Herd ready to handle the Horseshoe

 A new era begins tonight for Marshall University football.

The Thundering Herd travels to Columbus for a 7:30 p.m. contest against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Playing the team well known for head coach Jim Tressel's sweater vests, regular home crowds of more than 100,000 at Ohio Stadium and seven national championships will give first-year head coach Doc Holliday a better idea of where the Thundering Herd stands coming out of the gate.

"Ohio State without a doubt will probably be the most talented team we play all year," he said. "My goal as a head coach is to just get those guys going into that game playing as hard as they can play."

The Buckeyes are coming off a 11-2 season that ended with their fifth consecutive Big Ten Championship and a 26-17 victory over Oregon at the 2010 Rose Bowl. Ohio State edged Marshall in the only other meeting between the two teams in 2004 when the Buckeyes' All-American kicker Mike Nugent split the uprights from 55 yards out to clench a 24-21 victory over the Herd.

Holliday has coached against Tressel five times. Although they have met before, there are several uncertainties about tonight's contest.

"I've known Doc Holliday for a long time," Tressel said in the weekly Ohio State press conference. "He's been in the business and been at some very good programs for many, many years. We don't know exactly what they're going to do. We have to make sure we're ready for anything and expect the unexpected. I know this from a personnel standpoint — they are much better than they were in 2004."

Though none of the members of the 2010 Thundering Herd were around for the 2004 game, they heard about it from former head coach Bob Pruett, who visited them recently. Regardless of what happened six years ago, focusing on the present is more important.

"We can't live in the past," said Mario Harvey, Marshall's senior middle linebacker and preseason All-C-USA selection. "We've got to seize the opportunity right now and face the task."

A vital part of facing that task is finding a way to contain Ohio State's quarterback, Terrelle Pryor. The 6-foot-6 inch junior is a Heisman Trophy candidate with a record of 19-3 as a starter for the Buckeyes. He was named Most Valuable Player of the 2010 Rose Bowl and poses a threat to opponents in both rushing and passing.

"He creates a major issue for you when he gets out of pocket," Holliday said. "He gets out on the perimeter and takes off. When he takes off, he can beat you with his feet. He's not only going to create a big challenge for us but for every team he plays this year."

Pryor rushed for 1,410 yards in his first two seasons for the Buckeyes, the sixth best by an FBS quarterback during that span. For Holliday, mixing up the defensive looks to be the best way to combat an athlete of Pryor's caliber.

"I'm not sure you can totally contain him," he said. "If you blitz him, you better get him. The trouble with Terrelle Pryor is it's hard to get him on the ground. He's so big and physical and strong."

Holliday, who was associate head coach and safeties coach at the University of Florida from 2005 to 2007, compared Pryor's physical strength to that of a player he is quite familiar with, Heisman Trophy winner and Denver Broncos quarterback, Tim Tebow.

"Tebow does what Terrelle does," he said. "It's hard to get him down in the open field and he throws the ball well enough to beat you with his feet and his arms. Are they similar? Probably in some ways as far as your physical skills, without question."

Pryor and the entire Buckeye offense are among the best in the nation. Senior wide receiver and captain Dane Sanzenbacher had 36 catches and 570 yards in 2009. Fellow captain and senior running back Brandon Saine has 1,071 career rushing yards.

Ohio State's defense is also very strong, holding 52 opponents to 21 points or fewer since the beginning of the 2005 season. Senior linebacker and captain Ross Homan led the Buckeyes with 108 tackles in 2009. Fellow senior and captain Cameron Heyward has 24.5 career tackles for loss and 12 sacks.

Despite the accolades of the Buckeyes, the Marshall offensive line has been well prepared and knows what to expect, said senior tight end Lee Smith.

"Our coaches did a great job scouting Ohio State," Smith said. "They know the ins and outs of their defense. They put us in a situation that we're going to see."

Something the Herd cannot quite imitate, however, is the atmosphere of the Horseshoe. Last year, a crowd of 105,092 fans filled the stands in Ohio State's season opener with Navy, a game decided in the final three minutes. Ohio State boasts an overall home record of 391-107 and has not lost a home opener since 1978. The intensity of such a crowd only makes Harvey more excited than nervous.

"It's not the first big stadium I've been in," he said. "I'm just going to shake the (OSU) captain's hand and play."

Marlowe Hereford can be contacted at hereford4@marshall.edu.