COLUMBUS - Craig Krenzel led Ohio State to a win over rival Michigan last November in his first collegiate start. Now that the job is his - replacing the departed and much-maligned Steve Bellisari - he will be judged by different criteria as the 13th-ranked Buckeyes prepare for their season-opener Saturday against Texas Tech in the Pigskin Classic.

        “The last three years, we've had the talent to get the job done, and there's been a bunch of different games for a lot of different reasons that sometimes the job just didn't get done,” Krenzel said.

        When things don't get done at Ohio State, the onus is almost always put on the starting quarterback. For the past three years, that was Steve Bellisari - derisively booed for much of his career.

        “Steve was a competitor. He tried to make a play every play,” said Krenzel, a junior. “You can't fault him for that. That was the type of person he is. For as many times as people claim that it hurt us, he made some great plays that helped us. It's a different style of quarterbacking.”

        Even when Bellisari had bad days, Krenzel and fellow backup Scott McMullen were seldom trusted by the coaching staff to take over the offense.

        McMullen got the call in the pivotal game against Illinois last year, but that was only because Bellisari had been arrested for drunken driving 36 hours before the kickoff. OSU coach Jim Tressel handed Bellisari an “indefinite suspension” that ended up lasting only 72 hours. Bellisari was reinstated on Monday in the wake of the Buckeyes' 34-22 loss to the Illini in which McMullen and Krenzel combined to complete 15-of-36 passes with two interceptions.

        Krenzel started the next week against Michigan and completed 11-of-18 passes for 118 yards with one interception. The Buckeyes relied on big running back Jonathan Wells, so Krenzel was asked to hand off and get out of the way. On the rare occasions when he had to pass, he kept it simple, threw a lot of dump passes and avoided mistakes. The result was an impressive 26-20 victory.

        Tressel said Krenzel did a “great job of knowing what needed to be done. Above all else, he had a clear picture of "Here's what I need to do for our team to have a chance to win.”'

        Krenzel believes he's ready to be the starter.

        “The kind of quarterback who goes out and makes the smart play, the majority of time he can kind of mold himself into any offense,” he said.

        Asked if that description fits him, Krenzel forced a smile and said, “I think so.”

        OSU CAPTAINS: Senior safeties Mike Doss and Donnie Nickey have been selected by their teammates as captains for the season.

        An offensive captain will be chosen on a game-to-game basis, Tressel said. Krenzel will fill that Saturday against Texas Tech.

        Doss is a two-time All-America strong safety, while Nickey is a free safety.

Sports Stories

Sheehan makes U.S. gymnastics team Bucher sets sights on Olympics Krenzel's turn to lead Buckeyes Priestly in stable condition Tiger's slam bid magical

Astros 7, Reds 5
Reds Box, Runs
Fernandez sent back to Triple-A
Reds Notebook: Griffey contributes any way he can
Cardinals 7, Pirates 2
Baseball labor talks move slowly
Columbus 10, Louisville 9
Bengals' QB plot thickens
Jones may start Saturday
McMullen among Bengals cuts
Bengals Notebook: Johnson achieves first
NFL Notebook: Adams signs with Raiders
49ers 12, Broncos 7
UC announces basketball schedule
High School Results
PETA denounces Massillon tiger