Tuesday’s with Tressel: USC

Opening Thoughts
Coach Jim Tressel addressed the media today and spoke of what a tremendous opportunity this upcoming game against USC would be for the players. He commented on the added pressure put on the coaches and players when going into a prime time match up against the number one team in college football. “The tension is raised this week; the coaches and I stopped to think about what a tremendous opportunity this would be, that lasted about two seconds and then we got back to work.” He said that he is even excited about the opportunity to have the chance to coach a game inside the Coliseum. USC will be entering into the September 13th showdown on a bye week and have quite the advantage of studying game film on the Buckeyes for the last two weeks. A few bright spots would be that Ohio State did not show much offensively in their win against Ohio and that they did watch a few weeks of game film on the Trojans last year as they were preparing for a meeting in the Rose Bowl. That was before so many teams collapsed in front of them the final few weeks of the season. One of the main differences between this year and last is the mobility and talent that they have at the quarterback position. John David Booty was no slouch but Mark Sanchez looks as though he is a cut above. One of his many outstanding talents is his mobility and his accuracy outside of the pocket. On Sanchez’s recruitment to Ohio State Tressel said, “I tried like hell to get him.” As Jim Tressel always does he spoke very highly of the Buckeyes opponent this week but laid down a thicker than usual layer of praise on the Trojans. He has been impressed with their speed, aggressiveness and ability to always be on the same page during all phases of the game.
Scheduling
Tress even talked about how when they sit down to make the schedules they like to find home and home series that give outstanding opportunities to the players and the fans to experience something very special. “It is something that creates excitement” said Coach Tressel. That is something that the Buckeyes have been consistent about in past years facing big time opponents like USC, Texas and in the next few years Miami (Fl).
Road Games
Coach Tressel did not seem that concerned about this team traveling considering so many returning seniors and the experience gained from the past two National Championships. He did mention that he expects to keep up his rotation to keep players fresh and ready to go. That means some significant playing time out of some of the younger players and Tressel has put emphasis on making sure some of the freshman on the team will be ready. “They have never traveled before and they have to understand that everything has to be perfect.” USC has a big advantage playing at home, said coach Tressel, “Otherwise teams would not have the home records that we
Last Week (Ohio)
When asked about how it is going over the game film from a disappointing game “Every experience you have you can improve and built on, when you have to play your best it is easy to build upon good play.” When I watched the game I would attribute the play level of Ohio State to the buckeyes just simply looking past the Bobcats. Let’s just hope that that extra peeking into next week equals more touchdowns next week.
Outside Opinions
The Buckeyes have faced a lot of adversity over the past two seasons and rightly so. They have not deserved anything less than what they have received especially after their performances in the last two National Championship games. Tressel said, “What people think is not that important to us, what is more important is what the players and coaches think.” He also mentioned that this team is very confident even after last week’s performance. “Confidence becomes collective but it is individual.” “(This Team) is pretty darn good and capable of most anything. I have a lot of confidence in our guys.”
Beanie Being Effective
The effectiveness of Chris Wells is a huge question going into Saturday. When Coach Tressel saw him in the Woody Hayes Wells said, “Hey coach I am ready to carry the ball 45 times.” Tressel said that he likes his enthusiasm but he has to be realistic. He also commented that he will not carry the ball 45 times if he is not effective.
Terrell Pryor
Tressel said that he likes to get Terrell into the game and script him for success but he is a guy that brings a lot to the table and he has proven his knowledge and understanding of their play book.
Big 10 Statement
“Every time you have a chance to make a statement for others but if you don’t do your best you are disappointed” Tressel was trying to say that any time you go out there and line up against a big time opponent it is an opportunity to prove to yourself that you can do it. But you have to play your best no matter what other wise you are going to be disappointed. If the Bucks play their best and still go down at least they will show that they deserve to be on the same field.
The State of the Offense
O-line looked slow and were unable to open any running holes in the first half. The second half they came in and looked great. They were able to open up running lanes and the guy that benefited the most was Dan Herron. “Herron showed electricity, excitement and enthusiasm.” All alliteration aside Boom better be ready to run if Beanie is not 100 percent. Robiskie and Hartline did not look very sharp last week and they struggled finding seems and catching the balls thrown their way. Tressel said, “The offense just was not very patient and a lot of that has to do with the quarterback because the protection was there.” This week Boeckman better find the right combination of patience and quickness because the USC defense does not slow down for anyone.