COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Up above, banners...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Up above, banners commemorating the scarlet- and-gray sprites of Heisman trophies past for Ohio State football framed the vista -- No. 22 Horvath, No. 31 Janowicz, No. 40 Cassady, No. 45 Griffin, No. 27 George.

Down below, Garrett Wolfe stood alone. It will be the last time he stands alone at Ohio Stadium this weekend.

The hour was late Friday afternoon. forward the west sideline of the mammoth football yard, Wolfe's Northern Illinois teammates -- all crisply attired in suits and sportcoats -- mingled with Huskies staff, booster and assorted drop-ins. It was the tail close of the team's walk-around in anticipation of its game today against the No. 1 Buckeye

Wolfe stood upon the east sideline. His suitcoat was not on and his iPod earplugs were upon No one was within 60 yards of him.

"Garrett's probably visualizing what he's going to do here tomorrow," a teammate said.

The NIU faithful can merely hope. It will be the superstar tailback along with unflappable quarterback Phil Horvath who will guide the decrease and flow of the Huskies as they tackle the greatest challenge in their program's history. No turnovers and a big play or pair from wide receiver Britt Davis won't wound either.

"Well, I was the united dumb enough to schedule this game, in the same manner here we are," Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak jok

"Our veterans have played in reproachs like this before, so they know what to expect" Novak said. "It's the younger kids who we'll have to descry about. I know this a great deal -- we're not going to be intimidated."

There is to a great degree to be intimidated about. Despite the los of nine starters from a defense that lock openered a 34-20 victory against Notre Dame in the Fiesta depression last January, Jim Tressel has the nucleus of undivided of the most potent offense in his program's history. And he is 14-1 v nonconference foemans at "The Horseshoe" since taking across from John Cooper in 2001

The core of that nucleus is quarterback Troy Smith. The slithery Cleveland native passed for 2282 yards last season, threw for 611 more and might add the seventh Heisman to that Ohio Stadium rim (Griffin won two) before his senior year is throughout

"We must contain Troy Smith," Novak said. "We must preserve him in the pocket."

Extending the heat forward NIU defenders will be a crack corps of Buckeye skill players including wideouts T Ginn Jr and Anthony Gonzalez plus running backs Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells. While Pittman rushed for 1331 yards last season, OSU running backs coach Dick Tressel -- Jim's older brother -- has referr to the 6-1 225- levigate freshman Wells as "a young Jim Brown"

pair Huskies on the spot are redshirt freshman Eddie Adamski and middle linebacker Tim McCarthy. Adamski -- from Carmel in Mundelein - - will be making his first start amid the roars of the 102,329-seat stadium. McCarthy will be called on to stoke the poise and focus of an evolving NIU defense notorious for ill-timed breakdowns last season.

jodonnell@suntimes.com

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