Jason Maddux, the coordinating and online editor for the Newspaper Network of Central Ohio, is part of the Buckeye Nation coverage of Ohio State football every week. He wrote this column after Ohio State's season-opening victory vs. Texas Tech, when they had a bye the following weekend.
Some of the points seem especially on target knowing what we know now.
For more on the what we were saying before the season started and to read all the stories from the season, click on News Archive in the navigation area to the left.
COLUMBUS -- Oh, what tangled webs these bye weeks weave.
With no game this week, it gives Ohio State fans the chance to engage in their second favorite activity behind watching the Buckeyes. That's talking about the Buckeyes.
Fans can bask in the glory of a victory without worrying about a letdown.
The Buckeyes are in the Top 10 (or 11, depending on where you look). ESPN's Beano Cook predicted a trip to the Fiesta Bowl to play for the national championship. Open talk of a Big Ten championship and the far-off possibility of -- dare it be said -- an undefeated season can be heard across Buckeye Nation.
And a freshman shall lead them. The amount of hoopla around Maurice Clarett is incredible. He's good, but he won't get 175 yards every game.
Fellow scribes in the press box certainly were impressed watching Clarett vs. Texas Tech. But I don't think any of us were stunned by how well he did. It seemed to come so easily. That's partly because of his skill and partly because of a great job by the offensive line, which was one of the other big question marks on the season.
A couple of things you might have missed on Clarett -- he also caught more passes than any other Buckeye (four), he didn't lose yardage on any carry, and his blocking was certainly above average.
Now, can Maurice stay healthy? He was plagued by injuries in high school, so time will tell. But it certainly was a nice coming-out party, on national television no less.
That's one of the reasons the Buckeyes have national tongues wagging as well. It was seen by a lot of people across the country. The big win and Clarett's performance came on a very light college football weekend, so it got better play nationally.
A lot of people say Ohio State won't be able to run the ball like that on every team. I say, why not? OK, they might not do it quite that successfully, but looking down Ohio State's schedule, it's not packed with stellar defenses.
And I think they will be able to throw the ball to balance things out. They didn't have to against Texas Tech, but there were glimpses of brilliance. Michael Jenkins had a very nice grab, as did Ben Hartsock. Let's not forget they were without Chris Vance for the first game, but he wasn't really missed.
As happened with a certain (lefthanded) quarterback last year, talented receivers can cover up some off-target passes with circus catches. And I think Craig Krenzel will only get more accurate as he becomes more comfortable.
I was impressed by the Buckeyes' lack of penalties -- just five for a measly 37 yards. I was a bit worried when they had a delay of game penalty before they even ran a play, but that was really their only mental lapse. They broke the offensive huddle once with 12 players, and they had a couple of personal foul face-mask calls, but those don't concern me. That's just being aggressive.
Also, their special teams looked very good. Mike Nugent boomed kickoffs deep into the end zone, and he added a 45-yard field goal. Andy Groom averaged 48 yards on four punts. If Mike Doss returns punts all year, he'll have at least one touchdown and quite probably two or three.
I think special teams set the tone for the entire game when Bobby Carpenter busted through coverage and tackled Ivory McCann on the Texas Tech 8 yard line on the opening kickoff. Texas Tech went three-and-out after that and never really looked in the game.
And the Buckeyes didn't turn the ball over once. From top to bottom, it was the best game they've played in a couple of years. Optimists say it is a sign of things to come. Pessimists say they can't play that well every week, and there's no place to go but down.
Either way, a couple of things are evident:
-- This team is insanely deep at running back and wide receiver, as well as on the defensive front seven.
-- Freshman (both true and redshirt) will play a lot and make a huge contribution.
-- The team is well-coached.
The Buckeyes are going to win a lot of games this year. Their schedule is favorable. If they can get by Washington State at home, which I think they will, they should be 7-0 heading to Wisconsin Oct. 19. I wouldn't be surprised if they lost there and either at Purdue or at Illinois. But an 11-win season (or even 12 with a bowl game) is very possible.
But for another few days, that's all just conjecture. Buckeye fans can revel in the team's single victory and dream of a perfect season.
Jason Maddux is the coordinating/online editor for the Newspaper Network of Central Ohio.
Originally published Thursday, January 23, 2003
