Ohio State vs. Toledo Game Notes – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/12/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 12, 1998
September Success – Ohio State has now won 20 straight home openers. The Buckeyes also own a 96-9-4 all-time home opener record. John Cooper is now 11-0 in home openers.
Double Trouble – Junior wideout David Boston has now caught a pass in 22 consecutive games, while senior receiver Dee Miller has had a reception in 17 straight games.
Same Old Germaine – Quarterback Joe Germaine has now thrown a touchdown pass in 10 consecutive games. He threw for three scores against Toledo, tying a career high. Over his last 10 games, the Mesa, Ariz. native has thrown for 18 touchdowns.
Wiley Shines Again – Michael Wiley’s 76-yard run in the first quarter ties for the fifth longest run from scrimmage in Ohio State history. The run was also the longest of Wiley’s career, topping his 49-yard run against Rice during the 1996 season. For the second straight week, Wiley rushed for a career high. He picked up 151 yards on 13 carries today. Wiley reached the 100-yard plateau for the second straight week and the third time in his career.
Stopped for No Gain – The Ohio State defense did not surrender a first down to Toledo until the 6:06 mark of the first quarter. The Rockets did not enter Ohio State territory until the 7:46 mark of the third quarter. OSU gave up only 32 total yards to Toledo in the first half
Moore Liquid Plummer – Ahmed Plummer’s first quarter interception was the sixth of his career and first of the season. Damon Moore also picked off the 11th ball of his career in the first quarter. Nail Diggs picked up his first career interception midway through the second quarter, setting up Ohio State’s fifth touchdown of the game. Percy King collected his second career interception in the fourth quarter. Tim Cheatwood also had an interception for OSU, the first of his young career.
He’s Back – Senior tailback Joe Montgomery’s second quarter 11-yard touchdown run was his first since an Oct. 26, 1996 one-yard TD dive at Iowa. Germany’s Big Day – Sophomore split end Reggie Germany’s six yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was the first of his career. After Mark Garcia replaced Joe Germaine at quarterback, Germany struck again, this time with a 47-yard TD reception. It marked the longest catch of Germany’s career and the longest touchdown pass of Garcia’s career.
First Timers – Redshirt freshman Austin Moherman and true freshman Steve Bellisari both saw their first-ever action at quarterback in an OSU uniform.
Local Production – Sophomore Joe Cooper, a graduate of Independence High School in Columbus, led Ohio State with seven tackles.
Today’s Attendance – 93,149 fans packed fabled Ohio Stadium to watch the Buckeyes dismantle Toledo.
John Cooper Quotes vs. Toledo
“It was a good victory. We played well in the first half. In the second half, we got a little sloppy. If I was going to script the ballgame the way I wanted it to go, I would have scripted it like that.”
“I was a little disappointed with the kicking game. But you’re not going to hear me complain when we win 49-0.”
“I like giving our second team the chance to play early in the year. We now know what we need to work on with these young guys. We will take this second half with these young guys and watch the film, and they will be better next time.”
“We wanted to jump on them early. The offense came out and made some big plays. It was important for us to score early and take them out of the game. You let a team like that get a little confidence early and you’ve got a dog fight on your hands.”
“Anytime you can hold a team like Toledo scoreless, you’re going to be happy. We were able to get pretty good pressure with the four man rush. The tempo was set early when Damon (Moore) made a real good interception.”
“We think we have a good quick defensive team. We know how good Antoine Winfield is. I don’t think there’s a better defensive back in college football. Anytime your corners can take their wide receivers out of the ballgame, the other nine guys can go out and play football.”
“The offensive line is getting better. They’re going to make mistakes, but they’re getting better. The offensive line is getting better each week.”
“Michael Wiley has the ability to hit the home run. That’s what I like about Michael Wiley. We played a lot of backs today. Michael established himself early. Joe Montgomery looked like his old self.”
“Joe Germaine does a good job running our offense. You know what I think about Joe Germaine. He does a really good job throwing the ball for us.”
“The defensive secondary played with a lot of confidence. They blitzed well and gave the offense good field position.”
“Reggie (Germany) had a good fall camp. He’s a good blocker and he runs good routes.”
“I think we made an improvement from last week to this week.”
Gary Pinkel Quotes vs. Ohio State
“They got after us pretty well. After watching the West Virginia tape, I knew without a doubt that we were playing one of the top two or three teams in the country.”
“I know we are a better football team. I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for themselves. I just want people to play hard and to play with pride. I think we did that today.”
“I don’t think I did a very good job of preparing our team. You can’t blame anybody over in our lockerroom.”
“We are not just talking about playing just another Big Ten team. We are talking about playing the best team in the country.”
“Defensively, they just have a lot of great players, and they’re very well coached.”
On Toledo’s fake punt:
“Our defense kept going three and out forever, and we felt like we had to take a chance. We were one yard short. Our receiver just didn’t go deep enough.”
“We played well when we were on offense. They just stifled us. They attacked the things that we did well, and they have great athletes.”
“We were just completely out of rhythm and couldn’t get back in.”
