COLUMBUS - Craig Krenzel quarterbacked Ohio State to its first national championship in 34 years last season. He's 2-0 against rival Michigan and 19-2 as a starter.

Now some question if he's still the man for the job.

A slow start, an injury, a month layoff and a couple more mediocre games and all of a sudden the Buckeyes' golden boy with the high grade-point average is being assailed on call-in shows.

''That doesn't bother me at all. I've seen it happen before, not just here. It happens all over in big football towns,'' the senior said. ''You know that coming in. You know that's how people are.''

Some say Krenzel has lost his nerve because of a porous line. Others say the only reason the Buckeyes finished No. 1 last year is because Maurice Clarett drew all the attention from opposing defense, clearing the way for Krenzel's solid if unspectacular leadership.

A year ago, Krenzel completed 59.4 percent of his passes. This year, it's 54.2 percent. In 2002 he threw 12 touchdowns with seven interceptions; this year he has five of each.

Ohio State is 6-1 and ranked No. 8, despite having every starter except Clarett back from last year's offensive team.

Krenzel heads an offense that has been lethargic and out of synch. With Clarett wiped out by an NCAA suspension, Krenzel appears to be the Buckeyes' lone offensive weapon. Defensive linemen tee off on him, linebackers shadow him, cornerbacks read every blink of his eyes.

With the running backs almost totally ineffective, Krenzel has been the Buckeyes' leading rusher in two of his last three games.

An honors student in molecular genetics, Krenzel is no dummy. He recognizes what he's facing.

''The quarterback's the guy who, last year everything went well and we went 14-0 and everyone said, 'Oh, great, great!''' he said earlier this week after a practice for Saturday's game at Indiana. ''This year, the offense isn't doing so well, we drop a game and still didn't perform well last week. The first guy who's going to be blamed is the quarterback. That's just the way it goes. It comes along with the position.''

Coach Jim Tressel hasn't wavered in his support for Krenzel, even when Krenzel was just 5 of 20 passing for 76 yards in a narrow win over San Diego State. He stood by his quarterback when he had a horrible game against North Carolina State before turning things around in the three overtimes to claim a 44-38 victory.

Krenzel sustained a hyperextended elbow on his throwing arm in that game and sat out the next month. Since returning, he has completed 25 of 48 passes in two games as the offense has floundered.

Tressel didn't deny that Krenzel may be trying to force things.

''Sometimes when you're struggling and when you get frustrated and so forth, you can press a little bit,'' Tressel said of Krenzel.

His teammates seem surprised that Krenzel continues to stumble. Yet they jump to his defense.

''Everybody's comfortable with him back there,'' tight end Ben Hartsock said. ''Nobody's looking over their shoulder wishing there was somebody else throwing the ball to them. He's the general out there. He knows what he's doing and he tries to put us in the best situations and everybody on the team has confidence in him.''

Wide receiver Michael Jenkins said the offense problems are because of more than one person.

''I don't think a quarterback change would solve what's wrong with our offense,'' he said.

The Buckeyes' punchless attack has been booed at home while mustering a total of three offensive touchdowns in the last three games.

''Everybody's got an opinion. When things aren't going as well as you'd like, everybody feels the need to put the blame on somebody - especially a position that has been so important to us in the past,'' offensive lineman Alex Stepanovich said. ''They put it all on (him).''

Scott McMullen filled in admirably when Krenzel was sidelined with his injury. Tressel even tossed prime redshirt freshman Justin Zwick in during the first half of a 20-0 win over Northwestern. He also played well.

So the critics see an offense which ranks 114th out of the 117 in Division I-A and Krenzel catches all the blame.

It's a role he accepts - even as he points out that he's not the only person struggling.

''It's not one person,'' he said. ''You know, if there is one person to blame they can put it on me if they want. That's fine with me. But there's a lot of things we need to do better as an offense.''