GNS OSU defense

COLUMBUS -- Home-field advantage has crammed itself into flag-bearing cars and chartered buses, following the Ohio State Buckeyes to Bloomington for today's football game with the Indiana Hoosiers.

Thousands of OSU loyalists are providing 51,000-seat Memorial Stadium with its first sell-out since the Buckeyes visited in 1998.

That doesn't mean the Buckeyes won't hear boos. And it doesn't mean all of the guttural sounds will be coming from fans wearing Cream and Crimson.

"I heard (boos) here and there," tight end Ben Hartsock said, referring to the rough reception Ohio State received last week. At home, mind you. In a 19-10 victory over Iowa.

A smart guy like Hartsock knows beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And the Ohio State offense, ranked 114th in the nation, has not been pretty to watch.

Pretty awful, yes.

"You know what? The reason Ohio State has success is because its fans and alumni demand excellence," Hartsock said. "Earle Bruce, when he's come to speak to us before the Michigan game, I've heard him say it doesn't matter how good a coach you are. If you lose three games in a row to Michigan, you're fired.

"These fans and alumni demand a good team. If the offense isn't showing we're a good team, they're going to tell you about it. They have every right to do that. They paid ($47) for their ticket. It's more incentive for me and everybody else on offense to go out and figure something out."

If the eighth-ranked Buckeyes (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) don't figure it out against Indiana (1-6, 0-3), they likely never will.

The Hoosiers rank 10th in the league in scoring defense (29.7 ppg) and total defense (407.4 ypg). They have surrendered at least 31 points in all six of their losses, their only win coming at the expense of 1-AA Indiana State.

Oh, and the Hoosiers have only beaten Ohio State twice in the last 45 meetings, and not at all since 1988.

"I don't think anyone is approaching this as a push-over team," Hartsock said. "We can't allow ourselves to do that. We've put ourselves in too many bad situations, being in games against teams people didn't think we should be in games with.

"Hopefully, this will be the game that sparks us, maybe gives us a little more confidence."

It's a return to the scene of Lydell Ross' finest hour. Two years ago he rushed for 124 yards in relief of Jonathan Wells, at 17 becoming the youngest back in conference history to run for 100 yards.

Little has gone right for Ross since. His injuries and ineffectivenesss this year, combined with the failures of sidekick Maurice Hall and year-long suspension of star tailback Maurice Clarett, have produced the worst OSU running attack in recorded history.

The Buckeyes are averaging 109 yards per game on the ground and a pathetic 2.9 yards per carry.

"We can't just stop and say `We suck,' " Hall said.

But coach Jim Tressel came close, perhaps sending a message to Ross and Hall by turning to true freshman Ira Guilford in the second quarter against Iowa. Guilford, in fact, had the first official carry by a back in the game.

Ross' performance at Indiana two years ago lit a fire under starter Jonathan Wells, who went on to rush for 1,000 yards that season. Increased playing time for Guilford might be the wake-up call this backfield needs.

"I don't know what the (coaching) intentions are," Ross said. "I just know (Guilford's) been practicing good and deserves his chance to play.

"I'd like to see more carries. I think we could be more confident in the running game ... try it even when it doesn't seem to be working."

Quarterback Craig Krenzel's struggles have deflected some of the attention away from Ross and Hall, leaving fans and media to wonder if Krenzel's right elbow is still hurting (no) or if Tressel considered turning to relief pitcher Scott McMullen against Iowa (no).

"I missed a few balls; we missed a few holes," Krenzel said. "It's not one person. If there is one person to blame, they can put it on me if they want, but there's a lot of things we need to do better."

Tressel did not discount the theory that everyone on offense, from Krenzel to an underacheiving line, is pressing -- almost trying too hard to break out of what essentially has been a season-long slump.

"I think sometimes when you're struggling, and when you get frustrated, you can press a little bit," Tressel said. "You have to play the game fast. I don't care if you're (tackle) Shane Olivea at 305 pounds or (middle linebacker) Fred Pagac at 240. You have to play fast.

"You can't play fast when you're pressing. You can't coach fast when you're pressing."

Originally published Saturday, October 25, 2003