Buckeye pride

Tressel has team playing old-school Ohio State football

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State had just defeated the 10th-ranked team in the country 25-7, and head coach Jim Tressel was addressing a packed room full of the state's and nation's football media.

Donning a shirt, tie and OSU baseball cap, Archie Griffin stood a floor above the proceedings, watching through a window with a grin befitting a proud parent.

It wasn’t just that the Buckeyes had won a football game against a highly regarded opponent. Lord knows they’ve done plenty of that in the three decades since Hall of Famer Griffin donned the scarlet and gray.

It was the physical, dominating performance on both sides of the ball against Washington State, particularly in the second half. It was Maurice Clarett bowling over defenders like so many great Buckeye tailbacks before him. It was defensive end Darrion Scott pummeling Washington State QB Jason Gesser’s backside.

It was facing a formidable defense for 60 minutes and committing not a single turnover.

“That,” said linebacker Matt Wilhelm, “was Ohio State football.”

Just three games into his second season, Tressel has the Buckeyes playing a brand of football that makes more than just Griffin or Wilhelm proud. It’s a tough, disciplined and, most important, winning model.

That Ohio State is winning games under Tressel does not make him that different from predecessor John Cooper, who won nearly 80 percent of them.

What disillusioned Buckeye diehards with Cooper was that, during his 13 seasons, Ohio State had become more synonymous with producing NFL players than outstanding collegians, so-called thugs like Andy Katzenmoyer , who clearly were using the school as a stepping stone -- as their grade-point averages indicated.

This group of Buckeyes speaks less of the next level and more of the next game.

"The development of this team has been to become more of a unit," said tight end Ben Hartsock. "You work hard to have the chance to be part of something special."

While chemistry is perhaps the most important improvement Tressel has stressed, there are also more tangible changes among the Buckeyes.

From the day he was hired in January 2001, Tressel has made it clear that he intends to return OSU to its glory days of power football.

"Ohio State has always been a very physical football team, and it will always be a physical football team," said Tressel. "You look at the teams who are successful. New England was the most physical team in the NFL last year. Miami was the most physical team in college. We want to be that physical."

While perhaps neglecting the passing game a bit, as evidenced by QB Craig Krenzel’s paltry 4-of-10 day against the Cougars, Tressel has developed a lethal trio of talented young tailbacks in Clarett, Lydell Ross and Maurice Hall, all recruited under his watch. A fourth, JaJa Riley, is equally acclaimed but can barely crack the field.

"Woody Hayes used to say that at the running back spot, you need a pair and a spare," said Griffin. "We’ve got that and more."

The fruits of Tressel’s labors may be paying off sooner than even he expected.

The Buckeyes are still a young football team, to be certain. Only seven of their listed starters are seniors.

But after dispatching their two toughest non-conference foes, Texas Tech and Washington State, in relatively easy fashion, and with the rest of the Big Ten looking hardly imposing, OSU fans are giving serious thought to Pasadena, if not Tempe. After finishing last season unranked, the Bucks already have cracked the nation’s top six and have certainly raised a lot of eyebrows across the country.

"We looked at this game as, 'That was a test for the Buckeyes,'" said All-America safety Mike Doss. "The nation’s eyes were on the Buckeyes in this game, and we showed exactly what we have."

But here is where we’ll find out whether things have truly changed in Columbus.

Several of Cooper’s dominant teams of the mid-'90s flew out of the gate like gangbusters, just like this one. But as the bandwagon mounted, each one eventually stumbled against someone, usually Michigan, or, in the case of the 1998 team that finished No. 2 in the country, a mediocre Michigan State team.

"We thought there was a lot of hype before this game; I’m sure it’s only going to grow now," said Hartsock. "But one thing the coaches have worked on very hard with us is maintaining our composure."

If they do, if these are, as Hartsock says, a different breed of Buckeyes, watch out.

With Cincinnati and San Jose State remaining before the Big Ten schedule, it may be that the only team standing between Ohio State and the Fiesta Bowl is … Ohio State.

Stewart Mandel covers college football for CNNSI.com.

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