The Buckeyes Down Michigan with Ease – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/21/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
November 21, 1998
%^$Final Stats%^$
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Everywhere John Cooper turned, he heard how his record%^$was 1-8-1 against Michigan.%^$
When the Buckeyes and Cooper finally erased a lot of Michigan frustration%^$Saturday with a 31-16 victory that set off a wild celebration on the field at%^$Ohio Stadium, he didn’t gloat or rationalize.%^$
“That’s the ball we played the last play of the game with,” he said,%^$holding the football given to him by the Buckeyes. “We’ll probably put that in%^$a trophy case. That’s not my ball. They gave it to me, but that’s a team ball.%^$I didn’t win the game, the team did.”%^$
Despite the constant reminders of Ohio State’s failures against its biggest%^$rival, Cooper said he never took it all personally.%^$
“I don’t feel like I’ve lost a game, and I’m not going to take credit for%^$winning this game today,” he said.%^$
Joe Germaine tossed three touchdown passes and No. 7 Ohio State turned a%^$pair of punt mistakes into scores to finally shake the demons. The Buckeyes’%^$seniors had run up a 41-7 record, but were 0-3 against their rivals.%^$
Thousands of fans ran onto the field in the final minute to celebrate with%^$the Ohio State players. Officials eventually allowed the final 27 seconds to%^$run off the clock rather than clear the field. The crowd stayed, dancing and%^$singing along with the school fight song and patting players on the back.%^$
“I was in no hurry to get back in the locker room,” linebacker Jerry%^$Rudzinski said. “I wanted to stay out and celebrate with 95,000 fans. I wanted%^$to just look around and savor the moment.”%^$
Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) grabbed a share of the Big Ten title with%^$Michigan. Pending the outcome of Wisconsin’s game with Penn State, the Buckeyes%^$could be headed to the Rose Bowl or might climb into a Bowl Championship Series%^$game.%^$
No. 11 Michigan (8-3, 7-1), which had won eight in a row after an 0-2 start,%^$ruined three Ohio State unbeaten seasons in the previous five years and%^$continually knocked the Buckeyes out of the national title picture.%^$
But Ohio State came out as if to erase all those ugly memories. Four plays%^$into its second possession, Michael Wiley took a pitch right, squeezed between%^$blocks by Matt Keller, Ben Gilbert and John Lumpkin, and streaked 53 yards for%^$a touchdown.%^$
Wiley finished with 120 yards on 12 carries. At the same time, Ohio State’s%^$defense – which came in as the nation’s stingiest against the rush – allowed%^$the Wolverines just 4 net yards on 28 attempts.%^$
Michigan was forced to punt after the ensuing kickoff, but the snap sailed%^$through the hands of punter Jason Vinson. He scrambled back and barely got off%^$a wobbly kick that gave the Buckeyes the ball at the 15.%^$
Germaine, who completed 16 of 28 passes for 330 yards, zipped a 16-yard%^$bullet to a leaping Dee Miller in the end zone.%^$
“The kicking game kept it from being the kind of game we wanted it to be,”%^$said Lloyd Carr, who lost for the first time to Ohio State after winning his%^$first three as Michigan coach. “We wanted to take it into the fourth quarter%^$and have a chance to win. You can’t have two punts blocked and beat a good%^$football team … a great football team.”%^$
With Ohio State ahead 14-3 late in the second quarter, Derek Ross blocked%^$Vinson’s kick, with Jonathan Wells recovering at the Michigan 35.%^$
Germaine tossed a simple square-out to David Boston, who shed Andre%^$Weathers’ tackle and outraced his pursuers down the left sideline for a 30-yard%^$score and a 21-3 lead.%^$
Boston had 10 catches for 217 yards and later ended all Michigan hopes with%^$a 43-yard touchdown pass from Germaine.%^$
The Wolverines, unable to move all half, finally put together an 80-yard%^$drive, capped by Tom Brady’s 3-yard fade pass to Tai Streets with 25 seconds%^$remaining to make it 21-10.%^$
“They were better than us today,” Streets said, shaking his head. “You’ve%^$got to give them credit, they were just better than us today.”%^$
Brady, playing in his first game against Ohio State, completed 31 of 56%^$passes for 375 yards – all school records – with two interceptions.%^$
“To come out and play like we did is rewarding and a dream come true,”%^$said Germaine. “I knew we had a big game in us.”%^$
%^$By RUSTY MILLER
%^$AP Sports Writer%^$
