By Jon Spencer
The Mansfield News Journal

COLUMBUS - No one appreciates Ohio State's impregnable defense more than its inconsistent offense.

The Buckeyes have trailed at halftime in three football games this season and have owned modest halftime leads in three others, but here they are 10-0, No.3 in the polls and smack in the middle of the national championship race.

Saturday's 34-3 victory over then-No.23 Minnesota was a microcosm of OSU's season. Without oft-injured freshman tailback Maurice Clarett, the Buckeyes sputtered offensively and led just 10-3 at halftime. But the defense pitched its fourth-straight second-half shutout, and Ohio State cruised to victory.

The Big Ten's top-rated rushing attack was held to 59 yards on the ground. The Gophers mustered just 112 yards of total offense - 7 in the second half - and scored their only points after a blocked punt set them up at the OSU 27 in the game's opening moments.

Ohio State has allowed only 38 second-half points all season, outscoring its opponents 110-14 in the third quarter heading into Saturday's noon game at Purdue. The Boilermakers (4-5, 2-3 in the Big Ten) were idle last Saturday, giving them two weeks to prepare for the Buckeyes.

That may not be enough, given the way OSU's "extraordinary" defense - coach Jim Tressel's word - performed against the helpless Gophers.

"I'm not a defensive expert, but we probably won the line of scrimmage," Tressel said. "Our quickness up front is such that there were a number of occasions when the only way they could block us was to hold."

Minnesota was flagged four times for holding, but that didn't prevent linemen Darrion Scott, David Thompson and Simon Fraser from sacking Gopher quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq. The Buckeyes made nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Starting flanker Chris Gamble made his second straight start at cornerback as well. He made six tackles and deflected a pass to complement his three receptions on offense and six returns on special teams.

Gamble makes the same impact on defense that a healthy Clarett makes on the OSU offense. Gamble puts the wide side of the field on "lockdown," and enables his teammates to play less conservatively.

"He's got a lot of confidence, and you've got to have a lot of confidence to play out there on an island like he does," defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio said of Gamble, a 6-2, 180-pound sophomore from Sunrise, Fla. "He has superior deep ball judgment, and he's got toughness and great quickness and anticipation."

Even early in the season, when the Buckeyes were giving up a ton of passing yards to weekly spread attacks, they were very good at keeping the opposition out of the end zone.

"We've played some great offenses, but week by week our defense gets better, and they're playing their best at the right time ... which is November," Tressel said.