Huskies, Bucke Well Rested Top 25 Matchup Pits Ohio State And Washington At Ohio Stadium

Twenty days will have passed between Ohio State’s 38-6 victory over Boston College in the Kickoff Classic and Saturday’s home opener against 18th-ranked Washington.

It’s been a long wait, but it could have seemed longer.

“I shudder to think what it would have been like around here the last three weeks had we not gone up there and played well,” Ohio State coach John Cooper said Tuesday.

Rare is it for a team to have two, let alone three weeks off during a football season. Cooper is convinced the Buckeyes will not be stale.

“Hopefully, we’re a better team now than when we played Boston College because we’ve had an extra 12 or 15 practices,” Cooper said. “But we shouldn’t say, ‘Oh, we’re not going to be sharp this week’ or ‘We’re going to be stale.”’

Washington coach Jim Lambright was uncertain how a college team would react to such a long wait.

“I know I appreciate having two weeks to prepare for a team like Ohio State,” he said by conference call. “I’ve never been through a three-week preparation, so I’m not real sure how I would adjust to that.”

Cooper said one of the biggest problems his team encountered during the layoff was finding things to do. He said even though school is not in session, players are allowed to devote only four hours a day to football.

“It’s been a long three weeks,” Cooper said. “There’s not a whole lot going on here in Columbus if you’re not playing football.”

The Buckeyes don’t want to waste too much time recalling last year’s game with Washington. Barely 21 minutes elapsed off the game clock before they were on the wrong end of a 22-0 score. They never recovered, losing 25-16.

“Last year, if you remember, they jumped us early,” Cooper said. “(Napoleon) Kaufman made a great run early for a touchdown, then they got an onside kick and scored again. We had a turnover and they scored the first play after. All of a sudden, you look up and we’re playing catch-up.”

Cooper said the Husky Stadium crowd was a major reason. Cooper has played at Washington many times as an assistant at Oregon State and UCLA and as head coach at Arizona State and Ohio State.

“It’s the loudest place and the most intimidating place I’ve ever taken a football team,” he said.

A capacity crowd of around 95,000 fans is expected at Ohio Stadium for the nationally televised game. Cooper expects the Ohio State fans to be just as loud and just as intimidating as Washington’s fans.

Both teams are 1-0 this season. Washington knocked off Pac-10 Conference opponent Arizona State 23-20 in its first game.

The Huskies will be without starting center Lynn Johnson, who broke a bone at the base of his right hand against Arizona State. Trevor Highfield will shift from weak-side guard to center. Patrick Kesi will move to the weak side and redshirt freshman Benji Olson will move in for Kesi.

Speaking on a conference call, Washington quarterback Damon Huard said, “Obviously it hurts us, but fortunately for us, the deepest positions on our team are probably on the offensive line.”

Washington will regain strong safety Tony Parrish, who missed the opener with a knee injury.