Good Start Vital For Buckeyes

Ohio State can't afford bad beginning to BCS Championship game

Jan. 6, 2008

By Trev Alberts

Special to CSTV.com

	TREV ALBERTS Trev Alberts is a football analyst for CSTV and CSTV.com. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- TREV's MAILBAG 2/20: Show Some Patience 1/23: Cutcliffe Can Be Successful At Duke 1/16: To Each His Own 1/10: Watching Different Games 1/2: Brennan's Sugar Performance Won't Hurt Him 12/26: LSU Hater I Am Not 12/19: Rodriguez Licking His Chops 12/12: Buckeyes Have A Chip 12/05: Missouri Got Hosed 11/28: Some Coaching Changes Ludicrous 11/21: Love Woodson's Poise 11/14: Dixon Can Be Contained, But Not Stopped 11/7: Pac-10 Far From Overrated 10/31: Appalachian State Loss An Afterthought 10/24: No Halves Off In College Football 10/17: Nebraska In Good Hands With The Doctor 10/10: Trojans Still A Player 10/03: Don't Hate On South Florida 09/26: Hangovers Part of The Game 09/19: Nebraska's Performance Disappointing 09/12: DeSean As Explosive As It Gets 09/05: Tebow Impressive In First Start 08/29: ACC QBs Better Than Advertised 08/24: McFadden Not Quite In Bush's Class 08/17: From Overrated To Underrated 08/10: Florida's Overrated 08/03: Spurrier's Got That Twinkle 07/27: Big East Deserves More Credit 07/20: Badgers Playing For Second, At Best 07/13: Gators Repeat? Not So Fast 07/06: Pac-10 Still Owned By USC 06/29: One Big's Better Than The Other 06/22: WAC Ain't All That 06/15: Text Messaging Ban Excessive 06/08: Fifth Year of Eligibility A Good Idea 05/25: Hot Seat Warming Up For Some Coaches 05/18: Big Ten Falling Behind SEC 05/11: 'Canes, Seminoles Have Ways To Go 05/07: Sleeping Dawgs 04/20: Look Out For South Florida 04/13: Boise's Johnson Has No Shot At '07 Heisman 03/30: The Best Atmosphere In College Football Belongs To... 03/23: Tough To Compare QBs With Different Styles 03/16: Top Coaches Need To Be Appreciated 03/9: Woodson Nation's Most Indispensable QB 03/2: Things Just Not The Same At Nebraska 02/23: Rodriguez Does Well With His Chips 02/16: Believe It Or Not, I Don't Have An FSU Agenda 02/09: Yes, I Do Know College Football 02/02: Of Course Huskers Make Adjustments 01/26: Coach Alberts In Lincoln? No Chance 01/19: Can't Begrudge Kids For Leaving Early 01/03: Saban Heads to Alabama 12/29: Some Coaching Changes Come As Surprise 12/22: Too Many Bowl Games Way of Life 12/15: Who Has The Best Talent In The Nation? 12/7: Who's The More Deserving National Title Participant? 12/1: Irish Don't Deserve BCS Bid 11/16: Ohio State the Better Team 11/9: Give the Big East Its Due 11/2: What's Wrong With D at USC? 10/26: Where Will Bowden Be in '07? 10/20: Who Belongs in the Top 20? FOOTBALL 1/8: In Surprise, Ohio State Beats Itself 1/6: Good Start Vital For Buckeyes 12/26: LSU Hater I Am Not 11/23: LSU Loss A Microcosm Of The Season 11/19: Give It Some Time 10/13: Give Kentucky All The Credit 10/7: USC Loss Sends Shockwaves 9/1: Michigan's Loss Nothing Short of Stunning 6/19: Hoeppner Did Things His Way 4/27: Unexpected Reigned In 1994 02/22: Combine Experience Can Be Eye Opening 02/08: Signing Day Observations 02/07: Walk Down Recruiting Memory Lane 11/17: Remebering Schembechler 9/5: One Week Is Just One Week 8/25: The Return Of Trev

Ohio State's been told all along how it's not good enough, that it's not fast enough, and for those reasons, I think the beginning of the BCS Championship game is really important. You saw it in the Rose Bowl when Illinois finally got a turnover and went all the way down the field only to miss a field goal and before you knew it, they found themselves down 21. Those thoughts of doubt can quickly creep in. They really do. And sometimes as a player, you think to yourself about the other team, "Wow, they really are better than us." So it's really important for Ohio State to get off to a good start and build some confidence.

And then you always look for the game within the game. Monday, the matchup to watch is Craig Steltz vs. Beanie Wells. If Ohio State is going to win the game, I think Wells is going to have to rush for 125 yards. And Steltz has been that Bob Sanders, John Lynch kind of guy all season long for LSU and he'll be the eighth guy in the box. So that means Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline have got to win vertically. I think you'll see Todd Boeckman and Ohio State try to open up the passing game and if they have some success, they can move Steltz off the line of scrimmage and that's when Wells will have his yards. But I don't think Wells is going to have very many yards in the first quarter.

From LSU's perspective, you have to have the quarterback situation settled. We've seen Matt Flynn and we've seen Ryan Perrilloux. How are they going to be used properly? I'll be quite honest with you in saying that I want to see LSU's line protect whoever is behind center. Vernon Gholston is an outstanding player who can get pressure. And third down conversions are going to be hugely important for LSU. Flynn has struggled at times with converting on third down, missing open receivers.

I think LSU is going to be tested early in this game, just like Florida was, and I expect Brandon LaFell, Early Doucet and Trindon Holliday to get the ball in space. I'm looking for Ohio State to be great tacklers and not allow many yards after contact. I think LSU will challenge in space initially and see how the Buckeyes respond. If Ohio State plays well and is able to sneak in some man coverage periodically, I think that bodes well for the Buckeyes.