Ohio State notebook: Laurinaitis sits out second half with hip injury
Buckeyes leading tackler James Laurinaitis was not feeling too comfortable during the first half of Saturday's game against Kent State.
But with his team comfortably ahead at halftime, there was no reason for Ohio State to rush the junior linebacker back in the game. Taking risks sometimes leads to unwelcome consequences.
Laurinaitis sat out the second half of Ohio State's 48-3 win over the Golden Flashes with a hip injury. The decision to keep him out was easy. Five Big Ten games remain, and all are practically must-wins if the Buckeyes hope to regain the title outright and return to the national championship game.
"I wanted to be smart and realize these next five games are going to be a lot bigger than this one was," Laurinaitis said.
Laurinaitis said he got kicked in the hip during the first half and that he started to get stiff. Co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell talked with the trainers and made the decision to keep Laurinaitis out.
The injury is not serious, although Head Coach Jim Tressel jokingly asked Laurinaitis during the postgame news conference if he will be ready for the banquet in December.
"I'll be ready for practice on Tuesday," Laurinaitis responded.
Starting free safety Anderson Russell also did not play in the second half. Tressel believed Russell rolled the same ankle that has been bothering him recently.
SO CLOSE The Buckeyes were close to posting their first shutout of the season Saturday. A short punt set up a short field for the Flashes and led to a 34-yard field goal by Kent State's Nate Reed with 2:36 left. "It's frustrating. I'm not going to lie to you. You get a little letdown when you see points go up like that," Laurinaitis said. "But we have to just keep striving for perfection. We haven't got that goose egg up there yet, and we're trying to accomplish that." The Buckeyes have given up a touchdown or less in six of their seven wins.
WHAT A SETTING Even though it was a long afternoon for the Flashes, they enjoyed the experience of playing at Ohio Stadium. "If you come out and you're not pumped, then you are not ready to play college football," running back Eugene Jarvis said. "Our adrenaline was pumping, and we were ready to play. It's what college football is all about." Defensive tackle Colin Ferrell echoed Jarvis' view about the environment. "I don't know how many thousands were here, but it is every kid's dream to play college football in an environment like this," Ferrell said.
DE JA VU Buckeyes starting quarterback Todd Boeckman completed 13-of-16 passes (81 percent) for 184 yards and two touchdowns - all in the first half. Craig Krenzel was the last Ohio State quarterback with a minimum of 10 attempts to have a completion percentage of at least 80 percent. He did it in the Buckeyes' 51-17 win over Kent State in 2002.
NOTABLE Kent State rushed for 161 yards, the most by an Ohio State opponent this season. But the Buckeyes held the Flashes to a season-low six pass completions. ... Donald Washington's interception return for a touchdown was the first for a Buckeye since Brandon Mitchell had one at Northwestern last November. ... Ohio State improved to 174-48-15 all-time against in-state opponents. The Buckeyes have not lost to an Ohio team since 1926, when they were beaten by Oberlin, 7-6. They have played at least team from Ohio each year since 1997.
UP NEXT The Buckeyes host Michigan State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC). The Flashes return home to play Bowling Green at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Reach Repository sports writer Mike Popovich at (330) 580-8341 or e-mail: mike.popovich@cantonrep.com