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THE BUCKEYES are hoping for OSU’s 800th win Saturday when they face Ohio University, but the team from Athens plans to pull out all the stops.
OSU senior linebacker Marcus Freeman said a potential 800th win for the Buckeyes Saturday “would put Ohio State in the top five all-time. It shows how much history is here at Ohio State.
“It is a huge accomplishment, and it makes us want to go and beat Ohio University even more. We are all proud to a part of this team and to be recognized as the team that reached that mark is an honor.”
Currently, the Buckeyes have an all-time record of 799-304-53 in their 119 seasons.
The top four with more than 800 wins are Michigan, 869; Notre Dame, 824; Texas, 821; and Nebraska, 818. Following OSU in the top 10 in terms of total program victories are Penn State, 791; Alabama, 788; Oklahoma, 777; Tennessee, 771; and Southern Cal, 754.
Even though the OU Bobcats lost 21-20 to the Wyoming Cowboys last week, some records were set by the OU players.
Noting that Saturday’s contest “is a big game,” OU junior wide receiver Taylor Price said, “We have a lot to prove to these Buckeyes. A lot of us come from the Columbus area so we are going to come out and give it our all and pull out all the stops.”
Price achieved a school record with 14 receptions. OU head coach Frank Solich said the wide receiver had a great game and not only had 14 catches, but some of them were “spectacular catches.”
Bobcat returner Donte Harden, a redshirt freshman, set a school record with a 100-yard kickoff return for touchdown.
Also in last week’s game, sophomore linebacker Noah Keller had 15 tackles, the most for any Bobcat defender in the last three seasons.
It’s not surprising that most questions at OSU head coach Jim Tressel’s media conference early this week focused on tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells’ injury.
Asked if the injury doesn’t appear to be that debilitating, Tressel replied, “Yeah, I would say that, in a non-medical way of saying things that would be fair.” At another point, he also indicated Wells is going to be fine.
Tressel said he was impressed with the the battle staged by the Bobcats in Wyoming.
“They lost a tough ball game but really if you look at the game, I think they were in command a good bit of the time,” he added. “A couple costly penalties against them on that last drive really made the difference.”
The coach added the Bobcats are extremely competitive on special teams and defensively, they’ll blitz all over the place.
Tressel would like competition to continue among the Buckeye quarterbacks. He was asked whether freshman Terrelle Pryor was No. 2 among the quarterbacks “clear cut,” because he entered the game with Youngstown State before redshirt freshman Joe Bauserman.
“Clear cut? Well, if he goes in second Saturday, he will have been for that game but, no, we like competition continuing,” said Tressel. ” I don’t know what clear cut means. Does clear cut mean it’s clear and cut, and it’s never going to be attached again?”
The coach then was asked if lead quarterback Todd Boeckman suffered an injury, whether Pryor would be the quarterback.
“If the game were today, he would,” said Tressel.
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SATURDAY’S game will be the sixth meeting between the Buckeyes and the Bobcats. The series began in 1899 and continued through 1902 before skipping to 1999. OSU has won all five games. The Bobcats didn’t score in the first four contests, and the Buckeyes won 40-16 in 1999.
TRESSEL’S contract has been amended and provides that his compensation increase will be phased in during the current year and will be $3.5 million next year, more than $1 million annually than the previous agreement.
He will receive annual increases of 3-4 percent over the remainder of the term. With the revisions he’ll be the highest paid football coach in the Big Ten Conference.the term.
Tressel, who is under contract until Jan. 31, 2013, said, “It is incredible the commitment Dr. (Gordon) Gee and Gene Smith have made to us. There is no place in the world we would rather be, and we will work very hard to serve Ohio State.
The goal that Ellen and I have is to make sure these blessings make a difference to others.”
THE GAME between the Buckeyes and the Bobcats will begin at noon, and it will be televised on ESPN.