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Football
Once Again, Pressure Will Be Key When Bucks Face Canes
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS — As Ken Dorsey dropped back to pass on the final play of the 2003 BCS National Championship game, Cie Grant torpedoed on a blitz off the right side.

Cie Grant hits Ken Dorsey to end the 2003 Fiesta Bowl
Photo by Jim Davidson

By the time Dorsey saw the Ohio State linebacker it was too late. He never had a chance.

With Miami trailing 31-24 in double-overtime, Dorsey made a desperation throw to the end zone with Grant hanging from his left arm. The ball hit OSU safety Donnie Nickey just as Dorsey was being slung hard to the Turf, preserving victory for the Buckeyes.

A dejected Dorsey walked off the field, disappointed with the way the game ended, but happy it was finally over.

Matt Wilhelm batters Ken Dorsey in overtime.
Photo by Jim Davidson

For 75 minutes, Dorsey had been battered, crushed and trampled into the ground by a relentless Ohio State defense. Officially the Buckeyes sacked him only four times, but unofficially Mark Dantonio’s defense made life miserable for a quarterback who wasn’t used to getting hit.

Eight years later, the Buckeyes have a similar plan in mind for stopping current Miami quarterback Jacory Harris.

“If you don't get after him, he's gonna sit back there and just pick you apart,” OSU defensive tackle Dexter Larimore said.

“If you watch the Florida A&M game, he was back there just unbelievably on the mark, hitting all of those wide receivers. So if we're not getting after him, it's going to be a long day for our secondary.”

Harris, a junior out of Miami, completed 12 of his 15 pass attempts in the opener (all in the first half) for 210 yards and three touchdowns. He threw 24 touchdowns as a sophomore last season, but also led the ACC with 17 interceptions.

“He does a great job of throwing the ball, but I think he struggles when he gets pressured,” OSU cornerback Chimdi Chekwa said.

“When you play against a quarterback like him the only thing that really affects him is the pressure. I expect my D-line and my linebackers and Tyler Moeller and Andrew Sweat to be able to go out there and kind of affect the quarterback. That makes my job a whole lot easier.”

The Hurricanes went 9-3 during the regular season last year, and in their nine wins Harris threw nine interceptions. In Miami’s three losses, however, Harris threw eight picks, including three against Clemson and four at North Carolina.

Virginia Tech, in particular, came after Harris early and often in their 31-7 win over the ‘Canes. As a result, Harris completed just nine of his 25 pass attempts for 150 yards and one interception. On the season, Miami allowed 35 sacks in 2009, third most in the ACC, which has a lot to do with why Harris accounted for -219 yards on the ground last season.

“This is just like every other game. If you can hit them in the mouth defensively, it's going to be a rough game for them,” Larimore said.

“I don't know too many athletes that like to get hit in the mouth every once in a while.”

That includes Terrelle Pryor.

While the Buckeyes are game-planning to affect Harris with their defensive pressure, Ohio State’s quarterback is sure to see plenty of his own from a Miami defense that posted eight sacks in the season-opener against TAMU.

“They’re definitely a very good defensive line. Pretty big, fast and they move well, but our offensive line is no pushover either,” OSU center Michael Brewster said.

“We have some confidence ourselves, but we just need to perform.”

Ohio State allowed only one sack in the opener against Marshall and it allowed for Pryor to pick apart the Thundering Herd defense for 247 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-25 passing.

On the other side, the Buckeye defense came away with only one sack against Marshall, and that came on a blitz by defensive back Tyler Moeller. While that might have some OSU fans worried about the Buckeyes’ ability to get pressure with the front four, especially with Nathan Williams’ status in question, Tressel isn’t showing any concern.

“I think, coming into the game they felt as if they needed to do things that let the ball go quickly, which we face that a lot,” Tressel said of Marshall’s game plan.

“So one might think that, well, the pass rush didn't do much, but maybe what the pass rush made them believe they should do created them getting the ball out early.”

Tressel also knows his quarterback will need to get rid of the ball early Saturday to avoid the kind of negative plays that can swing a game like this between two top-15 rated teams.

“This is a game of pressure,” he said.

“If you can put pressure on your opponent whether it's when you have the ball or whether they have the ball or when people are kicking the ball, this is a game of pressure and we're going to need pressure.”

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