Football
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook
By John Porentas

The Bottom Line: After giving up over 170 yards rushing in each of the first two games the OSU defense stuffed the Cincinnati rushing game, allowing -4 net yard rushing. What has been lost in all the concern over the rushing numbers is that while teams have moved the ball some on the ground, they have not put points on the board. Through three games, OSU has given up a total of 26 points, or 8.66 points per game.

"When it comes down to it if you don't give up points it doesn't matter how many yards you give up," said OSU cornerback Malcolm Jenkins.

Vernon Gholstin

"Anytime you can keep the points low its a good thing for a defense," agreed defensive end Vernon Gholstin.

That being said, the Buckeyes' took pride in slapping down the Cincinnati running game.

"You don't ever want to have a defense where they're pounding it at you," said Jenkins.

"The first couple of games we didn't do so well, not as well as we'd like to," remarked linebacker Curtis Terry.

"We've played some great running backs and great running teams. I think we stepped up today. Cincinnati has three good running backs. We just tried to do our jobs better," Terry said.

Gone Fishing: The Buckeyes sputtered on offense in the first half against the Bearcats and could not get the ball downfield in the passing game, something they were able to do against both Northern Illinois and Texas. When plan A didn't work, OSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman dialed up plan B.

Jim Bollman

"We wanted to get Troy running a little bit today so we ran him a little on the option and we got some good pitch yards out of those things," said Bollman.

"We didn't hit some deep routes that we've been hitting and that changes things a little bit.

"I don't think you can always count on hitting deep routes, those are not high percentage deals. He (Smith missed a couple of those so we had to get into some other deals.

"There's always going to be enough in our game plan to keep fishing until something bites, but there's always going to be enough to go to."

Who are They?: The young OSU defense is still evolving, but a trend is certainly beginning to develop. They make big plays in the form of turnovers and tackles for loss.

"We harped on that in the preseason and in the off season. We have to get more turnovers. We've done a good job of that in practice and in camp and its starting to show on the field," said defensive back Malcolm Jenkins.

"Every team has an identity," said OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock.

Curtis Terry

"You never know. It's so early in the season to even try to say what this team's identity is. We try to figure out what at the end of the year what our identity is going to be. That's the one that counts. Right now, you could have a good game and next week a bad game. Hopefully at the end of they year we'll have a good identity of a relentless defense," Heacock said.

"Our goal is to form our identity by the end of the year because we're going to have one, whether it be swarming or big plays, we just want to be known for something," said linebacker Curtis Terry.

"We just need to keep going, keep doing what we're doing, keep getting better and everything will take care of itself."

Defensive end Jay Richardson says he sees developing trends with the OSU defensive identity.

"So far it's that we swarm to the ball and cause turnovers. We produce sacks and turnovers and we give a lot of effort on our defense, and that's what causes plays. We have a lot of guys who are willing to run to the ball.

Flag Day: The Buckeyes were plagued by penalty flags against Cincinnati, flags which disrupted the offense, particularly in the first half. That had OSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman boiling.

"I'm upset about the ones that are at the line of scrimmage before the plays," said Bollman.

T. J. Downing

OSU offensive lineman T. J. Downing said that the Cincinnati defense had more than just a little to do with OSU's flag woes.

"They moved a lot, they stunted a lot, they ran a lot of blitzes and when they're doing that you're kind of trying to make an adjustment on the run and it's very easy to get your hand caught in a face mask or try to redirect and grab a jersey and you're going to get called for it.

"It's just something we have to get better on, picking up blitzes better," said Downing.

Getting Better: The OSU defense has been consistent in keeping teams off the scoreboard this season, but has given up yardage. After three games, there is clearly visible evidence that the defense is improving, most notably when it comes to defending the run.

"The last two games the teams ran the ball all over us, so that was a big emphasis, shutting down the run. I guess we did a good job of that," said wide receiver Malcolm Jenkins.

Jim Heacock

"I think the first week there's a lot of nerves and jitters and we were trying to figure out who we were and what we were and we weren't sure," said defensive coordinator Jim Heacock.

"We were kind of just flopping around out there. But I think as we've gotten a little bit of confidence and practice and emphasis, we've gotten better.

"I think we certainly have improved from game one to game three. I think the tacking has gotten better, the pursuit gotten better and we're playing with a little more confidence. I thought last week down at Texas against the no-huddle look they played they played with confidence. I thought that was a real plus," Heacock said.

"I think they're all understanding that we've played three games and hopefully we've improved in those three games and hopefully we've established a little bit of esprit de corps among the defense and come together as a team. Hopefully we've made some progress, but there's not a guy in our room that doesn't know that we have big steps ahead of us and we've got some good offenses to face," said Heacock.

The overall defense has improved through the first three games of this season, but the player who has improved the most since last fall is probably defensive end Vernon Gholstin.

"Vernon has been a surprise, he really has," said Heacock.

"He's done a great job and I'm real proud of him. He's a guy who has come from I wasn't sure he would play this year to be honest, and I've told him that.

"He improved so much from last fall to this spring, it's unbelievable to me. In spring practice the way we started performing, I never thought he'd be able to do that. The light switch just came on or something. I don't know what happened, but he plays well."

Remembering Happy Valley: OSU's next opponent is Penn State, and the Buckeyes made a not-so-happy visit to Happy Valley last fall that resulted in one of their two losses last season. It didn't take long for the Buckeyes to turn their attention toward their rematch with Penn State following the end of the Cincinnati game.

Jay Richardson

"Coach Tressel brought that up as soon as we got into the locker room," said Jay Richardson.

"He asked if we all remembered what happened last year. He asked who traveled there and if we remembered what happened. Last year that was a huge letdown for us. All we're thinking about right now is getting some redemption," Richardson said.

"They got us last year good, but it's not revenge. It's another season and its another step on the ladder to reach our defensive goals," said Malcolm Jenkins.

"You never forget a loss," said OSU offensive lineman T. J. Downing.

"Both those losses last year were tough to deal with.

"They were close games, I'd rather get blown out than lose a close one. It's hard to deal with.

"You think it's one play here, one block there, and it might have changed the game and you might have had the 'W', but things didn't go our way and they were the better team last year and hopefully we'll be able to correct our mistakes that we made last year. Also we'll be playing in the Horseshoe. That was a tough environment there last year," Downing said.

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