Notes and Quotes From OSU’s Victory Over UCLA – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/11/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 11, 1999
With the 42-20 Win Over UCLA
The Buckeyes are 4-3-1 in the all-time series against UCLA. Coach Cooper’s all-time record against the Bruins is 4-1-2.
Fourth Consecutive Game Against Ranked Opponents
Ohio State has now played four consecutive games against ranked opponents and has a 3-1 record.
The Sellout
Tonight’s attendance of 93,283 marked the 12th consecutive sellout at Ohio Stadium.
Home Openers
Ohio State has now won 21-consecutive Ohio Stadium opening games and it has an all-time home opener record of 97-9-4 through 109 years of action. The Buckeyes have not lost a home opener since a 19-0 loss to Penn State in 1978.
In the Night
Tonight’s game is only the fourth night game in Ohio Stadium history. In 1985, OSU defeated Pittsburgh, 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.
A Little Drought
Senior Michael Wiley’s three-yard touchdown rush with 10:58 seconds remaining in the first half was OSU’s first touchdown in its last 71:54.
First Connection
Sophomore Steve Bellisari tossed his first career touchdown pass to Ken-Yon Rambo with 6:57 remaining in the second quarter. The two-yard connection was Rambo’s second career TD reception. In 1997, Rambo connected with Mark Garcia for a 38-yarder against Northwestern.
The Home Run Hitter
Michael Wiley’s two touchdown performance marked his fifth career multiple touchdown game (fourth career multiple rushing). Wiley captured his eighth 100-plus rushing game with 119 yards off 22 carries. He also moves into 12th on the all-time career list with 2, 190 yards.
Plummer Pick-Off
Thorpe Award candidate Ahmed Plummer’s third quarter interception was the 11th of his career and second of the 1999 season. Diggs Moves Up
Linebacker Na’il Diggs has tied former Buckeyes’ Jim Kacherski (1989-91) and Greg Smith (1988) for sixth-place in career quarterback sacks with 14. He now needs five more to pass Andy Katzenmoyer who has 18.
Career Firsts
Sophomore Jason Ott recorded his first career fumble recovery in the third quarter. Donnie Nickey recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter. Ken-Yon Rambo captured his first two touchdown performance. Sophomore defensive tackle Mike Collins made his first career start.
Slick and Quick Combo
Both wide receivers’ Reggie Germany and Ken-Yon Rambo notched career-high games in receiving. Germany caught seven balls for 115 yards, while Rambo had eight receptions for 61 yards.
Back-to-Back-to-Back Berry
Gary Berry had 10 total tackles, marking his third straight game with double-digit tackles (12 – Texas A&M, Sugar Bowl, 14- Miami (Fla.))
Bennett Posts Career High
Quarterback Drew Bennett posted career highs for completions and yardage, going 9-of-15 for 138 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Farmer Moves to Second on All-Time Receiving List
Danny Farmer caught three passes for 56 yards, which moves him into second place on the UCLA career receiving yard list with 2503. He trails Kevin Jordan (2548).
Ohio State Head Coach John Cooper Quotes
“I am happy coach tonight. This is a good win for us. UCLA is a extremely good team, offensively and defensively.”
“Steve Bellisari had a great game. No question he was the best quarterback tonight. We will have to look at the tape, but he will more than likely be our starting quarterback next week. But we need both of those guys, which is why we put Austin back in later in the game. Bellisari is a great athlete, which we saw last year when he played special teams.”
“We should also give credit to our offensive line. We got over 500 yards tonight over a very solid defensive team.”
“We did a nice job containing them. They hurt us in the third quarter running the option, but overall I am pleased with how our defense played. I thought we did a nice job on DeShaun Foster. He is outstanding player and will have a great year, if he stays healthy.”
“We played a lot of players tonight, especially a lot of young players.”
“I am happy for our wide receivers. They both had good ballgames. We talked about UCLA all week, but I think the best receivers tonight might have been our guys. They were putting seven or eight people in the box, which meant single coverage on Ken-Yon Rambo and Reggie Germany. The secret is to give the quarterback time and our offensive line did.”
UCLA Head Coach Bob Toledo Quotes
“Our youth showed up today. We made a lot of mistakes offensively and defensively. We didn’t execute a lot of things.”
“We struggled with our basic offense running the ball. We had Drew to running the option to make the running plays. Ohio State did a nice job in stopping our base runs.”
“Ohio State is a good football team, but there is no question that not having our full team had an effect. We got tired and worn down at the end of the game.”
-GO BUCKS!-
