Front and center

Fans looking to explain Ohio State's struggles should start with O-line

Buckeye QBs Troy Smith (above) and Justin Zwick haven't received much protection from the big guys up front. AP

As a nonpartisan observer, I'm not supposed to get a kick out of a particular team's demise. But after two years of being deluged by e-mails from the Ohio State zealots who believed Jim Tressel could walk on water, I can't help but be amused that those same people have suddenly shifted to the other end of the spectrum.

Tressel recently said, "You stop the bleeding by getting better. By going out and winning a game." Excuse me for quoting, but when I look at the last few games it seems to me the Buckeyes are getting worse and worse. It's as if they're wanting to lose! I'm a Buckeyes fan to the end, but what is going on?
--Chris, Marion, Ohio

What do you consider to be Ohio State's main problem? Losing too many players (14) to the NFL Draft last year? A poor, inexperienced QB? A nonexistent rushing game? Defensive deficiencies? Or, as I am beginning to fear, Tressel's inability to recruit the talent his predecessor, John Cooper, was able to?
-- Scott Gabbert, Bolingbrook, Ill.

Please help me out with something. Maybe I don't understand Tressel's approach to football because I am a woman. However, I am getting frustrated watching Lydell Ross try to run the ball only to see him get stopped almost immediately most of the time. It appears that Tressel is favoring the seniors, but is he going to run this season into the ground before he gets his head (and loyalty) out of his backside? The Buckeyes need some changes quick, or we will revisit the 2-10-1 stretch we had under Cooper!
-- Cyndi Vice, San Antonio, Texas

Ah, where to begin. First of all, the Buckeyes' biggest problem, as it has been for two years, is that they can't run the football. A Big Ten team that can't run the ball is dead in the water, unless, as was the case last season, its defense and special teams are so dominant they keep it in the game. Like Cyndi, I, too, used to think the problem was Tressel's insistence on sticking with Ross. But what's becoming increasingly clear is that no one short of Eddie George could gain positive yardage behind the Buckeyes' sorry offensive line. Iowa's defensive front absolutely manhandled it. Ohio State hasn't protected the quarterback well, either. The offensive line is a huge problem, and I'm not sure there's an easy fix.

As for Scott's concern about recruiting, I think Tressel is doing just fine in that area. He had a couple of phenomenal classes in 2002 and '03. Justin Zwick, Donte Whitner, Ted Ginn Jr. , E.J. Underwood -- these are guys any school in the country would have liked to get. However, I think OSU may have been counting on some of the younger guys a little too much, too soon. There's no understating this -- the Buckeyes had 14 players drafted last spring. You don't replace that overnight. This is proving particularly true on defense, where OSU simply isn't the same dominating team it was the past two seasons. No one has yet emerged as the next Will Smith, Darrion Scott, Chris Gamble or Will Allen. They're not getting any pressure up front, so opposing quarterbacks have time to sit back and pick their spots.

The good news is, they have consecutive winnable home games coming up (vs. Indiana and Penn State) to try to get things in order. No doubt it's going to be strange to see the Buckeyes playing in San Antonio or El Paso, Texas, this winter, but I wouldn't go jumping off the Tressel bandwagon just yet. Unless, as Chris suggested, they're "wanting to lose."

Stewart, why is it that if Brock Berlin thrives in the shotgun, Miami doesn't change its playbook to better suit its quarterback's strengths? It is obvious Brock can be effective, so why make him run an offense he isn't comfortable in?
--Eric Bluestein, Miami

MAILBAG MAILBAG Stewart Mandel will answer questions from SI.com readers each week in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

It's a good question, one I've gotten a lot of since last Thursday. In fact, I asked offensive coordinator Dan Werner something similar after that game. He said while the shotgun will always be a big part of their package, they never will make it their base offense. Why? The 'Canes want to be balanced, they don't want to throw the ball 50 times a game -- probably because it would increase the chances of Berlin making a mistake -- and it's very hard to run the ball effectively out of the shotgun unless you have some background with it or spent a lot of time studying it. Teams such as Utah, Northwestern and Oklahoma have made the shotgun draw a big part of their offenses, but they didn't try to install it midseason. I think you'll find out Saturday if the coaches intend to make any changes. Berlin will be going against an aggressive N.C. State defense with a tremendous pass rush (22 sacks), and we all know how he handles pressure. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the shotgun early.

Now that Marcus Houston is on the bench at Colorado State, is it fair to say he is one of the biggest busts of all time? And what do you think went wrong for him?
--Beau Pederson, Knoxville, Tenn.

Certainly in the modern era of recruiting-mania, yes, right up there with Dan Kendra, Ronald Curry and C.J. Leak (I know many of you will want to throw in Ron Powlus, but at least he started for four years). Houston was the consensus No. 1 or 2 player in the country in the class of 2000 (along with D.J. Williams, who, suffice it to say, panned out). As hard as it is to believe now, Houston actually ran for 332 yards in his first three collegiate games, including 150 against USC, then never came close to that again. There were certainly some injuries involved, but I don't think we'll ever know what exactly went wrong. Something strange definitely happened at Colorado (the infamous Eric Bienemy "Markesha" comment?) that shattered his confidence, something so extreme that the NCAA allowed him to transfer without sitting out a year. The good news is, he's extremely bright and will have a wonderful future, with or without football.

If there were job openings in both Texas and Florida at the end of the year, which one would you want? Both have talent-rich states, tradition and plenty of cash to spend. While coaching in the SEC might be more prestigious, we Gator fans can create quite a headache. Is the pressure worth it?
-- Shawn Gundotra, Fayetteville, Tenn.

Don't flatter yourself, Shawn -- all fans create a headache. This is a very tough call. At either place you're sitting on a recruiting gold mine with no shortage of resources. Let's go to the tale of the tape.

At Texas, I'd have to face Bob Stoops every year (and Adrian Peterson for at least the next two). At Florida, I'd have to face an SEC schedule every year (and Erik Ainge for at least the next two). Draw.

At Florida, I'd work for one of the nation's most renowned athletic directors, Jeremy Foley. Same thing with Texas' DeLoss Dodds. Draw.

At Texas, I'd be around this. At Florida, I'd be around this. ... What were we talking about again?

I guess it just comes down to whether I'd rather live in Austin or Gainesville. To anyone who's ever visited both places, I'll let you come to your own conclusion.

This is more of a comment than a question: In "The Weekend Review," you should have mentioned Oregon State kicker Alexis Serna, who was 5-for-5 on field goals, including a 55-yarder. With the way his season began at LSU, it is a remarkable turnaround for a young man in a position that requires more mental than physical ability.
--Roger Hanson, Reno, Nev.

Agreed. It seems our little boy is all growns up.

In Florida State's performance against Virginia, the Seminoles showed a much-improved offensive line, an emerging Ernie Sims and a qualified QB in Wyatt Sexton. With all that said, would it be fair to assume that FSU would beat Miami in a rematch?
--Joe Cohen, Tallahassee, Fla.

Not really. You're assuming that Sexton, who would be making his first start and facing Miami's defense, would perform like he did Saturday. That's a pretty big assumption, especially considering his only road game so far came at the Carrier Dome. And even if we concede that Sexton would have played better than Chris Rix, would it have made any difference with Jeff Bowden's beyond-predictable game plan? Now, if the game were played today instead of Sept. 10, then you might be onto something. Or, maybe it'd be the same result with a different kind of ending. Like, say, a wide right.

Last week, among other things, you said not to count out Minnesota in the Big Ten race, and that Michigan would lose to Purdue and Ohio State. Care to take any of those back?
--Mike, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Can I? I kind of assumed at this point that the Minnesota thing would follow me to the grave. I'll probably stick with the Purdue pick for this weekend. Too early to say about Ohio State. But you, as a Michigan fan, should know better than anyone that the better team doesn't always win that game.

Utah has handled everyone pretty well this season, and we can see in retrospect that the Utes' trouncing of Texas A&M was more about them being good than about A&M being bad. Yet, as they get into their softer conference schedule, it also appears that no matter what they do, they can't climb any higher in the BCS. What do you think of Utah's chances to finally give us the BCS nightmare scenario of an undefeated mid-major being left out when the BCS bowls are played with a bunch of one-loss teams?
--Tom Cocoran, Apex, N.C.

I think their chances of making a BCS bowl are pretty good, whether or not they finish in the top six, but it will depend on who the other available teams are. If I'm a Utes fan, I'm rooting for Cal to lose a couple of times, because if USC goes to the Orange Bowl and the Bears are sitting there eligible, the Rose Bowl will scoop them up as the Trojans' replacement faster than ABC can run another Desperate Housewives promo. So that's one fewer available spot. Then, the other problem is if a non-conference champ is sitting at Nos. 3 or 4, which means it would be guaranteed a berth. The most likely way that happens is if both Miami and Florida State win out, or if both Wisconsin and this weekend's Michigan-Purdue victor win out, or if Auburn were to run the table, then lose in the SEC title game.

I end this week's mailbag with a public service announcement of sorts. The number of e-mails I get complaining about where certain teams are ranked in the AP poll is beginning to reach epic proportions, and with the BCS rankings now in play, I fear an avalanche approaching. So, I'm going to say this once and hopefully word will spread sufficiently: I DO NOT HAVE A VOTE.

Now, if you have a beef with my Power Rankings, I take full responsibility for that. Just know that they are not a part of the BCS formula. You never know, though, one of these days I might get the call. If, by chance, Anderson or Hester were to get dinged by an unfortunate computer virus, or Massey's hard drive goes down and he's stuck on the phone with some Dell guy in India -- I'm there for you, fellas.

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.