Ohio State Special Teams Come Up Big in 19-10 Win over Iowa – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 18, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State’s special teams put 17 points on the scoreboard and it was all the Buckeyes needed during a 19-10 win over visiting Iowa in Ohio Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The game was put out of reach late in the fourth quarter following a B.J. Sander punt that pinned the Hawkeyes at their own 9-yard line. A running play and an Iowa penalty had the Hawkeyes facing second-and-16 when the snap from center out of the shotgun went over quarterback Nathan Chandler’s head and out of the end zone for a safety. The two points gave Ohio State the final nine-point cushion with 3:03 left on the clock. While Iowa did get one more possession in the game, it was ended by a Chris Gamble interception at the Ohio State 26-yard line.
After Ohio State put up quick 10 points in the game’s first six minutes, the contest quickly turned into a defensive struggle. An eight-play, 28-yard drive on Ohio State’s opening possession of the game resulted in Mike Nugent’s career-long 53-yard field goal with 9:56 in the first quarter and gave the Buckeyes an early 3-0 lead.
After holding Iowa to three-and-out on the ensuing possession, Hawkeye punter David Bradley punted 34 yards to Michael Jenkins at the OSU 46-yard line, where he scampered 54 yards for the score to build the Buckeye lead to 10-0 with 9:22 to play in the first period. The punt return was the first for a score since Nate Clements had an 83-yard return at Purdue in 2000.
Iowa put together a substantial drive on its next possession, driving to the OSU 9-yard line, where it faced first-and-goal. The Buckeye defense stuffed Iowa for losses on its next three plays, including an 8-yard sack of Chandler on third down that backed up the line of scrimmage to the OSU 18-yard line. The forced the Hawkeyes to go for a 36-yard field goal, which was made by 2002 Lou Groza Award winner Nate Kaeding to pull Iowa within a touchdown, 10-3, with 2:45 to play in the opening quarter.
The Buckeyes were knocking on the door of the endzone with 4:36 mark of the second quarter thanks to good starting field possession at Iowa’s 39-yard line. Two plays later OSU QB Craig Krenzel found Drew Carter down for a 34-yard pickup to the Iowa 1-yard line. On second down, Krenzel kept the ball, but fumbled just before he crossed the goal line. Iowa’s Sean Considine recovered inside the one, ending the scoring opportunity.
Iowa out-gained Ohio State 119-95 yards in the first half, including 69 yards rushing and 47 yards passing. Conversely, the Buckeyes put up 68 yards passing and 27 yards rushing.
The special teams again came through for the Buckeyes in the third quarter. The Ohio State defense forced the Hawkeyes to punt on their second possession of the half from inside their own 5-yard line. Bradley kicked right into a charging Roy Hall. The ball was recovered in the endzone by freshman Donte Whitner. After a Nugent PAT, the Buckeyes had increased their lead to 17-3 lead with 7:54 to play in the third quarter.
However, the Hawkeyes were not about to call it a game. On its final possession of the third quarter, Iowa drove the ball to the OSU 4-yard line. The next two plays the Buckeye defense recorded losses of 14 and 2 yards before Chandler found Ramon Ochoa for a gain of 15 on third down. On fourth-and-goal from the 5, Kaeding was brought in for a 23-yard field goal try, but instead the kicker took a pitch from holder David Bradley and sprinted to the endzone on the fake for his first-ever touchdown, college or high school. He added the PAT, that made the score 17-10 with 14:09 to play in the fourth quarter.
The OSU offense netted just 185 total yards on the day, led by Carter with six receptions for 95 yards. Krenzel completed 11-of-22 pass attempts for 129 yards and was the teams rushing leader with 20 yards on 14 carries.
Ohio State’s punting game was again a key, with Sander averaging 44.8 yards on eight punts. The Buckeye defense forced three turnovers on the day, not including the safety.
Iowa totaled just 219 yards on offense. Tailback Fred Russell was held to 42 yards on 22 attempts, while Ochoa caught four passes for 86 yards. Chandler completed 14 of 27 passes on the day for 153 yards and one interception.
The win in front of a homecoming crowd of 105,044 moved the Buckeyes to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. Iowa fell to 5-2 overall and 1-2 in the conference. Ohio State will play at Indiana Saturday in Bloomington, Ind. The game will begin at noon and be televised by ESPN.
