Harris gets harassed into throwing 4 interceptions

Jacory Harris

Pressuring UM's Jacory Harris was a top priority. `We tried to mix things up on him sk,1.7 and disguise coverages,' OSUsk,0 linebacker Ross Homan said.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- As No. 2 Ohio State spent the week preparing for No. 12 Miami, the defense abided by one motto: as Jacory Harris goes, so go the Hurricanes.

It was no surprise, then, that Harris' four interceptions helped seal the victory for the Buckeyes. Senior linebacker Ross Homan said the goal entering the game was to get pressure on Harris to force him into making mistakes.

``I think it was our schemes,'' he said. ``We tried to mix things up on him and disguise coverages. We tried to force him into bad decisions and capitalize off of those opportunities.''

The junior quarterback twice was victimized by OSU senior cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, but the biggest turnover came with the Hurricanes deep in enemy territory. Having led his team to the OSU 9-yard line on the first drive of the second half, Harris was picked off by Buckeyes senior defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, who had dropped into coverage.

The 6-5, 288-pound lineman rumbled 80 yards before running out of gas and being brought down. When a reporter asked Heyward about his ``shifty moves''' on the return, the senior captain buried his face in his hands.

``I'm still tired,'' said Heyward, the son of former New Orleans Saints fullback Craig ``Ironhead'' Heyward. ``I should've passed it off right when I got it. I'm just happy I made the play.''

In all, the Buckeyes converted those four turnovers into 20 points. They were aided by the return of junior defensive end Nathan Williams, who missed the season opener against Marshall after sustaining a knee injury during fall camp. He did not record a tackle but had the first interception of the game. Despite the miscues, Homan said Harris was the talented athlete they had studied on film.

``He was everything and more,'' the linebacker said. ``He was a great, great quarterback -- one of the best we've faced. He did a great job of making plays when there wasn't plays to be made. Even getting out of the pocket, he still made plays. I think he was hurt out there but he still rushed through. For sure, he was the leader of their team and he was a great person to try to challenge us.''

Although the Buckeyes forced Harris into mistakes, he was able to mount a 60-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter. It was the first touchdown allowed by the OSU defense this season.

``We want to go the whole season without giving up a touchdown,'' senior linebacker Brian Rolle said. ``We're looking forward to the rest of the season and trying not to let anyone else score.''

Of Miami's 352 yards of total offense, 212 came on the final four drives of the game. In other words, it was not a masterful performance for the Buckeyes but it resulted in their desired outcome.

``We looked bad sometimes defensively, but we came out here and the win is everything,'' Homan said. ``Our whole motto is: `The win is everything.' ''