Nov. 17, 2005

College Football Preview: Week 12

• BCS Standings  |  Allstate Road to the BCS  |  Bowl Schedule
• CSTV.com Heisman Watch: Bush Takes Over

 

      Top 25 Game Previews   FRIDAY No. 23 Fresno State vs. La. Tech SATURDAY No. 1 USC vs. No. 11 UCLA No. 2 Texas at Colorado No. 3 LSU vs. No. 13 Georgia No. 5 Virginia Tech at FSU No. 12 West Virginia at USF No. 16 Louisville at UConn    Team Capsules  ---------- Air Force Akron Alabama Arizona Arizona St Arkansas Arkansas St Army Auburn BYU Ball St Baylor Boise St Boston College Bowling Green Buffalo California Central Mich Cincinnati Clemson Colorado Colorado St Connecticut Duke East Carolina Eastern Mich Florida Florida St Fresno St Georgia Georgia Tech Hawaii Houston Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Iowa St Kansas Kansas St Kent State Kentucky LSU La Tech Louisville Marshall Maryland Memphis Miami Fla Miami Ohio Michigan Michigan St Middle Tenn Minnesota Mississippi Mississippi St Missouri NC State Navy Nebraska Nevada New Mexico New Mexico St North Carolina North Texas Northern Ill Northwestern Notre Dame Ohio Ohio State Oklahoma Oklahoma St Oregon Oregon St Penn St Pittsburgh Purdue Rice Rutgers SMU San Diego St San Jose St South Carolina South Florida Southern Miss Stanford Syracuse TCU Temple Texas Texas A&M Texas Tech Toledo Troy St Tulane Tulsa UAB UCF UCLA UL-Lafayette UL-Monroe UNLV USC UTEP Utah Utah St Vanderbilt Virginia Virginia Tech Wake Forest Washington Washington St West Virginia Western Mich Wisconsin Wyoming ----------

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Troy Smith has started just one game against Michigan and already has learned that if you play well against Ohio State's archrival a lot is forgiven.

"If you do have a good game against Michigan, everything is OK for you," Smith said after the Buckeyes win last week over Northwestern.

As it turns out, Smith had much more than a good game against the Wolverines a year ago. He put up numbers that had people reaching for the record book, and can raise a player to a new level in the eyes of the fans who build their world around the rivalry.

That great game is not only the most important thing on his resume, it's also a tough act to follow as the No. 9 Buckeyes prepare to take on 17th-ranked Michigan on Saturday at The Big House.

Smith's 145 yards rushing on 18 attempts, including a touchdown, was the second-highest total for an Ohio State quarterback. He also completed 13-of-23 passes for 241 yards and two more scores while leading the unranked Buckeyes to a 37-21 upset of No. 7 Michigan.

Instantly, the sophomore from Cleveland was acclaimed as the Buckeyes' next star. But that star fell out of orbit not long after the postgame celebration ended.

Less than a month after his best game, Smith was suspended by Ohio State for accepting $500 from an Ohio State booster six months earlier. Smith, who acknowledged he accepted the money, was not permitted to travel with the team to its bowl game, and then was suspended for the 2005 opener.

The booster was banished from the program. Ohio State has a hearing in December at which time it will learn if the NCAA will levy any additional penalties.

After Smith returned from exile, the offense moved the ball in fits and starts. It took Smith four games to find his rhythm. In the meantime, the Buckeyes lost close games to Texas and Penn State, frittering away numerous scoring opportunities.

"He made mistakes and it cost us opportunities," wide receiver Santonio Holmes said of Smith. "But we have to forget about what happened in the past. We have him now, so we just have to look forward."

Ohio State has scored 35 or more points in five games in a row, the first time that's happened since 1974. Smith directs an attack that seems to be in lockstep - the line has been protecting him and opening holes, tailback Antonio Pittman is over 1,100 rushing yards, and wide-outs Holmes, Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez are threats to score every time they touch the ball.

Coach Jim Tressel did not allow Smith to talk to reporters this week about the Michigan game. After the win over Northwestern, which put Ohio State in a position to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title if it wins this week, Smith looked back fondly on last year's victory.

"Against Michigan, every yard is golden," Smith said. "Every one yard is worth two, every two is worth four."

Smith also said, "I'm much more mature than I was a year ago. But last year doesn't mean anything now."

If Smith hasn't been talking much, others certainly have been speaking about him.

"He's got the same athletic ability. He's got the same great arm," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "He's been in a lot of big games where he has played extremely well."

Asked if it would be difficult for Smith to live up to his performance from a year ago, Holmes said, "Not at all. The way he's been playing these last couple of games is going to carry right over to this one."

"No doubt he's the fastest quarterback we'll play against this year," Michigan inside linebacker David Harris said. "He's a great scrambler, he's capable of making any play, he's got a strong arm, he's a great leader. ... He's their man."

Tressel values Smith more for what he hasn't been doing - turning the ball over.

Smith got off to a rocky start after sitting out the opener, turning the ball over at least once in his first five games. Over the last four, he's thrown 75 passes with only two interceptions and hasn't lost a fumble.

Considered a run-first, pass-second quarterback when he first took over midway through last season, Smith leads the Big Ten in pass efficiency, and has 13 TD passes and only four interceptions.

"Man, I'm not sure what they're going to do to try to stop him," offensive guard Rob Sims said. "I know he's going to be a hard one to stop. He gets up for this game, he plays hard in this game."