Terrelle Pryor

Two units that have struggled for most of the 2009 season have been Ohio State’s offense and Michigan’s defense.

The Buckeyes are ranked eighth in the Big Ten (and No. 65 nationally) in total offense at 369.1 yards per game. They are considerably better in scoring offense where they rank fourth in the Big Ten (and No. 38 nationally) at an even 30 points a game.

The Wolverines are ranked ninth in the Big Ten in both total defense (400.2 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (28.1 points allowed per game). That puts them No. 89 and No. 84 in the country, respectively.

However, as poor as they’ve performed, there is no question they do have some talented players on their defense. Michigan’s main problem on defense is a severe lack of depth, and it also has issues in its secondary.

“If you look at them, they’ve got (defensive end) Brandon Graham, (cornerback Donovan) Warren (defensive tackle) Mike Martin, (DE Ryan) Van Bergen, (middle linebacker) Obi Ezeh and (outside linebacker) Jonas Mouton,” OSU senior left tackle Jim Cordle said. “Mouton knocked me out of the game last year. They’ve got good players.

“I don’t know what they have behind it, so maybe that’s why they’ve had struggles in the second half of the season, they’ve worn down a bit, but they’re going to not be worn down at all for this game. It’s going to be like the Super Bowl, obviously. They’ll be ready to go. They’ve got good players and they can score points on offense. Our offense is going to have to be ready for the storm.”

Wait a minute. Did Cordle say that Mouton knocked him out of the game during the Buckeyes’ 42-7 victory last year?

“Yeah, we kept running our one-back power play and on the first touchdown I pulled around and blew up the linebacker into the safety and Beanie (Wells) scored a touchdown,” Cordle said. “Then they put Jonas on that side, Mouton, and Justin (Boren) had warned me about him because he said he had to block him on scout team and he said that guy could hit harder than anybody has ever been hit. Watching him on film, he was messing up fullbacks all year.

“They put him on that side and we were just running the clock out, and he came up and whacked me, and I kind of blacked out for a second. My body like crumbled. It looks bad if you see it on film. That’s how I tore my MCL, actually, because my body just crumbled and my knee buckled. That’s the way this game is. It’s tough. They’re going to hit us with everything they got. They’ve got good players so we’re expecting a good game.”

Cordle says his left knee still bothers him at times due to that hit from Mouton last year.

As for Graham, the Big Ten is loaded with quality defensive ends this season, but the Michigan senior might be at the top of the list. Many believe he will be a first-day NFL draft pick this spring.

“Brandon Graham is a great player,” OSU tight end Jake Ballard said. “He is fast and strong. He is one of the better defensive ends we’ll see all year. It’s going to be tough to try and contain him.

“He has tremendous athleticism. He’s strong, physical and big. He’s going to bring it every play. He’s going to make sure he gets the tackle or the sack, no matter what he has to do. He will make sure he gives it his all.

“With our running offense, I will be going up against him a lot. I am excited about the challenge.”

OSU gaining confidence offensively

It took a while, but OSU’s offensive players are finally feeling good about where they’re at as a unit. They’ve proven they can run the ball effectively against good defenses like Penn State and Iowa, and they’re optimistic it will continue against the Wolverines.

“We are very confident right now,” Ballard said. “We are establishing the run and we’re running the ball very well. I know we’re not throwing the ball as much as Terrelle (Pryor) might like. I know our coaches have the utmost confidence in him if we do decide to throw the ball. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.

“We just needed to keep playing together and working to get better every week. We couldn’t take any days off. The Purdue loss was a big wake-up call for everybody and showed us we weren’t playing like we needed to. We needed to step up.”

Ohio State junior wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher is having a solid season and he thinks that the Buckeyes have finally found their “identity” on offense. They are a running team, but know they need to take some shots in the passing game when defenses are cheating up.

“Yeah, I think as the season goes on you always find out a little more about yourselves,” Sanzenbacher said. “Especially as an offense, we’ve struggled a little bit more here and there. I think these last few games, we’ve gotten into a little bit of a rhythm and found ourselves.

“We were able to run the ball well last game (against Iowa). That’s something whenever we come into the season that we expect to be able to do. We expect that to open up the passing game. We didn’t throw it as much (against Iowa) because we didn’t need to. I can’t say I’m surprised much about what we’re doing offensively. We’re where we’re supposed to be.”

Sanzenbacher says that OSU’s coaches have been adding new wrinkles to the offense each week – like the “Wildcat” – and the players enjoy it and think the new looks have been effective.

“It seems like every week they have been showing up with some new things and that always helps us and always gives the defense something to think about,” Sanzenbacher said. “It gives us a bigger workload, but I think that with our athletes and how much time we spend here, we’re able to handle things like that. You work all through camp to perfect the simple things of the offense and the basic things so when we add something else, it’s just a wrinkle.”

In terms of Michigan’s defensive game plan, chances are good that the Wolverines will cheat up to stop the run and will try and make Pryor beat them with the pass.

“Teams have tried that on us, but we’re confident Terrelle will have a big game throwing the ball if they don’t respect the pass,” Sanzenbacher said.

Sanzenbacher also offered his thoughts on Michigan’s struggling defense and what he expects to see from it.

“The main thing watching film of them is that we know that they’ve played well at times,” he said. “Obviously they’ve had struggles, but we know they’re going to play so much better than we can see on film. That’s always the case with the Michigan game. We know they’re going to play their best game when it comes down to game time.”

Sanzenbacher is not exactly sure why teams have been able to rack up yards and points against the Wolverines.

“I don’t know if it’s any specifics,” he said. “It might just be down to why most defenses or offenses struggle; it’s always execution. I don’t think it’s lack of athletes. I think they have plenty of athletes back there and guys who want to hit, so I’m assuming it’s just their execution.”

Interior of O-line steps up

Ohio State has endured many problems with its offensive tackles this season. However, the three interior linemen – center Mike Brewster and guards Bryant Browning and Boren – have been the proverbial rocks of the offensive front this year. They’ve been able to stay relatively healthy (Boren missed the New Mexico State game with an injury) and they’ve played well for the most part.

“Our tackles have been hit with injuries and illness, but inside we’ve been kind of strong all year,” Browning said. “It helps us blend together as a unit.”

Browning has been very solid at right guard this season after struggling at right tackle last year. Browning usually grades out well in run blocking and pass protection.

However, it’s the Buckeyes’ run blocking that has really improved in recent weeks.

“I think guys are executing a little bit more and guys are studying a little bit harder,” Browning said. “Our backs are getting used to the way we do things and know how to find the lanes a little bit better and overall we’re just clicking as a unit.”

Against Michigan, OSU will likely split up the carries between tailbacks Brandon Saine and Boom Herron somewhat evenly. Herron might get more rushing opportunities, but Saine will also be used in the passing game. Saine is the more-explosive of the two runners, but the staff likes the way Herron hits the hole and his hard running style. Both of them will have ample chances to show what they can do against UM’s defense.

As for Ohio State’s improved offensive line, Browning says it comes down to the work they put in during the week.

“The coaches have really been after us about practicing faster and executing things, just being better in practice so when it comes to the games we can show what we do,” he said.

The starting offensive tackles against Michigan will be Cordle on the left side and J.B. Shugarts on the right. However, Mike Adams will be available off the bench at left tackle and Marcus Hall will be available at right tackle.

Hall, the true freshman from Cleveland Glenville, has been impressive in limited action and appears to have a bright future in the program.

“Coming in, Marcus was an All-American and a great player coming out of high school,” Browning, also a Glenville product, said. “He just came in here willing to learn and he put all that kind of stuff aside. He took in the coaching well and took in all the information he could and did a good job transforming that to Saturday. He came in with his mind open and ready to work. I feel he did a great job absorbing everything he could.”