Post Game Notes From Ohio State vs. North Carolina State – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 13, 2003
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The win extends the Buckeyes’ winning streak to 17, the longestactive streak in the country. Ohio State stays perfect in overtimeat 3-0. This game marked the first overtime contest in Ohio Stadiumhistory and is the longest game in Ohio State’s history. TheBuckeyes won their first two overtime games last year, beatingIllinois in single overtime, 23-16, and Miami, 31-24, in doubleovertime. With the win today (44-38), Ohio State has won nineconsecutive games when the difference is seven points or less.Senior split end Michael Jenkins had 124 yards receiving and twotouchdowns in the game, his first game with over 100 yards thisseason. It was the eighth 100-plus yard receiving game of hiscareer. His career high of 172 was set vs. Penn State in 2001. Thegame vs. NCSU marked his second career game with two TDs; the firstwas against Indiana in 2002. With his first-quarter catch, seniorsplit end Michael Jenkins extended his streak of consecutive gameswith a catch to 29. Senior quarterback Craig Krenzel ended the gamewith a career-best 273 yards, the fourth 200-plus yard game of hiscareer. Last season, he had 241 vs. San Jose State and 204 vs.Wisconsin before posting 203 vs. Washington in the opener thisyear.
Krenzel’s four touchdown passes in the game also marked a career best. He had three against San Jose State at home last season. The last time a Buckeye passed for four touchdowns was when Bobby Hoying had four against Notre Dame Sept. 30, 1995.
Krenzel’s 36 attempts marked the first time a Buckeye threw more than 30 times in a game since Steve Bellisari had 35 attempts vs. South Carolina in the 2002 Outback Bowl.
Senior quarterback Craig Krenzel has spread the ball to anumber of receivers this season. Against North Carolina State,eight Buckeyes caught at least one pass. In the opener againstWashington, nine Buckeyes had at least one catch. Senior tight endBen Hartsock had a career-high seven catches and 65 yards in thegame. Hartsock’s previous high for receptions was three, set twicelast season (last at Penn State 2002). His previous high for yardsin a game was 31 set against Purdue in 2001. The Ohio State defenseheld N.C. State to -3 yards rushing in the first half, marking thesecond time this season the Buckeyes have held an opponent tonegative yards rushing in the first half. Ohio State heldWashington to -1 yard rushing in the first half in the contestplayed Aug. 30. Collectively, Ohio State has held its opponents to57 total yards rushing in the first half on 42 carries over thefirst three games this season for a 1.36 yards per carry average.
In the game, the Buckeyes held the Wolfpack to 21 yards on 30 rushing attempts. On the season, the Buckeyes have held opponents to 56 net yards rushing on 80 attempts, for a 0.7 yards per carry average. Per game, the Buckeyes are allowing opponents a net of 18.7 yards a game rushing.
Sophomore linebacker A.J. Hawk had 12 tackles in the game (sixsolo) to mark a career high. He had 14 through the first two gamesof this season. Hawk also had an interception return for 55 yards.The Buckeyes sacked NCSU quarterback Philip Rivers three times fora total loss of 17 yards. Rivers had been sacked just once throughthe first two games of the season. Senior tackle Tim Anderson ledthe way for the Buckeyes with two sacks for a total of 15 yardslost, marking his first sacks of the season. The two sacks matcheda career game high, set in 2001 vs. Minnesota. The 38 points scoredby the Wolfpack in the game today ties the most allowed by OhioState to a non-conference opponent in Ohio Stadium. The lastnon-conference team to put 38 points on the board against OSU inColumbus was Washington Oct. 1, 1966, a 38-22 win by the Huskies.The last time a non-conference opponent scored more than 30 pointswas USC in a 35-26 win Sept. 22, 1990. Overall, the 38 pointsscored against OSU in Ohio Stadium today were the most sinceMichigan defeated Ohio State 38-26, Nov. 18, 2000. Seniorquarterback Craig Krenzel’s first-quarter 44-yard touchdown pass,caught by Michael Jenkins, was his first TD pass of the season. Italso marked Jenkins’ first score of the year and was OSU’s longestcompletion of the season. Craig Krenzel surpassed his 76-yardpassing effort in the San Diego State game last week with a 29-yardcompletion to wide receiver Santonio Holmes at the 8:42 mark of thesecond quarter. Holmes reception was a career long. Seniorquarterback Craig Krenzel’s 6-yard touchdown run in the fourthquarter was his third rushing score on the season. He leads theteam in rushing touchdowns this season. Since Ohio State firstfielded a team in 1890, the squad is 749-292-53 overall. Thismarked the first meeting between the Buckeyes and Wolfpack. OSU is1-0-0 all-time vs. NCSU. OSU’s record vs. current ACC teams is 8-6.This was Ohio State’s first regular-season meeting against an ACCopponent since a 34-17 home loss to Florida State in 1982. Theattendance today of 104,890 was the sixth-largest total in OhioStadium history. The win over North Carolina State extends OhioState’s non-conference home winning streak to 34. The lastnon-conference loss at home was to USC Sept. 22, 1990 (35-26). WhenOSU is ranked in the AP Top 10, the squad is 267-63-9. When theBuckeyes are ranked by the AP their mark is 366-116-14. When bothteams are ranked by the AP, Ohio State is 92-74-10. Seniorquarterback Craig Krenzel improved to 18-1 as a starter for theBuckeyes. His only loss was in the 2002 Outback Bowl, when heplayed sparingly. With the win, OSU head coach Jim Tressel’s schoolrecord moves to 24-5 and 14-2 at home. His career record now standsat 159-62-2. The Buckeyes have not allowed an opposing player torush for 100 or more yards at home in 13 consecutive games, datingback to San Diego State’s Larry Ned’s 112-yard performance Oct. 20,2001 at Ohio Stadium. North Carolina State quarterback PhilipRivers completed 36 passes, the most against the Buckeyes sinceMiami’s Ken Dorsey had 28 in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. Rivers’ 315passing yards were the most against Ohio State since Texas Tech’sKliff Kingsbury threw for 341 last season (Aug. 24). Rivers’ 52attempts were the most since Washington’s Cody Pickett had 49 inthe season opener this season. His four touchdown passes were thehighest total given up by the Buckeyes since Kingsbury of TexasTech had three last year. The game marked the first career startsfor sophomore center Nick Mangold and sophomore safety Nate Salley.
