COLUMBUS — Unlike a lot of teams that have thrown themselves into throwing the ball all over the field in a spread offense, Ohio State and new coach Jim Tressel prefer to mix up defenses with a mixed bag of offensive formations and weapons.

        “We're a little more wide open, but we're not too much different,” quarterback Steve Bellisari said, comparing this year's attack to his previous two as a starter. “We'll still establish the running game and build on it from there.”

AKRON at OSU

• When: Noon today.   • Where: Ohio Stadium (89,841), Columbus.   • Records: Akron 1-0, No.24 Ohio State 0-0.   • TV: Ch.19, 7.   • Radio: WBOB-AM (1160).   • Line: OSU by 25.

        That goes against the trend. The days of running the ball on first down are dead. The days of “3 yards and a cloud of dust” are downright prehistoric.

        Now most teams throw on first down and don't stop until the sousaphone players are on the field after the final whistle.

        Tressel led some Ohio State followers to think he was a convert to the spread when his staff called for 61 passes and 32 running plays during the Buckeyes' spring game.

        That may have been an aberration, however. Tressel was trying to weed his crop of quarterbacks while testing candidates to replace the two departed cornerbacks.

        As the Buckeyes went through their final wind sprints in advance of today's opener against Akron, it was clear that the more things have changed at Ohio State, the more they've stayed the same.

        Offensive coordinator Jim Bollman was the tight ends coach for the Chicago Bears last season — light years removed from the hurry-up, no-huddle, pass-happy style in vogue these days.

        He has said his goal on every Ohio State possession is to end with a kick — “whether it's an extra point, field goal or a punt.”

        That sounds suspiciously like a ball-control offense that minimizes mistakes. What it does not sound like is a wide-open attack.

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