Buckeyes Have A Chip

Ohio State will use motivation to upset LSU

Dec. 12, 2007

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

You've got college football questions and CSTV football analyst Trev Alberts has answers and opinions. Each week Alberts will be answering questions and queries on the world of college football. So if you've got a question for Trev? Just ask him.

Do you think Bobby Petrino's shaky loyalty in his two previous jobs is going to affect his ability to recruit at Arkansas? - Chris M., New York

You know he was an offensive coordinator in the NFL and I can't buy all these ridiculous articles and talk show hosts saying he couldn't adjust to the pro game. It was a matter of timing, really bad timing.

I know it doesn't look good. I wouldn't be in favor of a coach bolting in the middle of the season. But these were extenuating circumstances, and when he was at Louisville, he always wanted to get back to the SEC.

I think there's legitimate concern if you're a high school player: can I trust Petrino's word; will he be here for my four years? But I wouldn't be too concerned with that, because I think he's finally at the place where he wanted to be all along. It's only human nature, when someone presents you with $5 million and the chance to work with the best, to leave, and I don't know who wouldn't have jumped at the chance.

I think he's great for the college game and I'm glad he's back. Let the NFL people get all upset. Petrino's a college guy, a great college coach and I just can't fathom what it will be like to have to win in the SEC next year. It is ridiculous when you consider the head coaches in the league now.

Are Tim Tebow and Colt Brennan system quarterbacks? Many tag them as system quarterbacks, but both say they're not. And if they're not, who is a system quarterback? - Jeff Prini, Florida

I've never been a guy who got too caught up in system quarterbacks. I'll say this: You could put me in the Florida "system," Texas Tech "system" or Hawai'i "system" and I could promise you I would have never have had those numbers. I think we look for ways to tear down or explain these incredible statistics some of these athletes are putting up.

I do think there's some validity that if your team throw s the ball 60 times your stats may be a bit skewed because of the attempts, but you still have to complete the pass. Tim Tebow quarterbacks a very good system that takes advantage of defenses, but he runs it to perfection. He still has to throw those passes and still had to run. I don't buy into the system idea with any of the quarterbacks.

I think you could put a lot of quarterbacks who are starters around the country into Florida's "system" and they would not have nearly the numbers of Tebow. I think Colt Brennan is an extremely confident, strong-armed and good decision-maker, and Tebow is the ultimate warrior competitor. That's why they have the numbers they have.

Rather than look for excuses or reasons why they're able to put up the numbers they do, let's just enjoy these remarkable athletes.

How come everyone doesn't seem to be giving Ohio State a chance against LSU? Ohio State has a better defense and it's not like LSU has been dominant this season. What's with all the talk about Ohio State getting killed in the BCS Championship game? - Kelly, Ohio

I've said this and I'll repeat it: I don't think OSU is going to get blown out. As a matter of fact I'm going to pick Ohio State to win.

In college football, I think we do a terrible job of understanding how important playing with a chip on your shoulder is. I don't think it's all that relevant in the NFL, but I think in the college game, when you talk about young men and motivation and finding a reason, just look at this game like the Fiesta Bowl a few years ago when Ohio State played Miami.

I experienced it as a player. I remember in '93 when Nebraska was the No. 1 ranked team, we were a 17-point underdog to Florida State. They had Charlie Ward and Warrick Dunn and Derrick Brooks, a remarkable team loaded with skill and athleticism. I think there were commentators making comments that there weren't any Cornhuskers who could make the two-deep of Florida State. And they might have been right, but we were a motivated group. Although we lost by two points, we dominated statistically and lost on a last-second field goal. I think there are a lot of parallels and correlations.