While the Buckeyes were pushed around by Wisconsin, Michigan's spread offense is what the OSU defense is geared to handle, starting in the middle.
View full sizeBrian Rolle was a dominant defender for Ohio State against Adam Robinson and the Hawkeyes on Saturday, and he'll need to repeat that performance against Denard Robinson and Michigan's high-scoring offense. "I feel like in between the lines, I think there's very few people in the country that can run away from me," he said Monday.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Brian Rolle never played better as a Buckeye than he did last week at Iowa, and the Ohio State senior captain and Big Ten defensive player of the week picked a fine time to peak.
When 6-foot, 193-pound Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson gets moving Saturday, Ohio State's 5-11, 218-pound middle linebacker will have to be leading the chase.
"I feel like in between the lines, I think there's very few people in the country that can run away from me," Rolle said Monday.
Averaging 21 carries and 140 rushing yards per game, Robinson is unlike any other quarterback the Buckeyes have seen this season, and his role in the Rich Rodriguez spread is unlike the other Big Ten spread offenses.
"We have to slow down an offense that is doing unbelievable this season. Nobody's really slowed them down yet," Ohio State defensive lineman Dexter Larimore said. "They've just been putting points on the board, they've been running all over the place."
But the Wolverines also haven't faced a defense quite like Ohio State's, with the Buckeyes third in the nation in fewest yards allowed, third in fewest rushing yards and fifth in fewest points. While the Buckeyes were pushed around by Wisconsin in the first half of their only loss this season, and linebackers Rolle and Ross Homan were rendered ineffective, this is the type of offense this defense is now more geared to handle, starting in the middle.
"Most people look at it like that, me being a guy that plays better against spread offenses than a team like Wisconsin, where people say I was at a disadvantage," Rolle said. "But I feel that's not true, because I can play against the run just as good as I can a spread offense."
Yet Rolle went on to explain how he does fit into this game.
View full size"This week is a good game because you know (Michigan will) run zone plays where it's not straight downhill at you," said Brian Rolle, "and they're going to run [screens] and throw the ball deep so that is an advantage [with me] being able to run like I can do.""This week is a good game because you know they're going to run zone plays where it's not straight downhill at you, and they're going to run [screens] and throw the ball deep so that is an advantage [with me] being able to run like I can do," Rolle said.
And now when he runs, he's attacking. He led the Buckeyes with 10 tackles against the Hawkeyes and thought he played to a level that warranted consideration for the conference's weekly defensive award. That performance was a present to himself on his 22nd birthday.
"After the game I said to myself it feels good to know I played probably my best game ever since I've been here," Rolle said. "Everyone tells me it was because it was my birthday, but I just felt like going on the road it was needed that the seniors step up and play well and I did that. And as a captain I felt obligated to do my best and that's what I did."
"I thought he played very well," senior safety Jermale Hines said. "He was active, physical, sideline to sideline. That's what I expect from him. When he's at his best he's always attacking, he's not second guessing. He sees something and he's shooting to it."
That's not always the easiest thing for a linebacker to do when the Buckeyes are so intent on doing only their 1/11th of the defensive scheme. There needs to be aggression within parameters and the balance can be tricky. Larimore said he saw linebackers like James Laurinaitis and A.J. Hawk find it in the past.
"Those guys were good at, boom, just going and making a decision and hitting them," Larimore said. "He's definitely doing a lot better on reading his keys and shooting those gaps. Sometimes at the linebacker position you can think too much, you kind of hesitate, and I think what he's kind of turned on is just going and just really reacting.
"Early on I think he was doing that well, and then he got thinking too much, and now he's on track to just explode through those holes and make tackles."
Four years ago, Rolle, a Florida native attended the Ohio State-Michigan No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in Ohio Stadium as a recruit and it made him want to be a Buckeye. Saturday he'll play his final game in that stadium with a full understanding of it all.
"I tell my parents I feel like I'm from Ohio," Rolle said. "I feel like this is where I'm from. This is where I belong."
This team. This game. This defense. Against this offense.