Saturday, September 11, 1999
Buckeyes talk of redemption
Opening 0-2 unacceptable at Ohio State
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS — As night falls on the Horseshoe, its inhabitants are angry and sick of eating the crow they've been forced to swallow in the two weeks since their season-opening loss.
“Nasty,” linebacker Na'il Diggs said. “Sour, sour.”
You better believe this is an important game for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
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THE SKINNY
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• Kickoff: 8 tonight at Ohio Stadium (89,841), Columbus.
• Records: OSU 0-1,
UCLA 1-0.
• • TV: ABC (Channels 9, 2).
• Radio: WBOB-AM (1160).
• Series: Tied 3-3-1. (last: 1980, UCLA won 17-10.)
• Line: OSU by 91/2.
• What to watch: How long will John Cooper go with Austin Moherman at quarterback before making a change, and how much protection will the OSU line give him? Neither lasted very long in the Buckeyes' opening loss to Miami. OSU can exploit the UCLA defense only if Moherman feels comfortable and has time to throw. It's also time for receivers Ken-Yon Rambo and Reggie Germany to step up and make plays. Defensively, OSU's secondary better brace for UCLA's quick receivers.
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Tonight's 8 p.m. kickoff against 14th-ranked UCLA at Ohio Stadium is crucial to the 13th-ranked Buckeyes, who don't want to face the prospect of opening a season 0-2 for the first time since 1986 and rendering their national title hopes completely dead.
It's the Buckeyes' first home game, and a rare night start at that, which should add to the excitement. UCLA is undermanned, missing 11 players suspended in the school's handicapped-parking sticker scandal, and its star wide receiver, Danny Farmer, is hobbled by an ankle sprain but will play.
Besides, Ohio State is hungry to play again after embarrassing itself in a 23-12 loss to Miami two weeks ago. Even coach John Cooper said the Buckeyes looked “like they didn't want to be there.”
“There's no way you can start 0-2, so this is definitely a must-win,” OSU starting quarterback Austin Moherman said.
All of which means the Horseshoe should be electric for just the fourth night game in Ohio Stadium history.
“It ought to be loud, it ought to be rockin', and we ought to have the home-field advantage,” Cooper said.
“I expect it to be louder than usual,” Diggs said.
To win, Ohio State must correct the problems it had against Miami: poor blocking on the offensive line, poor quarterback play, bad tackling, blown pass coverages and fundamental mistakes (fumbled quarterback snap, missed extra points, costly penalties).
The Buckeyes are concerned with their offensive line, which needs to give raw quarterbacks Moherman and Steve Bellisari time to throw and tailbacks Michael Wiley (72 yards, 69 on one run) and Jonathan Wells (44 yards before an ankle sprain) room to run. They also need big contributions from wideouts Reggie Germany (four catches, 56 yards vs. Miami) and Ken- Yon Rambo (one catch, 1 yard), who were non-existent in the opener.
“It's some of them, some of Austin, some protection,” Cooper said of the offensive woes in the Miami game. “Receivers can run better routes, do more to get open.”
“They had (Moherman) real nervous back there,” Rambo said. “You don't want that for a quarterback in his first game. ... We weren't clicking. Everybody wasn't working together. We need to get everybody working together.”
Moherman, a Southern California kid who completed 10 of 22 passes for 107 yards in the Miami loss, will start at quarterback for OSU, though Bellisari will see some time as the backup. Both saw their first significant action last week.
“I feel a lot more comfortable,” Moherman said. “Getting the first pass, the first completion, out of the way should definitely make it more comfortable.”
Against Miami, Ohio State struggled defensively to contain the wideouts and stuff the running game. Outside linebacker Courtland Bullard will be back after a suspension for team rules violations put him on the sidelines for the opener.
“We were a little too anxious in the first quarter,” Diggs said. “We really didn't blow a defense, just missed tackles, missed reads. Those are things we have to correct.”
The Buckeyes can't afford those mistakes against the athletic Bruins.
The key may be how much Ohio State hates that crow it has been eating.
“This is a big game for everyone on this team,” Diggs said. “It's a chance to redeem ourselves.”
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