DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — Ohio State's Vernon Gholston knows more will be required of him now that the defensive line has lost one of its stalwarts. But the junior from Detroit would be looking to carry a bigger burden even if teammate Lawrence Wilson hadn't been injured.

Gholston had just four tackles against Youngstown State, far below his lofty standards.

"Personally, I feel like I need to do a little bit more," he said. "Last week, I didn't have the kind of game I wanted or the impact I wanted. That's just growing pains — the first game of the season."

Gholston was a second-team All-Big Ten selection a year ago, and he and Wilson seemed poised to become one of the best defensive-end tandems in the nation.

But Wilson suffered a broken leg in the opener, putting him on the sidelines for perhaps the rest of the year.

"He's in great spirits," Gholston said. "I talked to him after the game. Stuff like that happens all the time in football. You just have to roll with it and handle adversity. He had his surgery and already is looking forward to coming back."

First-game fiasco

Jim Tressel's first game as OSU's coach was against Akron in 2001. The Buckeyes prevailed 28-14, but not without a few glitches.

Quarterback Steve Bellisari received a signal from the sidelines near the goal line and checked the catalog of plays on his wristband before making the call. But he didn't have an updated list.

"Our guys lined up in a formation that wasn't a formation on the wristband," Tressel said. "We were screaming and yelling, 'You're wrong, Steve. Get them moved.' ... But he had Thursday's wristband on. We didn't even have the right wristbands on our guy."

Bellisari managed to throw a touchdown pass anyway, but that problem isn't likely to happen again.

"We're further along with what we're doing," Tressel said. "Any time you take on a new situation, first and foremost, you have to figure it out. Thank goodness we had such good players that even if we had the wrong plays, they could score touchdowns."

Tidbits

• The Buckeyes haven't forced a turnover in their last three games and 13 quarters overall. Their last takeaway was an interception in the 2006 Northwestern game.

• Marcus Freeman will be the team's fourth captain this week. Butch Reynolds, OSU's speed coordinator and a former

Olympic track and field gold medalist, will be an honorary captain.

"You couldn't do this if you don't have a passion for it, or a commitment for it," Reynolds said of coaching at OSU, where he started three years ago. "It's just that tough, especially for a guy who never, never, ever had a job before. Never, ever, ever, ever. Now I've got a job. Tressel's the man!"• The Buckeyes have won 20 of their last 21 games.

• Three players tallied TDs on their first career receptions last week: fifth-year senior Trever Robinson and freshmen Dane Sanzenbacher and Taurian Washington.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.