OSU title defense starts with solid win over Washington

COLUMBUS -- Even though he never shed his warmups, suspended Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett had plenty of chances to work up a sweat on the sidelines Saturday night.

Waving a towel in the air and jumping up and down with joy turned out to be Clarett's best moves as college football's most famous cheerleader celebrated Ohio State's season-opening 28-9 victory over No. 17 Washington with 105,078 fans in Ohio Stadium.

The second-ranked Buckeyes began defense of their national championship in convincing fashion, winning their 25th straight home opener and running their record to 6-0 in night games in the Horseshoe.

More significantly, they ran their record to 4-0 in games they've played without Clarett. Plagued by injuries last year as a freshman, the preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Heisman Trophy favorite is serving an indefinite suspension for committing NCAA violations.

Without Clarett, the Buckeyes still did plenty of damage on the ground against a defense that ranked among the nation's best at stopping the run in 2002. Junior tailbacks Maurice Hall and Lydell Ross each scored a touchdown, and quarterback Craig Krenzel added a pair while throwing for 203 yards.

"More than anything we sent a message to ourselves," Krenzel said. "We have enough confidence in ourselves that we think we can beat anybody in the country. We put more expectations on ourselves than anybody else in the country can do."

Washington's only touchdown came with 3:27 left on a two-yard run by quarterback Cody Pickett. Trailing 21-0 at halftime, the Huskies scored first in the second half on a 46-yard field goal by Evan Knudson, but Ross answered with a 15-yard TD run.

It turned out to be an insurance score the Buckeyes wouldn't need.

"We had as tough a matchup as anyone in the country (for an opener)," Tressel said, "and we feel good about the win."

Picking up where he left off in the Fiesta Bowl, Krenzel proved to be the Buckeyes' most effective rusher in the first half. He scored on scrambles of 23 yards in the first quarter and 11 just before halftime as Ohio State jumped out to a 21-0 lead at the break.

Both Krenzel TDs occurred on pass plays that didn't materialize. On the first he blew right past cornerback Derrick Johnson on second-and-nine, three plays after connecting with Michael Jenkins for a 23-yard gain. That made it 14-0 with 2:51 to play in the opening period.

On Krenzel's second score, he rolled left, rolled right and held on to the ball so long it looked like he was a third-and-10 sack waiting to happen. As it turned out, he was calmly waiting for an opening before darting into the end zone over the right side.

OSU punter B.J. Sander set up that TD by pinning the Huskies inside the 10 for the second time in the half. After hurting itself with two false starts, Washington gave the ball back to the Buckeyes at the UW 25 after a 10-yard punt return by Chris Gamble.

Krenzel hit Santonio Holmes for an eight-yard gain on third-and-four and then took it in himself three plays later.

OSU's first touchdown came on a two-yard run by starting tailback Maurice Hall on the Buckeyes' second possession. The highlights on that drive came in bang-bang fashion. Krenzel hit Drew Carter for 37 yards, followed on the next play by Gamble's 15-yard gain on a flanker reverse that carried to UW 4.

Washington's rushing total in the first half matched its scoring output -- 0. The Huskies were held to 77 yards total offense in the half, compared with 237 by the Buckeyes (143 passing, 94 rushing).

Pickett, who last year became the first Pac-10 quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards (4,558), was 26 of 49 for 255 yards. He didn't throw any interceptions, but was sacked three times and was constantly under siege. His sidekick, Reggie Williams, made 10 catches for 107 yards, but was really never a factor.

Ross and Hall collectively rushed for 101 yards and two TDs on 27 carries, while Krenzel was 15 of 27 passing as the Buckeyes finished with a 345-262 edge in total offense. The Huskies finished with seven yards on the ground.

"(Washington) found out the first couple times they had the ball that we have a pretty good run defense, and they abandoned (the rush) pretty quickly," Tressel said. "We have a long way to go, but when you play hard good things can happen."

Originally published Sunday, August 31, 2003