Football Buckeyes Host UCLA Bruins – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/6/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 6, 1999
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OHIO STATE IN UNFAMILIAR POSITION
The Ohio State University Buckeyes, in the unfamiliar position of having to rebound from a season-opening loss, host the UCLA Bruins in their season-opening game at venerable Ohio Stadium Saturday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. A sold-out crowd of approximately 94,000 fans will be on hand to see the Buckeyes regroup from its first season-opening loss in 12 years…that coming Aug. 29 in the Kickoff Classic to Miami, 23-12. The Bruins opened their season Sept. 4 with a 38-7 win over Boise State. ABC Sports will televise the game to a split national audience with Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Lynn Swann calling the action.
RADIO COVERAGE
The game will be broadcast around Ohio on the 71-station Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Sports Network with Sports Radio 1460 (AM) The Fan the flagship station. Calling the action and in his second year as play-by-play announcer is Paul Keels. He is assisted in the broadcast booth by third-year analyst Jim Lachey. Jim Karsatos, in his 11th season on the broadcasts, will provide additional commentary.
OHIO STADIUM & HOME OPENERS
Ohio State has won 20-consecutive Ohio Stadium opening games and it has an all-time home opener record of 96-9-4 through 109 years of action. The Buckeyes have not lost a home opener since a 19-0 loss to Penn State in 1978. Ohio State has an all-time Ohio Stadium record of 321-95-30. The 1999 season marks the 78th year that the Buckeyes call grand Ohio Stadium, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, home.
FOURTH NIGHT GAME IN OHIO STADIUM
The game will be only the fourth night game in Ohio Stadium history. In 1985 OSU defeated Pitt, 10-7, in the first night game at Ohio Stadium. In 1993 the Buckeyes defeated Washington, 21-12, and in 1997 Ohio State defeated Wyoming, 24-10, in the Eddie Robinson Classic played at Ohio Stadium.
OSU’S ANNUAL HALL OF FAME GAME
Ohio State’s respective men’s and women’s Varsity O Alumni Associations will induct a total of 14 former Buckeyes into the OSU Sports Hall of Fame Friday. The 1999 class, which will be honored at halftime of the UCLA game, includes: track and field athlete Mark Croghan (1988-91), baseball’s Mike Durant (1989-91), swimmers Holly Humphrey Eastman (1990-94) and William Neunzig (1937-38), football standouts Jim Lachey (1981-84), Marcus Marek (1979-82) and Frank “Moose” Machinsky (1954-56), diver Thomas Gompf (1959-61), rifle standouts George Martin (1947-50) and Robin Wilkie McCall (1990-93), softball player Shauna Bowman Miller (1988-91), volleyball star Holly O’Leary Overmyer (1987-90), field hockey coach Harriet Reynolds (1973-86) and basketball star Herb Williams (1978-81).
THE RENOVATION: LITTLE NOTICEABLE CHANGE
Ohio Stadium is in the midst of a four-year, $157 million renovation that will improve aisle widths, seating for the disabled, restroom and food service spaces and escalator and elevator services, as well as increase seating capacity to about 97,000 fans. This project, which will be completed in time for the 2001 football season, is the first extensive renovation of Ohio Stadium since it was built in 1922. This past summer construction crews removed the track that surrounded the field for 77 years and completed one of the most crucial aspects of the project: the building of a slurry wall of impermeable concrete around the field, two-to-three feet wide and from ground level to bedrock (approximately 40 feet). East and west side foundations also were built this summer, about 40 feet from the outer wall of the stadium, and demolition began inside of the west side. Aside from a few less parking spaces and a black-top surface over what once was the track, the stadium won’t look much different to the fans in the stands.
OSU vs. UCLA: SETTING THE STAGE
Ohio State and UCLA are meeting on the gridiron for the eighth time and for the first time since the 1980 season. The two teams have split the previous seven games, each team winning three times with one tie. Neither team has won consecutive games in this even rivalry and the points scored stands at a near even 98 points for OSU and 95 for UCLA. UCLA owns the most important win in the series, which began in 1961, a 23-10 victory in the 1976 Rose Bowl that kept the Archie Griffin, Brian Baschnagel, Tim Fox and Ken Kuhn-led Buckeyes from an undisputed national championship after steamrolling through the regular season with an 11-0 mark. Included in that perfect regular season was a 41-20 win over UCLA in Week 3 in L.A.
OSU vs. UCLA. . .
Oct. 7, 1961 – OSU 13, UCLA 10 (Cols.)
Oct. 6, 1962 – UCLA 9, OSU 7 (L.A.)
Oct. 4, 1975 – OSU 41, UCLA 20 (L.A.)
Jan. 1, 1976 – UCLA 23, OSU 10 (Pasa.)
Oct. 2, 1976 – OSU 10, UCLA 10 (Cols.)
Sept. 29, 1979 – OSU 17, UCLA 13 (L.A.)
Oct. 4, 1980 – UCLA 17, OSU 0 (Cols.)
Series Notes. . .
Ohio State and UCLA will meet Sept. 22, 2001 in a regularseason game at the Rose Bowl.
Ohio State is 1-1-1 vs. UCLA in Ohio Stadium, 2-1 in the LosAngeles Memorial Coliseum and 0-1 in the Rose Bowl.
This is John Cooper’s first game against UCLA as Ohio State coach.His Arizona State Sun Devils were 1-2 in games vs. UCLA.
This is UCLA fourth-year coach Bob Toledo’s first game coachingagainst Ohio State.
In a much more casual setting last January, Cooper and Toledocoached on opposite sides of the field in the Senior Bowl.
Ohio State is 45-22-2 all-time vs. teams from the Pacific 10Conference, including a 6-3 record by John Cooper-coached Buckeyeteams.
All-time, Cooper is 19-9-2 vs. Pac 10 teams, a record that includeshis 13-6-2 mark in his three seasons as head coach of ArizonaState.
COOPER HELPED BRUINS TO 24-5-2 MARK
John Cooper’s third collegiate coaching position, following a year as Iowa State’s freshman coach (1962) and two years as an Oregon State (1963-64) assistant coach, was with UCLA. Cooper, working under head coach Tommy Prothro whom he followed to UCLA from Oregon State in 1965, helped the Bruins to a 24-5-2 record in his three seasons as an assistant. UCLA was 8-2-1 in 1965, 9-1 in 1966 and 7-2-1 in 1967. He left UCLA following that 1966 season to become an assistant coach at Kansas under Pepper Rogers, who was UCLA’s head coach from 1971-73.
| Linebacker Na’il Diggs. |
THE BUCKEYES’ CALIFORNIA KIDS
Ohio State starts four skill-position players from the state ofCalifornia. Senior tailback Michael Wiley (Spring Valley/MonteVista H.S.) and junior linebacker Na’il Diggs (Los Angeles/Dorsey)are each in their second year as full-time starters and juniorflanker Ken-Yon Rambo (Cerritos/Long Beach Poly) and sophomorequarterback Austin Moherman (Mission Viejo/Capistrano Valley) willbe making starts number three and two, respectively, vs. theBruins. UCLA lists just one Ohio native on its alphabetical roster:sophomore walk-on fullback Matt Stanley, from Columbus and a BexleyHigh School graduate. He is in his third season with the Bruins.Last year he had a 29-yard run vs. Washington State in his onlycarry of the season.
UCLA WITHOUT SOME CALIFORNIA KIDS
The Bruins will play the game minus 11 players who were suspended for for the first two games of the season. The 11 include defensive backs Ryan Roques, Marques Anderson and Eric Whitfield, linebackers Ali Abdul-Azziz, Tony White, Ryan Nece and Robert Thomas, offensive linemen Oscar Cabrera and Jim Ghezzi and running backs Durell Price and Keith Brown.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
711-278-53 – Ohio State’s all-time record in its 110th year of intercollegiate football. Ohio State ranks seventh nationally in all-time victories.
32-5 – John Cooper’s Ohio State record vs. non-conference opponents in regular season games.
29-4 – Cooper’s Ohio State record in the month of September. His teams have a current streak of 14-consecutive September wins, dating to a 25-16 loss at Washington Sept. 10, 1994.
16 – Streak of non-conference regular season wins by Cooper’s Buckeyes snapped by the Miami Hurricanes in the Kickoff Classic.
3 – OSU assistant coaches who have some Pac 10 Conference ties. Receivers coach Chuck Stobart was offensive coordinator at Arizona in 1986 and associate head coach at USC in 1987-88. Defensive tackles coach Jim Heacock held that same position at Washington from 1983-87. And quarterbacks coach Tim Salem played quarterback for two seasons at Arizona State (1983-84) before joining John Cooper’s Sun Devil coaching staff as a graduate assistant for the 1985 and 1986 seasons.
4 – Consecutive games, covering two seasons, for the Buckeyes against an Associ ated Press Top 25 team, starting with Michigan last year and including Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl and Miami and UCLA this season.
21 & 3 – Wins that Cooper needs for 200 career and 100 at Ohio State, respectively.
5 – Consecutive home games the Buckeyes will enjoy starting with the Sept. 11 home opener against UCLA and ending Oct. 9 against Purdue.
18 STRAIGHT NON-CONFERENCE HOME WINS
Ohio State hasn’t lost a non-conference game in Ohio Stadium in nine years. The USC Trojans were the last non-conference team to win in Ohio Stadium, pinning a 35-26 loss on Ohio State Sept. 22, 1990 in a game called with 2:36 left to play as an electrical storm, complete with ground-striking lightning, hovered over the Stadium. The Buckeyes have won 18-consecutive non-conference games at home since then. OSU has won 32 of its last 33 non-conference home games dating to a 23-20 loss to Stanford in 1982.
KELLER & PLUMMER CHOSEN CAPTAINS
Fifth-year seniors and three-year starters Matt Keller and Ahmed Plummer have been chosen by their teammates as 1999 team captains. Keller has 1,125 combined rushing and receiving yards as well as an OSU fullbacks’ record 54 receptions. Plummer, a Thorpe Award candidate, has 25 career pass break-ups and 10 interceptions.
THE NEW (AND YOUNG) BUCKEYES
Ohio State may return 43 lettermen and 12 starters from last season’s 11-1 team which captured a share of the Big Ten championship and was the No. 1 team in the nation for a school record-tieing 10-consecutive weeks. But it was a youthful team that took the field two weeks ago against Miami in the Kickoff Classic. Ten new starters were in the lineup, including at quarterback (Austin Moherman), right tackle and left guard (Henry Fleming and Mike Gurr, respectively), at middle linebacker and strong safety (Jason Ott and Donnie Nickey, respectively) and at outside linebacker (Tim Cheatwood) and cornerback (Nate Clements). Receivers Reggie Germany and Ken-Yon Rambo and tight end Steve Wisniewski were each making only their second collegiate starts.
THE KICKOFF CLASSIC
The Buckeyes’ first season-opening game loss in the John Cooper era certainly wasn’t an indication of things to come. Plenty of new faces in key positions for the Buckeyes, coupled with a quick and aggressive Miami team that was starving for the national limelight that Ohio State has enjoyed under Cooper, was the foundation of the No. 12 Hurricanes’ upset over No. 9 Ohio State. Two touchdowns by the ‘Canes in the final 3:14 of the first half – one on a Kenny Kelly busted play scramble and the other on an underthrown Kelly pass that Santana Moss came back for, caught and then outraced everyone into the end zone with eight seconds in the half – provided the confidence boost that enabled Miami to capture a 23-12 win despite not scoring in the second half.
SOME MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
Ohio State started offensive series five times in Miami territory, which resulted in two scores and nine points. After Na’il Diggs leveled Kenny Kelly, forcing a fumble that Rodney Bailey returned to the UM 6, Austin Moherman hit Steve Wisniewski in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass that gave OSU a 9-7 lead. The extra point was missed. Two other starts – at the UM 41 and UM 32 – were ended on first-play fumbles. A missed field goal from 44 yards kept the score 9-7 in OSU’s favor in the second quarter. The Bucks settled for a field goal after a first-and-goal from the UM 4 late in the third quarter that closed the Miami lead to 23-12.
| Quarterback Austin Moherman. |
OFFENSIVE NOTES
Quarterback Austin Moherman played virtually the entire Miami gameat quarterback for the Buckeyes. Under a heavy pressure or the lookof heavy pressure most of the day, he completed 10-of-22 passes for107 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Neitherinterception resulted in Miami points. Steve Bellisari, in a battleall spring and fall for the QB position, entered the game on OSU’sfifth offensive series and totalled six plays on the day. Hecompleted his only pass attempt. Senior Michael Wiley and sophomoreJonathan Wells combined for 116 rushing yards from the tailbackposition. Wiley had 72 yards off nine carries with nearly all on a69-yard run. Wells carried 11 times for 44 yards before leaving thegame with a slight sprain. Reggie Germany had four receptions for56 yards to lead all receivers. Ken-Yon Rambo saw just two ballscome his way while fighting through double coverage all game. Theoffensive line started veterans Ben Gilbert (26 starts), TysonWalter (26) and Kurt Murphy (20) at right guard, left tackle andcenter, respectively. First time starters Mike Gurr (left guard)and Henry Fleming (right tackle) shared time with Tam Hopkins andLeCharles Bentley, respectively.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
It looked for a time Miami would become just the third team to score over 30 points against a Fred Pagac-coordinated OSU defense (covering 38 games) after a 23-point first half, but that was followed by a second-half shutout. The defense, led by preseason All-American Na’il Diggs (10 tackles including four tackles-for-loss and a forced fumble) made its share of big plays. Diggs’ first-quarter fumble-producing hit on Kenny Kelly was recovered by Rodney Bailey and it set up the Buckeyes’ first touchdown of 1999. Nate Clements, who led the team with nine solo tackles and 14 total tackles in his first career start, made a terrific interception that set OSU up with a first down on the Miami 28. Preseason All-American Ahmed Plummer also had an interception that set OSU up at the 50. Another sack, this time by end James Cotton, resulted in a fumble that first-time starter at middle linebacker Jason Ott (five tackles) recovered at the Miami 32. The veteran defensive line played well as a whole, with Mike Collins (six tackles), Brent Johnson (four tackles) and reserve tackle Heath Queen (four) particularly active.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Dan Stultz handled all the kicking and punting duties against Miami. He was two-for-three in field goals – making from 23 and 24 yards and missing from 44 – and he missed his only extra point attempt. He averaged 37.2 net yards on six punts in his first collegiate punting experience. He forced four fair-catches and his only punt returned was nullified by a penalty. He also had a 56-yard punt from deep in OSU territory.
| Tailback Michael Wiley. |
WILEY: 17th BUCKEYE OVER 2,000 YARDS
Michael Wiley went over 2,000 career rushing yards in the Miamigame, becoming the 17th Buckeye to accomplish the feat. His 72rushing yards boosted his career total to 2,071 yards and past JeffLogan and Cornelius Green into 15th place all-time. He has thefewest carries for an Ohio State 2,000-yard rusher: 335.
MULTIPLE TFLs
The 15 tackles-for-loss the Buckeyes recorded against Miami were one under the school record of 16 set in the win over Iowa last year. Na’il Diggs’ four for minus-14 yards led the team. Strong safety Gary Berry, who had one less solo tackle than Nate Clements’ team-high nine but who also totalled 14 tackles on the day, registered three tackles-for-loss totalling nine yards. Tackle Mike Collins and linebacker Tim Cheatwood chipped in two apiece.
DIGGS MOVES INTO 8th PLACE
Star linebacker Na’il Diggs has moved into eighth place at Ohio State with 13 career quarterback sacks. He needs just two more to pass Jim Kacherski (1989-91) and two-time academic All-American Greg Smith (1988-92), who each had 14.
BERRY’S TACKLE TOTALS IMPRESSIVE
Senior free safety Gary Berry is the first Buckeye since 1996 to record back-to-back double-digit tackle totals. He had 12 in the Sugar Bowl vs. Texas A&M and came back with a career-high 14 vs. Miami. Damon Moore, now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, was the last Buckeye to top 10 tackles consecutively, getting 11 against Penn State and 19 vs. Wisconsin in 1996.
SOME YOUNG GROWLERS
John Cooper likes to play true freshman, subscribing to the theory that “if a dog will bite he’ll bite as a pup.” True freshmen who saw action against Miami included Fred Pagac at middle linebacker, cornerback Kelton Lindsay on special teams and strong safety Michael Doss on special teams. Expect outside linebacker Matt Wilhelm to see his first game action this week.
EARLY HONORS CANDIDATES
Ohio State, which has had players win 23 major athletic awards and 17 win National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholarships – the most of any school – has at least three more players who will be in the running for such honors in 1999. Junior linebacker Na’il Diggs, a preseason All-American, is on the initial “watch list” for the Butkus Award. Senior tailback Michael Wiley, coming off a 1,235-yard rushing year in his first year as a starter, is a Doak Walker Running Back Award nominee. And senior cornerback Ahmed Plummer, another preseason All-American and called the best cover cornerback in the country by OSU secondary coach Jon Tenuta, will be a legitimate threat to win the Thorpe Award. He also will be Ohio State’s nominee for a National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholarship. Free safety Gary Berry is on many preseason publication lists as one of college football’s top free safeties in 1999.
LOTS TO REPLACE FROM 1998
The 1999 Buckeyes will be chasing a fifth-consecutive 10-win-or-more season and the sixth in the last seven years. This year the Buckeyes are replacing 10 starters from last year, including seven who were selected in the 1999 NFL Draft. Included in the group are four All-Americans – CB Antoine Winfield, SS Damon Moore, SE David Boston and LG Rob Murphy – record-setting quarterback Joe Germaine, flanker Dee Miller, who had 132 career receptions, 1997 Butkus Award winner Andy Katzenmoyer and punter Brent Bartholomew.
SCARLET & GRAY NOTES. . .
Expect sophomore outside linebacker Courtland Bullard to start against UCLA. This will mark Bullard’s first legitimate game action since the 1997 season, when he played in all 13 games as a true freshman special teamer. He received a medical red-shirt. . .The 23 points allowed to Miami represented the most points allowed by Ohio State in a season-opening game since SMU scored 32 in the 1950 season opener. . .The turnover/takeaway story in the Kickoff Classic was even at four apiece. OSU converted its four takeaways into nine points while Miami converted its into seven points. . .Michael Wiley’s 69-yard rush was his sixth rush of over 40 yards and the 20th of 20 or more yards for his career. He has a long rush of 76 yards set last year vs. Toledo. . .One wouldn’t have read it in the box score, but a key play was registered by junior nickel back David Mitchell, who recovered a teammate’s fumbled punt and allowed OSU to resume possession on the Miami 41. . .junior Rodney Bailey’s sack against Miami was the 10th of his career and the 16th tackle-for-loss. . .Nate Clements nearly topped his true freshman numbers of 1998 in his first game as a starter with 14 tackles and an interception vs. Miami. He had 19 tackles and one interception last year. . .Sophomore defensive tackles Mike Collins (six) and Heath Queen (four) each recorded career highs in tackles vs. the ‘Canes.
ABOUT UCLA
UCLA is cradled in rolling green hills just five miles from the Pacific Ocean. It is the only campus among the nation’s top 10 research universities established in the 20th century. UCLA has produced some of the finest athletes of this century including baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, NFL star Troy Aikman, six-time NBA MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Olympic champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee. UCLA’s original nickname was the Cubs because of the school’s younger status compared to the California-Berkeley Bears. The name was eventually changed to Grizzlies, but because of a conference rival with the same nickname, Bruins was offically adopted in 1928.
THE NO. 17 BRUINS
Armed with 15 starters returning from last year’s 10-2 Pac-10 championship team, UCLA invades Ohio Stadium for the first time in 19 years. The Bruins defeated Boise State University, 38-7, last Saturday in their season opener. Two quarterbacks – Cory Paus and Drew Bennett – combined to complete 20-of-34 passes for 248 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in the game. A 21-point second quarter broke open a 7-0 game at the end of one quarter.
| Biletnikoff candidate Danny Farmer. |
UCLA OFFENSIVE PREVIEW
The Bruins return six starters on offense – including their topthree running backs and wide receivers – but will attempt torecover from the loss of star quarterback and NFL draft pick CadeMcNown. Junior Drew Bennett, who served as McNown’s primary backupin 1998, won the quarterback job over four other candidates in fallpractice. Known for his shear athleticism, Bennett earned ascholarship after coming to UCLA as a walk-on. He attempted onlyfive passes last year, completing three of them. The Bruins have along list of tailbacks to choose from, headlined by junior JermaineLewis, a tough inside runner, and senior Keith Brown. PreseasonAll-American and Biletnikoff candidate Danny Farmer is the star ofa talented receiving corps. Another UCLA starter that joined theteam as a walk-on, Farmer set a school record with 1,274 yards in1998. An injured ankle, however, sidelineed Farmer for the BoiseState game.
UCLA DEFENSIVE PREVIEW
Eight returning starters anchor the UCLA defense, which this season switched to a 4-3 alignment after playing in a 3-4 formation in 1998. Outside linebacker Ryan Nece, a Freshman All-American last year, returns after ranking second on the team with 85 tackles. The Bruin coaching staff has noted its desire to increase presure on opposing quarterbacks this season, and will look at junior defensive end Kenyon Coleman (4.5 sacks in 1998) to lead that charge. Bob Field is in his first year as the Bruins’ defensive coordinator.
UCLA HEAD COACH BOB TOLEDO
After leading UCLA to a final No. 8 ranking in last year’s polls, Toledo was a finalist for three National Coach of the Year Awards in 1998. He has amassed an impressive 26-10 record at UCLA, and his .714 winning percentage is the second highest in school history.
-GO BUCKS!-
