offense (173 rushing, 315 passing). Troy Smith picked right up where he left off at the end of last year, throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns in helping OSU build a quick 28-0 lead on the Huskies.
This match-up – OSU’s offense against Texas’ defense – is almost identical to last year’s game. OSU has eight starters back on offense and Texas has seven back on defense. The most notable differences are that SE Santonio Holmes did not return for OSU and Thorpe Award-winning DB Michael Huff is not back for Texas.
The hope from Ohio State’s standpoint has to be that Smith, who should have a chance to play the entire game against Texas this time around, will make enough plays and distribute the ball properly to keep the Longhorns off balance. OSU had nine different receivers in the opener, which is a good sign. The OSU running game also got off to a good start with the one-two punch of Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells.
If Smith is also able to pick up valuable yardage by running the ball, that would be a huge plus as well.
Texas had North Texas sorely outmatched in the opener, holding North Texas to just 95 yards total offense.
A year ago, Ohio State managed just 255 yards total offense against Texas. Perhaps the biggest deciding factor in that game was the fact that OSU had to settle for five field goals in that 25-22 loss. The Buckeyes will need to score touchdowns this time around if they expect to go into Austin and pick up a rare win.
* When Texas Has The Ball: The Longhorns are deep with skill position players even after losing QB Vince Young and RB Ramonce Taylor. The wideouts are led by Limas Sweed and Billy Pittman, while Jamaal Charles and Selvin Young share carries at the running back spots.
Vince Young’s early departure to the NFL left Texas in a bit of a lerch. But redshirt freshman Colt McCoy came through in the opener, throwing for 178 yards and three touchdowns. UT’s veteran and gigantic offensive line did not allow a sack in the opener.
The key will be for OSU’s defensive front four, which registered four sacks in the win over Northern Illinois, to exert pressure on the youngster McCoy. He is far from a sitting duck in the pocket, but he has nowhere near the mobility of Vince Young. The Buckeye defense must do its best to try and confuse McCoy into making valuable and costly mistakes (and those could range from fumbles to taking bad sacks to interceptions and even just incompletions).
Making just his second career start, McCoy should not be able to pick the OSU defense apart. It seems unlikely, though, that UT will ask him to do that. More than likely, Texas will try and establish the run with Charles, in particular. After all, OSU did allow NIU’s Garrett Wolfe to accumulate 171 yards on the ground last Saturday.
OSU must make a better accounting of itself in terms of tackling. But, like the situation with McCoy, inexperience breeds indecision for a number of OSU’s new starters on defense. Accordingly, Texas may be able to make some plays until adjustments are made.
* How It Will Go: This should be a great college football game, no question. This is the first time in 10 years we will see a regular season match-up of the nation’s top two teams. Any way you slice it, the trends do not favor Ohio State.
Texas has won 13 straight home games against ranked opponents. The Longhorns have also won 16 straight home games, 21 straight games overall and have won their last 14 home night games. Egads.
But, just as Ohio State saw a home nonconference winning streak of 15 seasons go by the boards last year, I think the Buckeyes have enough to pull off a shocker in Austin.
Troy Smith plays the role of Vince Young this time around, in my mind. He is a relentless play maker who should come after Texas time and time again, putting pressure on the Longhorns. Texas did a good job of containing Ted Ginn Jr. last year, holding him to two catches. But my guess is that Ginn gets it going this time around. I think Pittman and Chris Wells can also do some damage against Texas running the ball.
On the flip side, I need to see McCoy beat the Ohio State defense – reloading or not – in his second career start before I can buy in. My feeling is that Jim Heacock will concoct a scheme that helps the Buckeyes contain UT’s play makers and also gets after McCoy early and often. If he makes it through the game without a turnover, Texas has a legitimate shot to win the game.
But, if the Buckeyes can force him into a costly error or two, OSU can come out of Texas with the win. That’s how I see it going down. I’ve got it: Ohio State 27-20
* For The Record: I am 1-0 straight-up and 1-0 against-the-spread with Ohio State. (As of Tuesday, Texas was listed as a 2-1/2 point favorite.)
* Other Picks: On this week’s Bucknuts Radio Hour, Mr. Bucknuts picked OSU 27-17. Jerry Rudzinski said OSU 28-27. Dave Biddle said OSU 27-17 Our guest, Ross Lucksinger of Inside Texas (texas.scout.com), picked OSU 20-17. The lone dissenting voice belonged to Kirk Larrabee, who picked Texas 31-24.
-- Steve Helwagen