Cooper cautious regarding hype

By Mark Francescutti

Daily Sports Editor

Let's face it, John Cooper still wants to beat Michigan - badly.

But after recovering from a dismal 6-6 season in 1999, Cooper seems to feel more at ease with his team's standing and the prospects of his Buckeyes in Saturday's game against Michigan.

"I hope I'm not too relaxed, and I know I'm not," Cooper said. "But I've come to know that the team that plays the best that day wins the game - not the team that talks the most, hypes the game the most."

Cooper may not hype up one of the greatest rivalries in college football, but his nine losses in 12 tries against the Wolverines are haunting blemishes on the 63-year old coach.

This season, Cooper can relish the fact that his team is right up there with the Wolverines. After last season's dropoff into the bowlless realm at 6-6, the Buckeyes are 8-2 overall, and 5-2 in the conference. Ohio State rests in a four-way tie with Purdue, Northwestern and Michigan. The Buckeyes need only a Purdue loss and a win over the Wolverines to earn a Rose Bowl bid.

Most oddsmakers agree the Buckeyes are back as well, posting Ohio State as a three-point favorite, the usual three points of insurance given to a home team in a pick-em game. That's much higher than last year when Michigan was favored by 12 or 13 and won 24-17.

Cooper is playing his cards, if anything, cautiously. Cooper said that running back Derek Combs and wide receivers Ken-Yon Rambo and Reggie Germany all are questionable for the Michigan game after suffering leg injuries in a 24-21 win at Illinois.

"I cannot honestly tell you today on Monday if these guys will play," Cooper told reporters. "However, from the injury report I got, I think we'll be in pretty good shape."

Meanwhile, Carr doesn't seem to be taking the bait.

"That's baloney," Carr said of the injury report. "They'll all play."

Cooper nitpicked a little at Michigan's defense, which has struggled on the road, allowing 35 points a game.

"Defensively, its not a dominant defensive football team," Cooper said. "It's not the best defense they've had since I've been here but Jim Herrmann does a great job."

Cooper didn't tread too much into dissecting the Wolverines, returning to the traditional "praise the opponent" mode.

"They're the best team we play every year and that's certainly the case this year," Cooper said. "Nothing should keep you from playing your best ball game of the year against them."

BUCKEYE HONORS: Ohio State linebacker Matt Wilhelm was named co-defensive player of the week and kicker/punter Dan Stultz was named the special team's player of the week by the Big Ten on Monday. Wilhelm led Ohio State with a career-high 12 tackles and a sack in Ohio State's comeback win over Illinois.

Stultz was a perfect 4-for-4 in field goals, including the game-winning 34-yarder with time expiring. The four field goals were a career-high for Stultz who is 17-of-21 on kicks this season.

DAVID KATZ/Daily

Anthony Thomas and Michigan were able to pull out a 24-17 win last year against the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor. The road will be tougher this time, with Nate Clements and 'the Kaiser,' Matt Wilhelm, anchoring a stingy Ohio State defense.