Bruins, Buckeyes look to get creative in Saturday’s matchup

By Hannah Gordon
Daily Bruin Reporter

Fans of both smashmouth and finesse football will get their fill
at the UCLA-Ohio State game at the Rose Bowl this Saturday. Head
coach Bob Toledo has been touting Ohio State as a big, strong,
physical team all week, one that boasts an All-American and several
All-Big Ten players. Both Ohio State and UCLA, however, will be
revealing more of their passing playbook this weekend as well.

“They’re going to try to powerball us,” said
senior strong safety Marques Anderson. “That’s what the
Big Ten is known for, getting after the ball and establishing the
run.”

The UCLA defense will have to get ready for more than just a
head-to-head battle of strength, thanks to Ohio State’s new
coach, Jim Tressel. Tressel, who was wildly successful at Division
1-AA Youngstown, is known for creative offensive formations but
revealed few of them in Ohio State’s only game thus far,
against Akron.

“We’re gonna see a lot of stuff that wasn’t on
the (Akron) film,” said sophomore linebacker Brandon Chillar.
“We’re just gonna have to go out there and do our
thing.”

Both Chillar and sophomore Mat Ball will see action at
strongside against Ohio State’s 6-foot-6, 265-pound tight end
Darnell Sanders. Ball’s experience as a defensive end last
season should help him there.

For the third game in a row, the Bruin defense will also face
the option, this time run by quarterback Steve Bellisari, the best
the Bruins have seen so far.

“This quarterback is very elusive,” said senior
linebacker Ryan Nece, “He runs the ball hard, he’s not
afraid to get hit. So to stop this option, we’re going to
have to attack him and probably get the ball out of his
hands.”

UCLA’s defense had trouble against the option at both
Alabama and Kansas, but after holding the offenses to 17 points
each game, they should be able to handle it.

Like the Buckeyes, UCLA will have to open its playbook more this
weekend and mix the pass and the run. In the past two games, UCLA
depended heavily on senior tailback DeShaun Foster, who averaged
230 rushing and 130 passing yards.

“You’re not just going to pound them,” Toledo
said, “That’s not going to get it done. But on the
other hand, we need to run the ball and be efficient doing
it.”

Foster seems ready for the task.

“I know they’re going to try to stop me,” he
said “Everybody tries to do that. That’s a pretty hard
task.”

Like most teams, Ohio State will have to stack the box against
Foster, possibly leaving wide receivers sophomore Tab Perry and
senior Brian Poli-Dixon in advantageous man coverage, with the less
experienced Buckeye corners.

Ohio State, which led the Big Ten in rushing defense last year,
boasts three outstanding linebackers: Courtland Bullard, second
team All-Big Ten Matt Wilhelm and first team All-Big Ten Joe
Cooper. Free safety Donnie Nickey is also quick and strong, but
their most lethal weapon is All-American strong safety Mike
Doss.

“Maybe we can use their aggressiveness against them, with
play action passes and getting them to jump one way, then going the
opposite way,” Poli-Dixon said.

UCLA will likely play without senior fullback Ed
Ieremia-Stansbury who sprained his ankle in the Kansas game, but
senior Matt Stanley will start.

Stanley is a team captain this week. A native of Columbus, Ohio,
he earned his scholarship after scoring a touchdown in the Ohio
State game two years ago. Stanley will again get the opportunity to
score against the team he was in awe of as a youth.

“Those were our professional athletes,” he said of
the Buckeyes, pointing out that Columbus had no professional sports
teams. “It’s pretty hard not to be an Ohio State fan
living in Columbus, Ohio.”

The game is the only matchup between two ranked teams this
weekend and will be televised nationally on ABC. For those fans
attending, plan to arrive early due to added security. The Rose
Bowl will open at 10:30 a.m., two hours prior to kickoff. Coolers
and backpacks are prohibited and everyone is subject to search.