Terry Pluto Feels Vinny's Pain

In his Beacon Jourrnal column this morning, Terry Pluto scratches his head over the inept performance of the Buckeyes' offense. While Vinny focuses on the absence of a running game, Pluto points out what is, to me, an even more troubling fact--the offense's complete inability to get the ball to the Bucks' most explosive player, Ted Ginn, Jr.

Jim Tressel's made his decision to go with Troy Smith at QB, and based upon what I've seen, I think that's probably right. So, I'm with Terry Pluto: why are they running an offense designed to suit Justin Zwick's skills?

I'm a Notre Dame fan, so I've seen this problem before. Lou Holtz recruited top passing prospects like Rick Mirer and Ron Powlus, and tried to fit them into the option offense that he preferred. It worked out better for Mirer than for Powlus, but it still involved fitting a square peg into a round hole. Holtz and the Irish would have been better off seeking the next Tony Rice, not the next Joe Montana.