Ohio State won’t be caught sleeping against Youngstown State

COLUMBUS - Ohio State coach Jim Tressel says one of the things the coaching staff has talked most with the football Buckeyes about this summer is managing expectations.

In an overall sense, he was talking about managing the oversized hopes the team faces with 20 returning starters from a team that was BCS national runner-up the last two seasons.

But in a more immediate sense, Ohio State has to manage expectations in its opener against huge underdog Youngstown State on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

The Penguins are the only NCAA Division I-AA team Ohio State has ever played in football and are likely to remain the only team in that category. The Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press preseason poll. OSU rolled 38-6 against YSU last season.

"The thing we've talked a lot about with our guys is managing those expectations and the only way you can manage expectations is to focus on what is going on this moment," Tressel said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. "If you don't focus on the moment, you're not going to get better. And if you don't get better, you're not going to reach your potential.

"I hope the maturity of the team, and listening to the guys talk to the younger guys about what needs to be done, and that anxiousness I feel our guys have about wanting to get better, that hopefully will allow us every ball game to stare right at that game and say, ‘Hey, here's what needs to be done,' " he said.

However, the Ohio State coach dropped one hint that if the Buckeyes play up to their potential, they should be in control of the game.

Asked how he plans to use his quarterbacks - starter Todd Boeckman and backups Joe Bauserman and Terrelle Pryor - he said, "The perfect scenario for me would be for all of them to get into the game in the first half."

Youngstown State was 7-4 last season and is ranked No. 12 in the preseason in NCAA Division I-AA.

Ohio State added Youngstown State to its schedule when the NCAA expanded the regular-season schedule to 12 games several years ago. Having their ex-coach and athletic director, Tressel, as Ohio State's coach didn't hurt their cause either.

Tressel says it could be a while before a I-AA team returns to Ohio State's schedule.

"It could happen. I don't think we have one on the schedule for the next four or five years. If you recall when the legislation for a 12th game passed, there was a mad dash for scheduling," he said. "There was a huge inventory gap for teams looking for games."

Senior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, one of Ohio State's four captains, says the Buckeyes aren't looking past Youngstown State.

"I enjoy every game. Anytime you get a chance to play somebody else besides your teammates, it's fun. Competition is competition," he said.

"Somebody told me the hardest thing to do is beat somebody you're supposed to beat. It doesn't matter who they put in the stadium, we're just ready to play."

NOTES:

INJURY UPDATES: Backup offensive lineman Kyle Mitchum is the only player definitely out of the opener because of injuries.

Sophomore tailback Brandon Saine is "95 to 100 percent" after being bothered by a sore hamstring during much of preseason practice, Tressel said.

"The trainers said today (Tuesday) that he was like 95 to 100 percent. He made a nice play on Monday and showed the explosion that we all enjoy seeing him have."

Defensive tackle Doug Worthington, who was arrested and charged with drunk driving earlier this summer, probably will play at some point against YSU.

"Doug will be suited up and ready to go. Exactly when he'll get his car keys back in the course of the game, I don't know," Tressel said. "But it won't be at the beginning of the game."

FRESHMEN WHO MIGHT PLAY: Tressel says there is a better than 50-50 chance these freshmen might play on Saturday: Pryor, wide receivers Devier Posey and Lamaar Thomas, offensive linemen Mike Brewster, Mike Adams and J.B. Shugarts, linebacker Etienne Sabino and defensive lineman Keith Wells.

AND THE STARTING FULLBACK IS: After it was assumed for much of the preseason that linebacker Curtis Terry would be moved to fullback, former tight end Brandon Smith will start the opener there. Ryan Luken will be the backup.

Terry is now listed as the No. 3 defensive end behind Lawrence Wilson and Thaddeus Gibson.