Buckeyes Primed for Title Run Behind Offensive Stars
 
Fellow Heisman candidates Smith, Ginn look to lift Buckeyes to title run  

Aug. 21, 2006

By Brian Hardy

CSTV.com

 



 BRIAN HARDY

Brian is an assistant editor for CSTV.com and contributes on a regular basis.
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Coming off a season that ended with a 10-2 record, and a convincing Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame, Ohio State steps into 2006 as the favorite by many to win the Big Ten for the second straight year and has also been given the No. 1 ranking in the preseason AP poll. Why are so many people looking so favorably upon the Buckeyes in 2006? It's their two stars on offense: senior quarterback Troy Smith and junior wideout Ted Ginn, Jr.

 

Both step into the season as Heisman candidates and integral parts of the Buckeyes' title hopes in 2006.

 

After having a rough start in 2005 which included a suspension against Miami (Ohio) for accepting gifts and part-time duty in the loss to Texas, Smith took over as the starter in the San Diego State game and never looked back, seemingly improving as each game went by to become the Big Ten's passing efficiency leader, posting an efficiency rating of 162.7 while completing over 62 percent of his passes. Smith finished last season throwing for 2,282 yards and 16 touchdowns and became the first Buckeyes quarterback in school history to throw for over 2,000 yards and rush for more than 500.

 

The Fiesta Bowl victory saw a tremendous performance from Smith, who racked up 408 yards on the Irish in the Buckeyes 34-20 victory. That same game saw Ginn shine bright as well. Ginn caught eight passes for 67 yards and a touchdown in that game and rushed twice for 73 yards and another score.

 

In total last season, Ginn was second only to Santonio Holmes in receptions, hauling in 51 catches for 803 yards and four touchdowns. With Holmes playing on Sundays this season, that opens the door for Ginn as the No. 1 receiver, which should allow him to put up huge numbers.

 

"He's [Ginn] has fabulous hands," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "He catches the ball with his hands unlike some excellent receivers who just kind of catch it. Route running, I think that's something he's gotten better and better at and I think you would have to characterize him as an excellent route runner if you studied the film and so forth."

 

Meanwhile, Smith has been topping many people's Heisman Trophy charts heading into the 2006 season and it's for good reason: this guy can run and he can pass. And other teams in the Big Ten have taken notice.

 

"I think he's a great athlete," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "I think they're [Ohio State] an awfully good football team and I think their quarterback is an outstanding player."

 

Penn State got to play the Buckeyes near the midpoint of the season and Smith actually struggled in that game, before going on a tear the rest of the season. The two teams hook up again the fourth week of the season in Columbus and the senior quarterback will be looking to put together a stronger performance.

 

"What I did through the course of the summer with film study is I watched every game three times," Smith said. "And in every game, I watched it from beginning to end. When I watched the Penn State game, it was youthful mistakes that I made, things that I took for granted. All of those things, when we play them again this year, hopefully I won't do them."

 

Between Ginn and Smith, Ohio State's offense looks like quite a force and is clearly the reason for the high expectations in 2006.

 

However, what the Buckeyes have in returning starters on offense, they lack in defense, as nine starters are gone from last year's squad.

 

"This will be a great challenge for us," Tressel said. "I think the positive thing is where there is some experience is up front. When you're solid up front, that certainly helps with the growth of the people in the linebacker corps and in the back end. We hate to lose nine on either side of the ball, but that's college football and we're excited for all nine of those guys who are in NFL camps right now. And hopefully, they'll make teams and make us proud. In the meantime, we've got a lot of work to do to replace them."

 

But if Tressel and his staff can get the defense rolling, and with the offense in good hands, then this team may just be primed for a title run. 

 

Asked if he was going to try to emulate Vince Young in his style of play this year, Smith said, " I'll try to emulate him in two ways: he led his team and he won a national championship. But other than that, I'm going to write my own story."

 

Smith, Ginn and the rest of the Buckeyes hope that story ends just like Young's did last year: with a national title in hand.


 

 


 
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