Monday, September 13, 1999
Bellisari stakes claim to OSU quarterback job
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS — There's no controversy about who's Ohio State's likely new quarterback: Steve Bellisari, who laid an impressive claim to the job Saturday night.
It's not that Austin Moherman won't ever play again. But Bellisari's breakthrough performance in Saturday's 42-20 defeat of No.14 UCLA opened a lot of eyes to his talent, and made him the clear front-runner.
Bellisari, who completed 11-of-16 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns and led the 13th-ranked Buckeyes (1-1) to five scoring drives, will likely start Saturday against Ohio University.
“No question he was the best quarterback on the field (Saturday)” Ohio State coach John Cooper said. “I would imagine he'll be the starting quarterback after we look at the films.”
“It was a real sweet feeling that we executed so well,” Bellisari, a sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla., told the Associated Press. “We had something to prove tonight.”
Moherman, who started, wasn't bad, ending 10-of-19 for 107 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He led the Buckeyes to an 81-yard scoring push in the second quarter, completing 3-of-5 passes on the drive — one was dropped — before Michael Wiley ran in from three yards out for the Buckeyes' first score.
But Cooper put in Bellisari on the next series, and the he grabbed the chance — and a stranglehold on the job.
Moherman started the second half, but was pulled after an interception, and later played in mop-up duty.
“We need them both,” Cooper said. “That's why I put him back in there. I thought Austin did some nice things.”
Bellisari led the Bucks to two scores before the half, including a 2-yard TD pass to receiver Ken-Yon Rambo, who emerged with a huge game himself. The two would hook up in the second half for a 8-yard TD pass, one of three second-half scores as the Buckeyes blew the game open against an UCLA team missing five suspended defensive starters.
Bellisari had gotten a quick yank in the Buckeyes' season-opening loss to Miami, coming out for good after fumbling a snap on his second series. After Mohermam played the rest of that game, it appeared Bellisari had a steep climb to match him.
But Bellisari blew right by Moherman Saturday, showing everything Cooper could have wanted. Bellisari's passes were strong-armed and accurate, and he had soft, perfect touch on long bombs downfield and jump balls for speedy wideout Reggie Germany.
He also displayed the speed and athleticism that most separates him from Moherman, running for three first downs on three OSU scoring drives. In all, Bellisari ran three times for 50 yards, making him OSU's second-leader rusher.
“I thought Bellisari hurt us running the football, and he threw a couple of deep balls that got us as well,” UCLA coach Bob Toledo said.
“No question Stevie bailed us out,” Cooper said. “He made some big plays. And he really helped us running the football. ... He's a good athlete. You could see that last year when he played on defense and special teams.”
Cooper also had to be pleased with the emergence of Rambo and Germany as big-play receivers. They showed nothing against Miami — a combined five catches.
Rambo caught eight balls for 61 yards and two TDs and Germany seven for 115 yards against UCLA.
“We talked about UCLA's skill people all week,” Cooper said, “but I think the best receivers tonight might have been our guys.”
The offensive line, also a question in the Miami loss, blocked extremely well all night against UCLA, opening big holes for Wiley, who ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
Ohio State totaled 507 yards — 241 on the ground and 266 in the air.
Defensively, Ohio State allowed UCLA a few big plays, but overall was much improved. Sophomore middle linebacker Jason Ott (from Elder High), made several key stops and recovered a fumble, and senior cornerback Ahmed Plummer (Wyoming High) picked off a Drew Bennett pass, his second interception in two games.
Cooper sounded a note of caution. “We didn't solve all our problems in one night,” he said.
No, but they went a long way forward.
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