Most coaches despise a quarterback controversy.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel doesn't acknowledge one. He has no doubt who will be the quarterback in Saturday night's Texas game.

"Vince Young will probably start I'm guessing," the Buckeye boss deadpanned.

When pressed for his starter, Tressel said he would discuss the situation further Tuesday, but would keep the mystery alive for the media to ponder a few more days.

Why tip your hand between a fleet athlete who runs as frequently as Troy Smith or a dropback quarterback who prefers to throw like Justin Zwick?

Tressel prefers to talk about quarterback as a group endeavor, what needs to happen at the position instead of dwelling on personalities. In Smith and Zwick, Tressel has a couple of quarterbacks with dramatically different styles and approaches.

The job was Smith's after the junior from Cleveland authored a 37-21 upset of Michigan last year, rushing for 140 yards and throwing for 241 more with no turnovers. It was a legendary effort. However, in December Smith was suspended two games by the NCAA for taking $500 from a booster. It was his third scrape as a Buckeye and has some questioning his reliability.

Meanwhile, Zwick's play is making the quarterback decision interesting.

The junior from Massillon has led the Buckeyes to a pair of lopsided wins, a 33-7 beating of Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl and Saturday's 34-14 throttling of Miami of Ohio.

In the season opener, the Buckeyes did not punt with Zwick at the helm, building a 27-0 lead and (aside from a kneel-down to end the half) scoring on four of his five possessions. He was 17-of-23 passing (.739) for 155 yards, one TD, one interception and one sack. At the Alamo Bowl, Zwick was 17-of-27 (.630 percent) for 189 yards, one TD, no interceptions and no sacks.

In his last two games, Zwick is 34-of-50 (.680) for 344 yards, two TDs, one INT and a sack. In fact, Zwick has made just one bad play in those two starts, an interception in the end zone on Saturday when an audible was botched in the backfield.

"I'm sure I'm going to get two big minuses for that, but other than that I thought we played pretty well offensively," Zwick said. "We moved the ball and dictated the tempo and that's what we wanted to do."

Zwick engineered drives of 12 plays for 74 yards, nine plays for 63 yards, 15 plays for 70 yards and nine plays for 80 yards. It was the kind of performance many envisioned when he signed with Ohio State.

But the script went awry last year. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder took the lion's share of criticism as OSU fans rushed to find a scapegoat for a 3-3 start. Zwick's confidence wavered, his body language sagged and his throws were without zip, often coming off his back foot to avoid pressure or even imagined pressure.

In his last two starts, those nerves seem to have dissolved. The Buckeyes are executing a controlled passing game, emphasizing safe throws and letting their receivers gobble yardage after the catch. Zwick runs it in an understated, effective manner.

"I thought Justin was very efficient outside of that one play we all wish we had back," Tressel said. "He stepped up and ran (Zwick was OSU's second-leading rusher with 25 yards on five carries) when he needed to, got it to the right guys, his distribution was very good.

"I don't think you can say they only throw it to this guy or that guy. I thought he played well."

Was it good enough to earn a start against Texas?

"From where I stood I thought (Justin) did well, and that's great for Ohio State," Tressel said.

Perhaps Tressel is enjoying what could be viewed as a pleasant problem.

Originally published Sunday, September 4, 2005