Buckeyes Give Tressel First Win At Ohio State – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept 8, 2001
Stats| Quotes| Notes
COLUMBUS, Ohio-The Jim Tressel era began Saturday with a 28-14 win over Akron (1-1) in the home opener for the Ohio State football team. The game also was the first at renovated Ohio Stadium, which held a record 102,602 fans following a three-year facelift.
Jonathan Wells, a senior tailback, scored the first Ohio State touchdown of the season on a 14-yard run over left tackle with 7 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Buckeyes used eight plays to go 66 yards for the score.
After Ohio State’s Mike Doss sacked Akron quarterback Charlie Frye inside the Zips’ 20-yard line forcing Akron’s third punt on the afternoon, Ohio State started at the Zips’ 36-yard line following an 18-yard return by junior Chris Vance.
Buckeye quarterback Steve Bellisari took advantage of the favorable field position by directing Ohio State to its second score of the game. Bellisari threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to fullback Jamar Martin with 3:30 left in the opening quarter to give the Buckeyes a 14-0 advantage.
Martin’s touchdown, a swing pass to the left corner of the endzone, was the second TD catch of his career. The other came on the road at Michigan in 1999.
Ohio State scored its third touchdown following a fumbled punt by Akron’s Brandon Payne. OSU’s Jason Bond jumped on the ball, his first career fumble recovery, on the Zips’ 1-yard line at the 9:18 mark of the second quarter. Wells scored on the Buckeyes’ first play from scrimmage to give OSU a 21-0 lead with 9:14 left in the first half. The score marked the fourth two-touchdown game in Wells’ career.
The Zips scored for the first time with 2:09 left in the opening half on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Frye to split end Jake Schifino, closing the lead to 21-7. Schifino just got his right foot inside the back left corner of the end zone to end the 12-play, 88-yard drive for the Zips.
Akron had a chance to cut the lead to seven points with just over five minutes to play in the third quarter but came away without a score after a missed 37-yard field goal attempt.
The Buckeyes then caught a break when Bellisari launched a deep pass down the left sideline in the direction of Vance. Akron’s John Fuller tipped the ball into Vance’s waiting arms. Vance turned and took off untouched for a 61-yard touchdown. Ohio State drove 80 yards on seven players during the drive to take a 28-7 lead with 3:37 to play in the third quarter.
Vance’s touchdown catch was his first career reception. The last Buckeye to score a touchdown on his first career catch was Ricky Bryant (Fresno State, 2000).
The Akron defense cut the Buckeye lead in half, 28-14, after Ohio State backup quarterback Scott McMullen was intercepted by Zips defensive back Rickie Coble at the OSU 13. Coble went 87 yards for the score with 7:47 left in the third quarter.
Akron then executed an onside kick and recovered the ball to take possession just nine seconds after Coble’s touchdown. The Zips drove to the Ohio State 25-yard line but were stopped by the OSU defense on fourth down. That was the last scoring opportunity of the game for the Zips. Ohio State retained possession, driving the ball to the Akron 1-yard line before allowing the clock to tick away.
