OSU Travels to UCLA for Key Intersectional Showdown – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 17, 2001
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%^$OHIO STATE BUCKEYES HIT THE ROAD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2001
%^$Ohio State takes to the road for the first time in 2001 this week, departing Thursday to meet UCLA in one of college football’s most storied settings – the Rose Bowl in Pasadena – Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. (ET) in the Rose Bowl (capacity: 91,136). Both teams were, of course, idle last week following terrorists attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. Ohio State enters the game with a 1-0 record, downing Akron, 28-14, in its season opener Sept. 8. UCLA is 2-0 with road wins at Alabama (20-17) and Kansas (41-17). The Buckeyes were to have hosted San Diego State this past weekend. That game has been rescheduled for Oct. 20 in Columbus. The starting time has not yet been determined. UCLA was scheduled to open its home season by hosting Pac-10 foe Arizona State. That game will now be played Dec. 1 in Pasadena.%^$
%^$A WEEK FOR THOUGHT AND TOGETHERNESS
%^$Following the tragic events last week, first-year Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel met with the team Tuesday and then gave the squad the rest of the day off. “I just didn’t feel like their minds would be on football. But I did want us to get together as a family and give our players the chance to express their thoughts and ask any questions. None of us has ever been through anything like this before, so I really wasn’t sure what to do. I just felt we needed to be together,” Tressel said. Practice resumed Wednesday and the team practiced the next three days before taking Sunday off. “Practice was still a little sluggish for both the players and the coaches on Thursday because we all had our minds on what was going on in New York and Washington. Everyone in the country was distracted. We all need some time to try and get though this. Our challenge now, as players and coaches, is to get focused again and concentrate on the task at hand, which is playing UCLA.”%^$
%^$TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT FOR FIVE BUCKEYES IN PARTICULAR
%^$Epic events last Tuesday hit too close to home for Buckeyes Sammy Maldonado, Shane Olivea and Will Smith all of whom are from New York state, and for David Thompson who hails from Paterson N.J. But it was a particularly long day for freshman walk-on Andrew Maxwell, whose mother, Olga Thomas, works at the World Trade Center. Maxwell, who attended Christ the King High School in Brooklyn, did not hear from his mother until late Tuesday night. Fortunately, she did not work that day and was fine.%^$
%^$BOTH TEAMS RANKED
%^$Ohio State occupies the No. 21 spot in both of the most recent polls. UCLA is 12th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll and 14th in the Associated Press voting. The Buckeyes were 1-2 against ranked teams last year, but are 8-6 in their last 14 games.%^$
%^$ALL EYES ON THE BUCKEYES AND BRUINS
%^$The game Saturday will reach a national television audience courtesy of ABC Sports. Veteran sportscaster Keith Jackson will call the play-by-play with Tim Brant serving in the role of analyst and Todd Harris providing insight from the sidelines. This will be Jackson’s first Ohio State game since the 1998 Michigan game.%^$
%^$WBNS RADIO FEEDS STATEWIDE NETWORK
%^$WBNS Radio (1460 AM and 97.1 FM) is the flagship station for the 79-station Ohio State radio network. Network programming begins an hour before kickoff. Paul Keels, Jim Lachey and Jim Karsatos describe all the action.%^$
%^$BUCKEYES DEPART AFTER THURSDAY WORKOUT
%^$With school not yet in session (Ohio State classes start Wednesday), the team will depart via charter following practice Thursday. The Buckeyes will stay at the Hilton Glendale and will work out in the Rose Bowl at noon (PT) Friday. The team and official party will return home immediately following the game. Once back in Columbus, the team will have Sunday off and resume practice Monday.%^$
%^$FIRST POSTPONED GAME FOR OSU SINCE 1963
%^$The game against San Diego State (orginally scheduled for Sept. 15 and rescheduled for Oct. 20), is the first postponed game for the Ohio State football team since 1963. On Nov. 23, just two hours before kickoff against Michigan in Ann Arbor, the game was postponed because of the John F. Kennedy assassination. The former president was assassinated on Nov. 22. The game was rescheduled and played the followed Saturday on Nov. 30. OSU won the game, 14-10.%^$
%^$NO STRANGERS IN PASADENA
%^$This will be Ohio State’s 14th trip to the Rose Bowl, but the first such journey for a regular-season game. The Buckeyes are 6-7 in their 13 Rose Bowl appearances.%^$
%^$GOING ON THE ROAD
%^$The Buckeyes are 7-3 in their last 10 regular-season road openers. The Buckeyes were 4-1 in five regular-season road games last year.%^$
%^$GO WEST YOUNG BUCKEYES
%^$About 6,000 Ohio State fans have purchased tickets for the game this week and will be heading west to see the showdown between the Buckeyes and the Bruins.%^$
%^$THIS SERIES FULL OF EXCITEMENT
%^$This is the ninth meeting between Ohio State and UCLA. There have been some doozies to date, including the last meeting between the two teams in Los Angeles in 1979, when Ohio State scored a dramatic 17-13 come-from-behind win in the L.A. Coliseum. The Buckeyes used that game as a springboard to a perfect 11-0 regular season, a Big Ten title and a berth in the Rose Bowl, where a heartbreaking 17-16 loss to Southern Cal spoiled their bid for a national championship. UCLA extracted a measure of revenge the following year with a convincing 17-0 win in Columbus. That win by the Bruins knotted the series at 3-3-1. The Buckeyes broke the tie in 1999 with a 42-20 victory on national TV in Columbus. This will be the second time Ohio State and UCLA have faced one another in the Rose Bowl. The first was Jan. 1, 1976. Fans from both schools will long remember that meeting. Ohio State entered the game ranked No. 1 and sported an unblemished 11-0 record, including a 41-20 win over UCLA earlier that season in the Coliseum. A second win over the 11th-ranked Bruins would mean a consensus national championship for Woody Hayes’ team. But Dick Vermeil’s feisty squad had other ideas and upset the heavily favored Buckeyes, 23-10, in a game that catapulted Vermeil into the NFL coaching ranks.%^$
%^$BELLISARI WILL GET THE START THIS TIME
%^$When the Ohio State offense lines up against the UCLA defense Saturday, Steve Bellisari will be the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback. That wasn’t the case in 1999 when the Bruins played in Columbus. In that game, Bellisari was the backup to redshirt Austin Moherman. But when the Buckeye offense sputtered early, Bellisari came off the bench to rev things up. The sophomore southpaw completed 11 of 16 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 50 yards. That performance earned him the starting nod the following week against Ohio and he has been the regular ever since, starting 23-consecutive games heading into this week.%^$
%^$OHIO STATE COACH JIM TRESSEL
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| %^$ %^$ Head Coach Jim Tressel %^$ |
%^$With the win over Akron, Jim Tressel now sports alifetime record of 136-57-2. Tressel, named to his present positionthis past January, spent 15 years as the head coach at YoungstownState prior to coming to Ohio State. During his stay with thePenguins, he guided them to four Division 1-AA NationalChampionships, five trips to the title game, including anunprecedented four in a row, and 10 appearances in the playoffs.Tressel was a four-time choice as the Division 1-AA National Coachof the Year at Youngstown, winning that honor in 1991, ’93, ’94 and’97. He also was a six-time choice as Ohio Coach of the Year.%^$
%^$Born in Mentor, Ohio, Tressel grew up in Berea, Ohio, where his father, the late Lee Tressel, was the head coach at Baldwin Wallace College and a legendary figure in Ohio college coaching circles. The elder Tressel led B-W to the 1978 Division III National Championship and was National Coach of the Year that season.%^$
%^$Tressel played for his father at Baldwin Wallace, winning all-conference honors at quarterback as a senior. He graduated cum laude in 1975 with a degree in education and embarked upon his coaching career in 1975 as a graduate assistant at Akron, where he spent four seasons (the last three in a full-time capacity) and earned his master’s degree in education. Tressel’s coaching career then took him to Miami (Ohio) and Syracuse before coming to Ohio State in 1983 as a member of Earle Bruce’s staff. He spent three years as an Ohio State assistant, serving as quarterbacks and receivers coach the first year and taking on the added responsibility of the running backs his last two years. While Tressel was at Ohio State, the Buckeyes posted a combined record of 27-9, played in the Fiesta, Rose and Citrus Bowls and captured the 1984 Big Ten title. Some of his more notable pupils during that time include Cris Carter, Mike Tomczak and Keith Byars.%^$
%^$Tressel left Ohio State following the 1985 season to become head coach at Youngstown State. He remained there until returning to Ohio State, officially appointed on Jan. 18 as the 22nd head football coach in Ohio State history.%^$
%^$This will be Tressel’s first meeting with UCLA and the first time he has coached against Bruins’ coach Bob Toledo.%^$
%^$TRESSEL KEEPS STRING GOING
%^$With the win over Akron, Tressel becomes the 20th-consecutive Ohio State football coach to win or tie his first game as a Buckeye. Of the 22 men who have held the post, only Jack Ryder (1892-95) lost his first game, falling 40-0 at Oberlin. Ryder later redeemed himself, however, returning as head coach in 1898 and winning the opener his second time around. The only other non-win was a 13-13 tie with Missouri in 1946, Paul Bixler’s only year as head coach. The best record by a first-year Ohio State coach belongs to Carroll Widdoes, who fashioned the only unbeaten mark by a rookie, going 9-0 in 1944. Widdoes also won his first three games of 1945. The worst mark by a first-year head coach belongs to David Edwards in 1897. Edwards squeezed by Ohio Medical, 6-0, in the opener, then went winless the rest of the way en route to a 1-7-1 record.%^$
%^$SCOUTING THE BRUINS
%^$UCLA opened the season with an impressive 20-17 win at Alabama Sept. 1. The Bruins followed up with a convincing 41-17 win over Kansas, also on the road, the following week. This is the first time since 1981 the Bruins have started the season with back-to-back road wins, and it also is the first time since 1997 they have held back-to-back opponents under 20 points. Additionally, the 41 points vs. Kansas is the most by the Bruins since they put up 45 against Miami in 1998.%^$
%^$In their first two games, the Bruins are averaging 383 yards in total offense, with 230 of that coming on the ground and the remaining 153 through the air. Running back DeShaun Foster leads the ground attack with an average of 149 yards per game and 5.6 yards per carry. He has carried the ball 52 times for 299 yards. Foster, who rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown against the Buckeyes in 1999, needs 112 yards to move into eighth place on UCLA’s all-time rushing list.%^$
%^$Veteran quarterback Cory Paus has thrown for 283 yards and two touchdowns. Both of the latter have gone to 6-3 sophomore Tab Perry, who leads the Bruins in receptions with six for 162 yards and an average of 27 yards per catch.%^$
%^$Defensively, the Bruins are giving up an average of 350 yards per game – 227.5 passing and 122.5 on the ground. Linebacker Robert Thomas has a team-best 16.5 tackles, including six TFL and three sacks. Cornerback Ricky Manning has two of their three interceptions.%^$
%^$The Bruins also have two fumble recoveries. They have lost three fumbles themselves, but have not been intercepted.%^$
%^$TOLEDO IN SIXTH SEASON AT UCLA
%^$UCLA Coach Bob Toledo is in his sixth season in Los Angeles. His record with the Bruins now stands at 37-23, giving him a lifetime mark of 51-53 as he starts his ninth season as a head coach. He is 0-1 against Ohio State, that loss coming in 1999 in Columbus (42-20)%^$
%^$TRESSEL ON THE BRUINS
%^$”They are a very talented team. I was very impressed by the way they played at Alabama. That takes a lot of poise. But they are a veteran team (15 starters), so we knew they would be good. And they have played two games, so that helps, too. This will be a very difficult game for us.”%^$
%^$UCLA AT HOME IN THE ROSE BOWL
%^$The Rose Bowl has been the Bruins home field since 1982. UCLA is 79-34-2 in the “Granddaddy of them all” and 14-4-1 in home openers there. Bob Toledo’s record is 4-1 in home openers.%^$
%^$OHIO STATE DOWNS AKRON, 28-14, IN SEASON OPENER
%^$The Buckeyes opened the 2001 campaign Sept. 8 with a 28-14 win over Akron in front of an Ohio Stadium record crowd of 102,602. The game marked the debut of new Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel and the unveiling of refurbished Ohio Stadium.%^$
%^$”I saw a lot of things I liked out there,” Tressel said. “We played hard, we competed, we played with class and we played through our fatigue. We made some mistakes, but I didn’t expect us to be perfect. We need to get to work now and get better. I tend to believe that a team does make the most improvement between the first and second games.”%^$
%^$The Buckeyes rolled up 525 yards in total offense and ran 85 plays (20 more than Akron) on a hot, humid day.%^$
%^$Quarterbacks Steve Bellisari and Scott McMullen threw for 289 yards, spreading the ball around to seven different receivers. Bellisari had a pair of touchdown passes and sophomore split end Michael Jenkins had six receptions for 106 yards in his first career start.%^$
%^$Senior tailback Jonathan Wells ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. The Buckeyes netted 236 yards rushing.%^$
%^$Meanwhile, the Ohio State defense limited the Zips to 248 yards (114 rushing and 134 passing) and one touchdown. Senior linebacker Joe Cooper had a team-high 9.5 tackles.%^$
%^$The Buckeyes led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and were ahead 21-0 before Akron got on the board with just over two minutes to play in the first half. The two teams traded long touchdowns in the second half, the Buckeyes scoring on a 61-yard pass in the third quarter, and the Zips on an 87-yard interception return in the fourth.%^$
%^$OPENING DAY SUCCESS
%^$The victory over Akron stretched the Buckeyes’ string of consecutive wins in home openers to 23 and gave them an all-time opening day slate of 96-12-4. The capacity crowd of 102,602 shattered the old Ohio Stadium single-game record of 98,568 set last year against Michigan. The Buckeyes, who are now in their 112th year of football have an all-time record of 726-287-53.%^$
%^$BUCKEYES ON TOP OF EARLY STAT CATEGORIES
%^$Ohio State leads the Big Ten in total offense (525 yards per game) and total defense (248 yards per game). The Buckeyes also lead the league in average rushing yardage (236.0), net punting (43.4) and opponent first downs (7.0)%^$
%^$BIG TEN TABS BELLISARI
%^$Ohio State senior quarterback Steve Bellisari was named Big Ten co-offensive player of the week following his performance against Akron. Bellisari completed 15-of-24 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns in the win.%^$
%^$”I thought Steve had a pretty good game,” head coach Jim Tressel said. “He was in command of the huddle and he was in control of the offense. I thought his decision making was good and that is very important.”%^$
%^$The Akron game marked the 10th time that Bellisari has thrown for 200 or more yards. It also ranked as the second highest total of his career, behind the 315 against Iowa in 2000.%^$
%^$BELLISARI INCHES CLOSER
%^$With 248 total yards against Akron, senior quarterback Steve Bellisari now has 4,718 yards in career total offense at Ohio State. That total ranks him eighth on the all-time OSU list. He needs 544 yards to move into seventh place ahead of Jim Karsatos (5,261 yards 1983-86). Bellisari also has thrown for 4,205 yards during his career. He stands seventh in Ohio State annals in that department and needs 885 yards to go around Karsatos (5,089).%^$
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Ohio State Career Total Offense Leaders%^$1. Art Schlichter 8,850 1,464 atts. 1978-81%^$2. Bobby Hoying 7,152 1,026 atts. 1992-95%^$3. Greg Frey 6,098 988 atts. 1987-90%^$4. Joe Germaine 6,094 852 atts. 1996-98%^$5. Mike Tomczak 6,015 858 atts. 1981-83%^$6. Archie Griffin 5,589 924 atts. 1972-75%^$7. Jim Karsatos 5,261 759 atts. 1983-86%^$8. Steve Bellisari 4,718 790 atts. 1998-01%^$
%^$Ohio State Career Passing Yards Leaders%^$1. Art Schlichter 7,547 497-951 1978-81%^$2. Bobby Hoying 7,232 498-858 1992-95%^$3. Joe Germaine 6,370 439-741 1996-98%^$4. Greg Frey 6,316 443-835 1987-90%^$5. Mike Tomczak 5,569 376-675 1981-84%^$6. Jim Karsatos 5,089 359-629 1983-86%^$7. Steve Bellisari 4,205 282-563 1998-01%^$
%^$JENKINS MAKES IMPRESSIVE DEBUT
%^$Sophomore wide receiver Michael Jenkins made the most of his first start Saturday, hauling in six receptions for 106 yards. Jenkins, a second-year sophomore from Leto High School in Tampa, Fla., caught three passes in the first half for 64 yards, including a 25-yard grab that was his longest of the day. He added three more after intermission.%^$
%^$”Michael has had a great fall for us,” Jim Tressel said. “He is ‘sneaky’ fast.”%^$
%^$MARTIN ALSO ON THE RECEIVING END
%^$Heading into the season Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel said he wanted to get fullback Jamar Martin more involved in the passing game.%^$
%^$”If we can get him the ball in the flat, he is a load to bring down,” Tressel said of the 255-pound senior.%^$
%^$Martin, who had just one reception all of last year, had three catches against Akron, including a 10-yard TD catch in the first quarter that put Ohio State up 14-0. He later hauled in a 12-yarder.%^$
%^$WELLS TOPS THE CENTURY MARK
%^$With 119 yards on 24 carries (5.0) against Akron, senior tailback Jonathan Wells turned in the third 100-yard game of his collegiate career. The 6-1, 230-pounder topped the century mark twice last year, gaining 113 yards on 17 carries in a 27-16 win over Miami (Ohio) and plowing his way for 131 yards on 27 carries (both career highs) in a 24-21 victory at Illinois. Wells also scored a pair of touchdowns against Akron, the first on a 14-yard burst up the middle that gave the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead, and the second on a 1-yard dive after Ohio State recovered a fumbled punt on the Akron 1.%^$
%^$COOPER LEADS DEFENSE
%^$Senior linebacker Joe Cooper equaled his career high in tackles against Akron with 10. Cooper had a career-high nine solos and one assist against the Zips. He previously had 10 stops against Toledo in 1998 and at Michigan last year. Cooper now has 96 career solo tackles.%^$
%^$WALTER RETURNS TO ACTION
%^$Senior Tyson Walter, who sat out all of last year with a back injury, returned to action against Akron and started his 38th-consecutive game for the Buckeyes. But instead of starting at left tackle, where he was a fixture from 1997 to 1999, he started at left guard, filling in for projected starter Alex Stepanovich, who was nursing a sore ankle. Adrien Clarke took over for Walter at left tackle. Stepanovich, by the way, did play.%^$
%^$BUCKEYE INJURY REPORT
%^$Sophomore split end Drew Carter is still recovering from a foot injury suffered in fall camp and is expected to miss the game. Sophomore tackle Adrien Clarke, who suffered a sprained knee against Akron, is listed as doubtful.%^$
%^$OSU FRESHMEN GET THEIR FEET WET
%^$A number of true freshmen had their first taste of college football Saturday. Included in that group were running backs Lydell Ross and Maurice Hall, split end Chris Gamble, defensive back Dustin Fox, defensive end Simon Fraser and kicker Mike Nugent.%^$
%^$Ross netted 16 yards on four carries, while Hall had 30 on three, including a 28-yard burst late in the game that was the longest run of the day by a Buckeye back.%^$
%^$Gamble chipped in with an 11-yard reception, hooking up with Steve Bellisari on a third-and-six on the Buckeyes’ initial possession of the second quarter.%^$
%^$Fox, the No. 2 strong safety, was credited with an assisted tackle, while Fraser recorded his first tackle-for-loss. Nugent booted a pair of extra points and shared the kickoff duties with Josh Huston.%^$
%^$Flanker Angelo Chattams of Dayton also saw action, but did not have any catches.%^$
%^$CALL THEM THE “LUCKY SEVEN”
%^$Seven players – juniors Cie Grant (cornerback) and Derek Ross (cornerback) and sophomores Darrion Scott (defensive end), Tim Anderson (defensive tackle), Shane Olivea (offensive tackle), Michael Jenkins (Split end) and Bryce Bishop (offensive guard) – made their first collegiate starts against Akron.%^$
%^$BOND, VANCE LEAD SPECIAL TEAMS
%^$The Buckeye coaching staff has been stressing the importance of special teams play since the beginning of spring practice. Jason Bond, a sophomore from Columbus, apparently took those words to heart against Akron, recovering a fumble on the Akron 1-yard line that led to Ohio State’s third touchdown. The Buckeyes also got a sure-handed performance from Chris Vance, whose four punt returns netted 52 yards. Vance, a transfer from Fort Scott Community College who was playing in his first game at Ohio State, also scored a touchdown, racing 61-yards with a deflected pass in the third quarter.%^$
%^$OHIO STATE’S ALL-AMERICA CANDIDATES
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| %^$ %^$ Center LeCharles Bentley %^$ |
%^$The Buckeyes, the most decorated team in the 1990s interms of major individual awards, always seem to have their shareof All-America candidates and this year is no exception. Onoffense, center LeCharles Bentley is an All-America and OutlandTrophy candidate. A veteran of 37 games and 20-consecutive starts,the 6-2, 300-pound senior will be the hub of the Buckeyes’offensive front. Additionally, left tackle Tyson Walter was headedfor stardom last year until being sidelined with an injury. Whenhealthy, Walter is a very good football player. On defense, tackleMike Collins and safety Mike Doss are on the preseason watch listfor the Lombardi and Thorpe awards, respectively. Both are comingoff exceptional years and are among the best in the country attheir positions. Although fullbacks rarely make All-America teamsin this day and age, Jamar Martin is an exceptional football playerand team leader. And linebackers Joe Cooper (a third-teamAll-America by the Associated Press last year) and Matt Wilhelm areboth capable of playing their way into contention for the ButkusAward.%^$
%^$TWO CALIFORNIANS ON OSU ROSTER
%^$The Ohio State football team features players from 14 different states. Fullback Jack Tucker (Cypress, Calif.) and tailback JaJa Riley (San Diego, Calif.) are OSU’s representatives from California. Tucker, who sat out last year with an injury, got his first taste of game action against Akron.%^$
%^$BUCKEYE CAPTAINS
%^$Seniors Steve Bellisari, Jamar Martin, Joe Cooper and Mike Collins are the 2001 Ohio State captains. Bellisari and Cooper also were captains last season and are the first repeat captains at OSU since Pepper Johnson in 1984 and ’85.%^$
%^$WALTER NOMINATED FOR NFFHF SCHOLARSHIP
%^$Offensive tackle Tyson Walter has been nominated for a 2001 National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholarship. Walter, from Bainbridge, Ohio, graduated from Ohio State in the winter of 2000 with a degree in finance and is currently completing work on degrees in economics, risk management and information services. In addition to being an honors student, he has started 38-consecutive games and is in his fourth year as a starter for the Buckeyes. Over the years, Ohio State has had a Big Ten record 18 NFFHF scholarship winners.%^$
%^$THE COACHING ASSIGNMENTS (WHO’S UP AND WHO’S DOWN)
%^$On offense, quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels and tight ends coach Bill Conley will be in the press box during the game, assisted by offensive graduate assistant Jim Bridge. Offensive coordinator Jim Bollman and running backs coach Tim Spencer will be on the sidelines. On defense, linebackers coach Mark Snyder, defensive backs mentor Mel Tucker and grad assistant Brandon Blaney will be upstairs, while defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio, defensive line coach Jim Heacock and special teams coordinator Ken Conatser will be on the field.%^$
%^$TYREE MOVES OVER
%^$True freshman Andree Tyree has moved from the defensive line to the offensive line and will now wear jersey No. 69 instead of 99. “He is a big, strong, intelligent player and we wanted to give him a look on offense,” OSU coach Jim Tressel said. “It may or may not be permanent.”%^$
%^$HICKS OSU’S LATEST HALL OF FAME SELECTION
%^$Former All-American offensive tackle John Hicks is the latest Ohio State player to be selected for the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. Hicks, who won first-team All-America honors in 1972 and ’73, is the 18th Ohio State player to be selected. He will be recognized at halftime of the Ohio State-Wisconsin game on Oct. 13 and will be officially inducted in New York in December. Hicks won the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award as a senior. He also finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1973.%^$
%^$BUCKEYES OPEN BIG TEN SEASON NEXT WEEK
%^$Ohio State opens its eight-game Big Ten schedule next week at Indiana. The game will be televised by ESPN and will get underway at 12:10 p.m. (ET) in Memorial Stadium. Tickets do remain for that game ($33 each) and are on sale at the Athletics Ticket Office at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. They can be purchased in person or by phone at (614) 292-2624 or 1800-GO-BUCKS. There is no limit. This will mark the first time since 1995 that Ohio State has opened league play on the road. The Buckeyes finished fourth in last year’s Big Ten race with a 5-3 record, a game out of first.%^$
%^$MEDIA INFORMATION
%^$This week’s player interviews will be after practice on Monday and Tuesday (approximately 5:30 p.m. both days) and at Coach Tressel’s Media Luncheon on Tuesday at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Caf©. The latter starts at 11:30 a.m., with Coach Tressel addressing the media promptly at noon. A reminder, too, that ALL requests for player, assistant coach and head coach interviews must be directed to either Steve Snapp, Pat Chun or Dan Wallenberg in the Ohio State Athletics Communications Office (614/292-3103 or 292-6861). Also, television stations are asked not to interview players coming off the field following the completion of the game. The first opportunity to interview players after a game will be in the interview room after Coach Tressel has spoken with the team.
