Buckeyes ‘D’ making name for itself in ’09

COLUMBUS

Ohio State has had some impressive defensive football teams since Jim Tressel became the Buckeyes' coach.

The unit that effectively shut down the high-powered Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3, 2003 comes to mind.

The unit with A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter and others that shut down Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn and noted offensive guru Charlie Weis two years later comes to mind.

Last year's team, featuring three-time leading tackler James Laurinaitis, fellow linebacker Marcus Freeman and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins comes to mind.

But this year's Buckeyes, with a largely rebuilt linebacking corps and some new faces in the secondary, has done something no Tressel-coached Ohio State team had ever done: They shut out two opponents in the same season, and they've done it in back-to-back weeks.

A week after shutting out high-scoring Toledo, 38-0, at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Ohio State duplicated the feat against Illinois on Saturday, beating the Fighting Illini, 30-0.

The Buckeyes (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten Conference) hadn't recorded back-to-back shutouts since Nov. 2 and 9 of 1996, when they blanked Minnesota and Illinois. The last time Ohio State had two shutouts in the same season was also during the John Cooper era. That happened in 1998.

And really, this year's defense has played well all season, save for one costly drive in the fourth quarter against Southern California and one 99-yard drive and a couple of botched plays against Navy.

Remember, all the preseason talk was about Terrelle Pryor, who was named the Big Ten Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, and was being mentioned as a Heisman Trophy longshot.

The defense, meanwhile, was supposed to struggle to replace Laurinaitis, Freeman, Jenkins and other key contributors. But after four games, the defense has really carried the Buckeyes while Pryor, the running game and the offensive line have produced mixed results.

"I think it starts with (the fact that) we've got great players," Tressel said Saturday, after Ohio State limited Illinois to just 170 yards, sacked Juice Williams and backup Eddie McGee a combined five times and picked off Williams three times. "We've got talented players, no doubt about it. Secondly, we've got a great staff and they do what our kids do best. I think our defensive guys do a great job preparing."

Two years ago, Williams had perhaps his best game with the Illini, throwing four touchdown passes and leading a final drive that consumed the final eight minutes as Illini stunned unbeaten and top-ranked Ohio State, 28-21. Traditionally, Williams is the type of mobile, dual-threat quarterback that gives the Buckeyes problems.Not this time. Williams looked extremely ordinary, completing 13 of 25 passes for 77 yards and the three interceptions. He ran for just 18 yards on 15 carries.

Linebacker Brian Rolle, who had one of the interceptions, said the Buckeyes' weren't all that interested in stopping Williams as they were in stopping the Illini as a group.

"Juice is a great player, but we don't focus our defense on one guy," Rolle said. "We go out there and play our assignments and we did a great job of it today. Playing within our scheme and not worrying about one guy is something we did a great job of."

Tressel mentioned the emphasis on the Buckeyes' defense becoming "silver bullets" and swarming to the ball. It's a philosophy this team, perhaps more than others with better-known players from top to bottom, has embraced.

"I know the coaches want us to fly around the ball and make sure something happens," said defensive tackle Doug Worthington, a senior co-captain. "Bullets are fast. We want a mentality that we want to get to the ball and have at least five or six guys at the minimum, and we did a good job of doing that today."

Illinois (1-2, 0-1) managed just 82 rushing yards on 34 attempts, an average of 2.4 yards per rush. Williams' 16-yard run was the Illini's longest from scrimmage. He also completed a 16-yard pass to Arrelious Benn. Other than those, Illinois had no other big plays.

"The coaches have done a great job preparing us," senior safety Kurt Coleman said. "We're loose and flying around. We rely on each other."

Illinois managed 14 first downs, but couldn't finish any drives against Ohio State.

"We wanted to make them one-dimensional and we made a lot of big plays out there," Buckeyes linebacker Austin Spitler said. "It has to do with the mindset of being scrappy. They can drive, but we never give in."

epuskas@tribtoday.com