Buckeyes Defense Hopes To Be Up To Task
Jan 2, 2003
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
PHOENIX (AP) – For all the talk this week about how powerful Miami’s offenseis, few people other than the Hurricanes have focused on the stinginess of OhioState’s defense.
“This is the best defense I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” Miami offensivelineman Sherko Haji-Rasouli said. “You can tell when you watch film that theyalways have four, five, six guys at the point of attack. They swarm to theball. It will be very difficult to get something going against them.”
The second-ranked Buckeyes (13-0) are counting on their defense once againto be the difference when they finish their season Friday night in the FiestaBowl against No. 1 Miami.
The Buckeyes are led by hard-hitting senior safety Mike Doss and fellowAll-American middle linebacker Matt Wilhelm.
The defensive line can both pressure the quarterback and stop the run, andChris Gamble is one of the top cornerbacks in the country.
“I don’t see any chinks in the armor,” said Miami offensive coordinatorRob Chudzinski, who has spent the past four weeks trying to find one.
“They do a great job of making you execute and offenses have had a hardtime doing that. We’re going to have to be patient and play hard and hope theball bounces our way a little bit.”
Just a year ago, the Buckeyes’ defense was far from a strength. They gave up24.4 points, 138.8 yards rushing and 335.8 total yards per game and was a bigreason why Ohio State struggled through a five-loss season.
Defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio set out to change that immediately,gathering the seniors on his defense for early morning film sessions in theoffseason.
The hard work has paid off.
“If that’s what it takes, to watch film in the morning, that’s what we hadto do,” Wilhelm said. “We knew it would take something more to compete for anational championship.”
Now the Buckeyes might have the best defense in the country. They haveallowed just 12.2 points per game – second best in the country – and have thefourth best run defense at 78.7 yards per game.
They’ve held teams to a 36-percent conversion rate on third downs and givenup only 54 second-half points.
“We realized we could play that well if we believed in each other,” freesafety Donnie Nickey said.
The Ohio State defense is predicated on stopping the run, something they dideffectively all year. If the Buckeyes succeed on that front they figure thequarterback is bound to make bad decisions that lead to turnovers.
“Nobody has run the ball very effectively against us,” Dantonio said. “Wetry to make the game one dimensional. So far we’ve been successful.”
Now they’re facing their toughest test. Miami has the game’s most balancedoffense, featuring big-play performers up and down the lineup.
Led by quarterback Ken Dorsey and running back Willis McGahee, Miami scoreda school-record 503 points, 41.9 per game. The scary part was the speed withwhich points were produced – the average drive time on 67 offensive TDs was1:58, with 18 scores coming in less than a minute.
Dorsey, maligned this season for his inconsistency, threw for 3,073 yardsand 26 touchdowns. McGahee ran for 1,686 yards and 27 touchdowns, both schoolrecords.
There’s more to Miami’s offense than the two Heisman finalists. Widereceiver Andre Johnson had 48 catches for 1,038 yards and nine TDs, and tightend Kellen Winslow Jr. had 46 catches for 604 yards and seven scores.
“They’re impressive but they can be stopped just like any other team,”defensive end Darrion Scott said. “That’s why you have game plans so you canstop a team. You put in different defenses or blitzes to prevent thequarterback and not give him time to pick you apart. They’re a great team andhave great weapons. But we also have a great defense.”
