COLUMBUS, Ohio – Randy Walker said it was a concern, but defensive line coach Jack Glowik disagreed. Going into last Saturday night, the Cats’ defensive front was a little green up the middle, with freshman Colby Clark and sophomore Matt Anderson backed up at defensive tackle by freshman Thomas Derricks and sophomore Ben Kennedy.
The youngsters performed well enough on Sept. 29 against Michigan State to give Glowik total confidence that they could repeat the show against Ohio State. But the Buckeyes proved to be a much greater challenge.
Ohio State running backs Jonathan Wells, Sammy Maldonado and Lydell Ross punched holes through NU’s line all night, combining for 273 rushing yards. Anderson, Derricks and Clark combined for only seven tackles.
These line gaps caused trouble for the Cats’ defensive backs and secondary all night long Safeties Jarvis Adams, Sean Wieber and Mark Roush teamed up for 17 tackles, and each of NU’s starting linebackers finished with double-digit tackle totals.
Linebacker Pat Durr said he and the other backers struggled to fill the openings behind the line. But Durr offered hope that the team would correct the mistakes at practice this week.
“We’ll get it fixed — trust me,” he said.
THREE’S A CROWD: Wells victimized the NU defense for three touchdowns and 179 yards — a career high. But an even more impressive stat was that Wells was never brought down behind the line of scrimmage.
Wells opened the game with a 71-yard touchdown run and only slowed down when Ohio State coach Jim Tressel replaced him one of his other running backs. Alternating drives, the sophomore Maldonado and the true freshman Ross both saw considerable action in the ground game.
The backup duo — Maldonado isn’t even listed in Ohio State’s two-deep — combined for more yards than NU starter Damien Anderson. Ross also equaled Anderson’s one-touchdown contribution.
“It was good to see Jonathan Wells come out of the gate like that,” Tressel said. “A lot of people were saying Lydell has emerged and Jonathan was going to be old news. I think he showed all of us he is not old news. He’s a good player and it’s good to have a one-two punch like that.”
A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE: NU punter J.J. Standring had another strong game, launching six punts for a total of 253 yards.
His performance, along with that of redshirt freshman Noah Herron, made NU’s special teams one of the few positives in the disappointing loss. Herron, who isn’t listed on the team depth chart, returned three kickoffs for 44 yards.
PAT ON THE BACK: Durr spoke plainly and directly after the game. He said that this was no way for a Big Ten team to play. He said Ohio State played a much more physical game. He said there was a lot his team could have done to play better.
Not himself, though.
Durr didn’t say it, but he played as well against Ohio State as he’s played all season. Although his 10 tackles still put him behind fellow linebackers Billy Silva (15) and Kevin Bentley (12), his performance led NU’s defense.
After the game, Walker said his team “wasn’t in the right place” to play, but Durr got off to a great start. With two minutes to play in the first quarter and the game tied at 7, Durr sacked Buckeyes quarterback Steve Bellisari on 3rd-and-10 for a 9-yard loss — forcing an Ohio State punt.
But that was the Cats’ only sack of the game.
INCHES TO GO: NU hasn’t defeated Ohio State in 31 years, the longest such stretch against a Big Ten team in school history. … Damien Anderson’s first-quarter touchdown tied Darnell Autry’s school record for career rushing touchdowns at 35. … The loss was NU’s worst in the Big Ten since Michigan State downed the Cats 34-0 in November 1999.
