Linebacker James Laurinaitis sparks the Buckeyes' No. 1 scoring, passing, and total defense.
(FILE/TERRY GILLIAM/Associated Press)
NEW ORLEANS - Last season, Ohio State was a team filled with stars. Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith at quarterback, All-America receiver Ted Ginn Jr., receiver Anthony Gonzalez, and running back Antonio Pittman, the latter three of whom later departed a year early for the NFL.
They were the No. 1 team at the start of the season and stayed that way until they reached the Bowl Championship Series national title game against No. 2 Florida, which was supposed to go quietly, but instead pulled off the upset.
This season, the stars were gone, Ohio State was picked to finish third in the Big Ten. Coach Jim Tressel's Buckeyes, with only nine returning starters (the fewest in the conference), thought the best they could do was make it to the Rose Bowl as Big Ten champions, not the BCS title game for the second straight season and not as the top-ranked team in college football.
"Last year, everyone was like, 'Man, you guys are going to win,' " said left tackle Alex Boone, talking about the buildup for the Buckeyes' matchup with the Gators. " 'You guys have got Troy, you've got Teddy, you've got all these superstars. You can't lose.' "
But the Buckeyes did lose - badly (41-14). And the praise stopped quickly.
And while it is coming back slowly after an 11-1 regular season and the No. 1 ranking in the polls, it is tempered. The Buckeyes are underdogs for Monday night's BCS title game against a Louisiana State team that is regarded as quicker and more talented.
The Buckeyes say they are not offended by their change in status.
"We go to a national championship undefeated, ranked No. 1. Everyone is saying how all you've got to do is show up and win, and then you lose, 41-14. You can't expect that to go away within a year," said Buckeyes cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, a junior who was a first-team All-Big Ten selection. "That's probably not going to go away forever. It's going to be on highlight reels centuries from now. But that's something we expected, and luckily we have the chance to get that taste out of our mouths, erase that memory. And we've got another shot at it."
The shot comes with no, or at least less, respect, something Tressel has pointed out to his team on a regular basis. For Christmas, Tressel and his staff gave the players 10-minute DVDs containing clips detailing the Buckeyes' perceived shortcomings.
"My grandmother is folding clothes and going nuts," said Boone with a laugh. "I've got to remind her she's a little older, calm down. Obviously, you watch films like that and you realize just how much everyone hates you. But in the end, who cares? Who cares what anybody thinks but us? This is our team."
But who are these guys? Instead of Smith, junior Todd Boeckman is the starting quarterback. Boeckman earned All-Big Ten status, but his numbers - 2,171 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, 12 interceptions - are not dazzling. The Buckeyes' offensive thrust comes on the ground with Chris "Beanie" Wells, a 6-foot-1 inch, 235-pound sophomore who has rushed for 1,463 yards and 14 TDs.
And Ohio State leads the nation in scoring defense, passing defense, and total defense, and is third in rushing defense, sparked by its one returning star from last season, James Laurinaitis, who won the Butkus Award this season as the best linebacker in college football.
"I think this year we've just a got a blue-collar team," said Boone. "No one knows who we are. We're just playing for ourselves and that's the mind-set right now, we're going to play for ourselves and nobody else and we deserve this. Last year, people kept saying, 'You're going to win, you're going to win.' You start to think, 'We're going to win. Maybe we don't have to practice as hard as we are.'
"This year, it's opposite. 'You're too slow, you're not going to make it, you don't hit hard enough.' We've been taking practices up another level and running as hard as we can, and I think it's going to be different."
Ohio State vs. LSU
What: BCS national championship game
When: Monday, 8 p.m.
Where: New Orleans
TV/radio: Ch. 25, WAMG (890)
Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
