Confidence Back at Ohio State – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/16/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
November 16, 1998
By CHUCK SCHOFFNER
AP Sports Writer
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Once he decides to talk, Ohio State coach John Cooper no doubt will have a lot of say about Saturday’s game with Michigan. His players will too.
But Cooper didn’t feel the pink-walled visitor’s dressing room at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium was the time or place to start discussing the Wolverines, who have been the cause of so much Ohio State heartbreak over the years.
So Cooper, who’s 1-8-1 against Michigan, kept quiet on the subject and ordered his players to do the same. All Cooper would volunteer was that Michigan is much better now than it was at the beginning of the season and “it will be another classic ball game.”
The seventh-ranked Buckeyes had plenty to say, though, about the 45-14 thumping they laid on Iowa, a victory that restored the confidence that had been shattered by their 28-24 loss to Michigan State.
“It was a chance for us to come back and redeem ourselves,” quarterback Joe Germaine said. “We were let down after the Michigan State game. We wanted to play as soon as we could to get back on the winning ways.”
Germaine had a lot to do with making that happen. He topped 300 yards passing for a school-record sixth time this season, finishing 18-of-30 for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
The offense cranked out 627 total yards, the most by Ohio State since getting 639 against Northwestern in 1981, and the defense held Iowa to 180 yards while recording 11 sacks.
“We did have a slow start, but for the most part, we played a great game,” Germaine said. “We had over 600 yards of offense and whenever you do that, you’re doing something right.
“If we can keep the ball rolling and keep that snowball getting bigger and bigger, then we’ll be fine,” he said.
The Buckeyes (9-1 overall, 6-1 Big Ten) certainly looked OK to Iowa coach Hayden Fry, whose team will limp into it season finale at Minnesota with a four-game losing streak. “On defense, they just wore us out,” Fry said. “Big play after big play. We knew it would be tough after they were upset last week. There was no reason for them losing other than a couple of trick plays that gave Michigan State the advantage.”
Iowa (3-7, 2-5) did have Ohio State reeling momentarily. Freshman cornerback D.J. Johnson returned an interception 73 yards to the Ohio State 11, quarterback Scott Mullen scored on the next play and Iowa led 7-0 with 8:32 left in the first quarter.
But on the very next play, Ohio State’s Joe Montgomery sprinted 80 yards for a touchdown and the Buckeyes dominated from then on.
“That was a big play,” Cooper said. “They had the momentum there. It was important for us to come back and not only get momentum, but sort of take their crowd out of the game.”
Germaine threw touchdown passes of 54 and 17 yards to David Boston and 16 yards to Matt Keller. Boston, a no-show in the interview room, caught five passes for 163 yards and became Ohio State’s career leader with 170 receptions, two more than Cris Carter had from 1984-86.
“David Boston had a great ball game,” Cooper said. “I thought it was the best ball game I’ve seen him play. He did a great job of catching the ball, particularly the long passes.”
The game brought more misery for Iowa, which needs to beat Minnesota to avoid the worst record in Fry’s 20 seasons. The Hawkeyes lost starting quarterback Scott Mullen to a broken collarbone early in the second quarter and had to go with freshman Kyle McCann, who had been sidelined by a sprained ankle and wasn’t even supposed to play.
So what would the Hawkeyes do if something happened to McCann?
“We may have to go to the single wing,” Fry joked. “Mullen could play. He’s the only guy with one wing.”
