Buckeyes Close Regular Season vs. Michigan in 101st Game – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 16, 2004
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THIS WEEK
Ohio State closes out the regular season against Michigan in the traditional season finale for both schools. Widely regarded as the greatest rivalry in college football, the Buckeyes and Wolverines will be meeting for the 101st time since the series began in 1897. Michigan has a 57-37-6 lead in the series, but since 1952 the two teams are dead even at 25-25-2, and the Buckeyes have won two of the last three.
Ohio State enters the game with a 6-4 record for all games and a 3-4 mark in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes, who have already assured themselves of their 16th-consecutive winning season, are trying to avoid their first sub-.500 finish in conference play since 1999 when they posted a 3-5 mark.
In their most recent outing, the Buckeyes dropped a 24-17 decision at Purdue last week, snapping a modest three-game winning streak. The Buckeyes trailed 17-3 midway through the third quarter before rallying to tie the game at 17-17 with 3:50 to play. Purdue marched 80 yards in eight plays on its next possession and scored the winning touchdown with 2:17 remaining in the game.
Michigan is 9-1 for all games and 7-0 in league play and has locked up at least a share of the Big Ten title. A victory over the Buckeyes would send the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl. A loss, coupled with a win by Wisconsin at Iowa, would eliminate Michigan from that scenario.
Michigan is coming off a 42-20 win over Northwestern in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines led just 7-6 at the half, but outscored the Wildcats 35-14 after intermission.
Michigan is rated seventh in this week’s Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls and is the highest ranked team Ohio State has played this year. The Buckeyes are 5-1 against Top 10 teams under Jim Tressel the past four years.
Saturday’s game will be televised nationally by ABC and will kickoff at 1:06 p.m. in Ohio Stadium, where a crowd of more than 105,000 is expected to witness the fourth meeting between Michigan’s Lloyd Carr and Ohio State’s Jim Tressel.
When the two teams met in 2002 in a game that would decide whether or not the Buckeyes would play in the national championship game, a record Ohio Stadium crowd of 105,539 saw the two teams battle. That attendance mark could fall this week.
SENIOR DAY
Seventeen Ohio State seniors will be making their final home appearances in Ohio Stadium Saturday. That group, plus two senior managers, and their parents, will be recognized prior to kickoff against Michigan. This year’s class, which includes 12 fifth-year seniors, has a combined won-lost record of 46-15, has won a national championship and a Big Ten co-championship, has played in, and won, two BCS bowls and appeared in four bowl games.
TRESSEL ON OHIO STATE-MICHIGAN
“This is the game players come to Ohio State and Michigan to play in,” said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. “I know the players from both teams will be extremely focused this week. This is one of those games where you don’t need any extra incentive. It’s Ohio State versus Michigan. That’s all you need to say to get their attention.”
MERCURY MAN
Freshman speedster Ted Ginn Jr. has touched the ball 31 times this year – 14 pass receptions, 10 punt returns, five runs from scrimmage and two kickoff returns. He has six touchdowns to show for his efforts (three punt returns, two receptions and one run) and is averaging 18.1 yards per touch. Ginn’s scores have come from 65 yards (punt return against Wisconsin), 59 yards (pass reception vs. Indiana), 67 yards (punt return against Penn State, and from 17 (run), 60 (punt) and 58 (reception) yards against Michigan State – an average of 54.3 yards per score.
Ginn had seven touches at Purdue, but did not score a touchdown, the first time in three games he has not crossed the goal line. He did have a 28-yard run at Purdue, the longest run of the day on either team.
Keith Byars is the last Ohio State player to account for touchdowns in three different ways in a game. Byars rushed for two touchdowns, caught a TD pass and threw a scoring pass against Iowa in 1984.
LAST WEEK
The Buckeyes saw their three-game winning streak come to an end, dropping a 24-17 decision at Purdue. The Boilers jumped out to a 17-3 lead at the half, before Ohio State battled back to tie the score at 17-17 with 3:50 to play in the game. Purdue then snapped its four game winning streak by marching 80 yards in eight plays for the decisive score. After being held to just 108 yards in the first half, the Buckeyes totaled 230 yards in the final two stanzas. Four turnovers, including two in the red zone in the fourth quarter, were the difference. Prior to their game-winning drive, the Boilers managed just 72 yards in total offense in the second half against an OSU defense that was playing without three-fourths of its starting secondary (safeties Nate Salley and Donte Whitner and cornerback Dustin Fox), all of whom were out with injuries. “We played hard from start to finish,” said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. “I was proud of our effort. The turnovers and penalties hurt, but we gave great effort.” Linebacker A.J. Hawk led the Buckeyes with 14 tackles, including nine solo stops. Anthony Schlegel had 12 tackles and Bobby Carpenter nine as the Buckeyes’ linebackers again excelled. The OSU trio also had five tackles for loss. The Buckeyes, who finished with 338 yards in total offense, were led by Troy Smith, who threw for 192 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 62 more and the game-tying score. Mike Nugent added his 65th career field goal, hitting from 44 yards out in the fourth quarter to give OSU an early 3-0 lead.
OHIO STATE IN THE POLLS
Ohio State opened the season ranked ninth in both the ESPN/USA Today and the Associated Press preseason polls. The Buckeyes, who climbed to sixth in the former and seventh in the latter following a 3-0 start, currently are not ranked.
ALL-AMERICAN NUMBERS FOR A.J.
Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk (6-1, 240) led the Buckeyes at Purdue with 14 tackles, marking the eighth time this year that the junior defender has paced the team. Hawk has been in double figures seven times this season, including the past three games. His career high was 20 stops against Wisconsin earlier this year, making him just the ninth player in Ohio State annals to be credited with 20 or more tackles in a game. The media’s choice as the Big Ten’s preseason defensive player of the year, Hawk has 125 tackles thus far in 2004, an average of 12.5 per game. His current total is the highest total since Lorenzo Styles finished the 1994 campaign with 132 stops. Hawk’s career total now stands at 257 as he moves his way up the career chart.
NUGENT SPLITS THE UPRIGHTS (AGAIN)
Mike Nugent’s 44-yard field goal at Purdue gave the Buckeyes a brief 3-0 lead in the first quarter. It was Nugent’s 65th made field goal, adding to the school career record that he already holds. Nugent is 17-of-20 on the year and 65 of 81 during his career. That total includes 26-of-34 from 40 or more yards, including eight-of-nine from beyond 50. Nugent has five 50-yard kicks this year to lead the nation, including two 55-yarders. The Buckeye senior either holds outright or shares 18 school records. A first-team All-American in 2002 and a candidate for the Lou Groza Award each of the last three years, Nugent is the school’s all-time leader in makes and percentage (.800). With 328 career points, he is third on the all-time OSU scoring list behind kicker Dan Stultz (342 points, 1996-2000) and fullback Pete Johnson (348 points, 1973-76). Nugent also has a string of 77 consecutive extra points made.
HOLMES IN MIDST OF BEST YEAR
Junior split end Santonio Holmes had four receptions for 49 yards, including an acrobatic 30-yard touchdown grab, in Saturday’s game at Purdue. Holmes, who is having his best year as a Buckeye, has caught passes in 16 consecutive games and leads the team in receptions (47), receiving yardage (672) and touchdown catches (6). Both of the former are career highs and the latter is one TD grab shy of his output in 2003. He put himself in the OSU records book earlier this year by catching 10 passes for 224 yards in the win over Marshall. His yardage total against the Thundering Herd is the second best in Ohio State history, surpassed only by Terry Glenn’s 253 against Pitt in 1995. Holmes, who also had 10 receptions at Northwestern, now has 79 receptions for 1,221 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is tied for eighth place on the OSU career list for TD receptions.
HALL CAREER LEADER
Senior Maurice Hall continues to add to his school record for kick return yardage. In Saturday’s game at Purdue, the Buckeye senior returned five kicks for 102 yards, giving him a total of 1,590 yards on 69 run backs. The old standard of 1,410 yards belonged to Ken-Yon Rambo (1997-2000). Hall, whose career has been cut short by a series of injuries, also has 967 career rushing yards and needs 33 yards in his final two games to reach the 1,000-yard mark in career rushing. His top game this year is 83 yards in the win at Michigan State.
PITTMAN TOPS OSU RUSHERS
True freshman Antonio Pittman has taken over the team lead in rushing with 374 yards on 63 carries, an average of 5.9 yards per attempt. Pittman had 32 yards on five carries this past Saturday against Purdue. His top game this year is 144 yards against Indiana. The 5-11, 190-pound rookie also tallied his first career touchdown against the Hoosiers.
DOUBLE BARRELLED THREAT
Both sophomore Santonio Holmes and true freshman Ted Ginn Jr. have returned punts for touchdowns this year, marking the first time since 1950 that two Ohio State players have had punt returns for scores in the same season. Holmes scored on a 63-yard runback at Northwestern, while Ginn had a 65-yard return against Wisconsin, a 67-yard run against Penn State and a 60-yard strike at Michigan State.
OHIO STATE COACH Jim Tressel
Now in his fourth year at the helm of the Buckeyes, Jim Tressel has compiled an impressive 38-11 record during his stay in Columbus. Included in that figure is a 22-9 mark in Big Ten play and a 16-2 record in non-conference action. His teams have been especially successful at home, winning 24 of 27 starts. After a 7-5 record in 2001, Tressel led the Buckeyes to a perfect 14-0 record, a share of the Big Ten title and a consensus national championship in 2002. He was the Football Writers choice as national coach of the year in 2002. In 2003, the Buckeyes posted an 11-2 record and played in a BCS game for the second-consecutive year. Now in his 19th season as a head coach, the 51-year-old Tressel has compiled a lifetime record of 173-68-2. During his stay with the Buckeyes, he has posted a 14-5 record against teams in the Top 25 and a 5-1 slate against teams in the Top 10. Masterful in close games, he is 16-7 in games decided by a touchdown or less, including a 13-3 mark in the last 16 games. Each of his last two teams finished the season ranked in the Top 5 (1st in 2002 and 4th last year). Prior to coming to Ohio State, Tressel spent 15 years as the head coach at Division I-AA Youngstown State, where he won four national championships and appeared in the playoffs 10 times.
SERIES INFORMATION
Michigan leads the overall series, which began in 1897 in Ann Arbor, 57-37-6, and has a 27-20-2 edge in Columbus. The two teams have played annually since 1918 and have concluded their Big Ten seasons against one another every year since 1935. The Wolverines dominated the rivalry early on, posting a 13-0-2 record before finally falling to the Buckeyes, 13-3, in 1919 in Ann Arbor. During that streak Michigan won nine straight between 1901 and 1909 – the longest winning streak by either team in the series. Ohio State has twice put together four-game winning streaks (1934-37 and 1960-63) and was 3-0-1 during the Archie Griffin era (1972-75). The series has been much more even in recent years, standing at 25-25-2 since 1952. Ohio State has won two of the last three meetings, including a brilliantly played 14-9 win in 2002 in Columbus – a victory that sent the Buckeyes to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl where they captured the Big Ten’s first consensus national championship since the 1968 Buckeyes.
LAST YEAR’S MEETING
Michigan jumped out to an early 21-0 on the strength of two touchdown passes from John Navarre to Braylon Edwards. Ohio State closed the gap to 21-7 just before half, but Michigan scored on its first possession of the third quarter and led 28-7. The Buckeyes battled back to within seven at 28-21 with 13:53 to play, but could get no closer. Michigan put the game away on a 15-yard run by Chris Perry, who also scored on a 30-yard run. Ohio State’s Michael Jenkins had nine receptions for 132 yards and Santonio Holmes caught eight passes for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns. OSU quarterback Craig Krenzel missed much of the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury, but still threw for 221 yards and a pair of scores. Super-sub Scott McMullen came off the bench to complete 8-of-13 passes for 108 yards for OSU. The Buckeyes rolled up 383 yards and Michigan 448 in total offense. Perry finished with 154 yards rushing and Navarre threw for 278. Ohio State went on to play in and win the Fiesta Bowl against Kansas State. Michigan played Southern California in the Rose Bowl.
SERIES NOTES
Considered the greatest rivalry in college football, the Ohio State-Michigan game has been contested annually since 1918. Between them, the two schools have won 71 Big Ten titles and 903 conference games. Michigan’s Tom Brady threw for 375 yards against OSU in 1998, a game won 31-16 by the Buckeyes. UM running back Tim Biakabutuka rushed for 313 in a 1995 Michigan win (31-23). Ohio State’s David Boston had 10 receptions for 217 yards in the 1998 game and Joe Germaine threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns that year.
BIG TEN LEADERS
All-American Mike Nugent continues to lead the Big Ten in field goal percentage (85.1) and is second in field goals made per game (1.70). He is tied for the lead in PAT percentage at 100.0 with a perfect 21-of-21 and is fourth in the league in overall scoring (7.4 ppg.).
Linebacker A.J. Hawk is second in average tackles per game. The Buckeye junior has 125 tackles on the year and is averaging 12.5 stops per game. Five other OSU defenders are listed among the Big Ten’s top 50 tacklers
linebacker Bobby Carpenter is averaging 8.0 tackles per game, linebacker Anthony Schlegel 7.4, strong safety Donte Whitner 7.1, free safety Nate Salley 6.2 and cornerback Ashton Youboty 5.4.
Freshman sensation Ted Ginn Jr. has taken over the league lead in punt returns with an average of 25.4 per attempt on 10 carries. His total includes three touchdowns, which is an Ohio State single-season record.
Split end Santonio Holmes is sixth in receiving yards per game (67.2) and seventh in receptions per game (4.70). Holmes, who twice this year has had double figures in receptions, is averaging 14.3 yards per catch. He is also seventh in punt returns with an average of 10.8 yards per run back.
In the kick return department, Maurice Hall remains in third with an average of 26.4 on 16 attempts. Fifth-year senior Kyle Turano has moved up to third in punting with an average of 42.9. Turano, a former walk-on, is in his first year as the Buckeyes’ punter.
BUCKEYES AWARDS CANDIDATES
Kicker Mike Nugent and linebacker A.J. Hawk remain in contention for national honors. In addition to being All-America candidates, Nugent is expected to be a finalist for the Lou Groza Award (Groza played at Ohio State briefly as did his son Judd, who wore No. 85 as does Nugent), and Hawk is under consideration for the Bednarik and Lott Awards.
PLAYING IT CLOSE TO THE VEST
Jim Tressel’s Buckeye teams have won 13 of the last 16 games decided by seven points or less. That ledger includes victories in four of five overtime games, one of which was the 2002 National Championship game. During his stay at Ohio State, Tressel is 16-7 in games decided by a touchdown or less.
OHIO STATE ALL-TIME
The Buckeyes first fielded a football team in 1890, compiling a 1-3 record in their first season. From that modest beginning, Ohio State has gone on to post an all-time record of 763-298-53 in 114 years and has experienced just 11 losing seasons. The Buckeyes have an all-time Big Ten record of 417-161-24 since beginning conference play in 1913. Ohio State has either claimed outright (15) or shared in (14) a total of 29 Big Ten championships.
OHIO STATE AT HOME
Ohio State has an all-time record of 354-102-25 in Ohio Stadium (opened in 1922). The Buckeyes are 20-1 at home since the beginning of the 2002 season and are 24-3 in three years under head coach Jim Tressel.
BUCKEYE FAITHFUL
In five home games this year, Ohio State has drawn a total of 523,081 fans to Ohio Stadium, an average of 104,760 per contest in the famed horseshoe-shaped structure. The largest crowd of the year was 105,090 against Wisconsin, the fifth largest crowd in Ohio Stadium history. The Ohio Stadium single-game record of 105,539 was set against Michigan in 2002.
BUCKEYE CAPTAINS
Seniors Mike Nugent, Lydell Ross, Simon Fraser and Dustin Fox are the 2004 captains. Nugent is the first kicker to be chosen since Tom Skladany in 1976. Fox is the fourth member of his family to captain the Buckeyes, joining uncles Mark Stier (1968), Ken Kuhn (1975) and Tim Fox (1975).
CONVERTED
Fifth-year seniors Kyle Turano (punter, Worthington Kilbourne), Roshawn Parker (tailback, Columbus Eastmoor), Mike DeMaria (tailback, Oregon Cardinal Stritch) and John McLaughlin (offensive tackle, Cleveland St. Ignatius) have been awarded scholarships for the 2004 academic year.
THE OHIO STATE STAFF
There are two new faces on the Ohio State staff this year. Darrell Hazell has taken over as coach of the wide receivers and John Peterson is the new tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. Hazell, a graduate of Muskingum College, comes to Ohio State from Rutgers. Peterson, a former OSU offensive lineman (1987-90), has spent the past five seasons at Miami of Ohio. Additionally, Dick Tressel has replaced Tim Spencer as running backs coach. Tressel has spent the past three seasons as associate director of football operations for the Buckeyes.
INJURY REPORT
Junior linebacker Mike D’Andrea will miss the remainder of the season, including the bowl game, because of a knee injury. D’Andrea played in the Buckeyes first four games and had 13 tackles, including 3.5 tackles-for-loss. This is the second straight year that the Avon Lake, Ohio-product has had his season cut short. He missed the final three games of last year with a shoulder injury. Special teams starter Rob Harley (Jr., Elmhurst, Pa.) suffered a knee injury against Penn State and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Tight end Marcel Frost (R-Fr., South Euclid, Ohio) is out for the year after undergoing knee surgery. Strong safety Donte Whitner (So., Cleveland Heights, Ohio) underwent arthroscopic knee surgery following the Michigan State game and will miss the remainder of the regular season. Whitner, who is expected back for the bowl game, had played in eight games and had 57 tackles, including three tackles for loss. His tackle total is tops among OSU defensive backs.
THE CLASS OF 2007
Ohio State’s highly touted freshman class is making its presence felt. Thus far 11 members of the class have seen action in the Buckeyes’ eight games. They are: Ted Ginn Jr. (WR/PR), Rory Nicol (TE), Antonio Pittman (TB), Devon Lyons (WR), Curtis Terry (ST), Vernon Gholston (DE), Marcus Freeman (LB), Sirjo Welch (ST), Steve Rehring (OT), Chad Hoobler (LB) and Dionte Johnson (FB).
FOLLOWING IN DAD’S FOOTSTEPS
Six current players have fathers who played for Ohio State: offensive guard Doug Datish (Mike Datish, offensive lineman), fullback Dionte Johnson (Thomas “Pepper” Johnson, linebacker), cornerback Shaun Lane (Garcia Lane, cornerback), linebacker Ryan Lukens (Bill Lukens, offensive guard), flanker Kyle Ruhl (Bruce Ruhl, defensive back), fullback Stan White Jr. (Stan White, linebacker).
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Michigan is in search of a second straight trip to the Rose Bowl if it can beat the Buckeyes in Columbus on Saturday. The Wolverines, winners of their last 13 conference games, are the only unbeaten team in the Big Ten. Michigan opened the season with a 43-10 victory over Miami (Ohio) before stumbling at Notre Dame, 28-20, the second week of the season. The Wolverines have not lost since, rattling off eight straight triumphs.
The Wolverines are averaging 31.2 points and 388.7 yards of total offense each game. That breaks down to 164.7 rushing and 224.0 passing per game. Defensively, Michigan is limiting opposing offenses to 20.4 points and 314.5 yards each game.
MICHIGAN’S LAST GAME
Freshman running back Michael Hart ran for 151 yards and a season-high three touchdowns and Michigan scored TDs the first five times it touched the ball in the second half to beat Northwestern 42-20 Saturday. The Wolverines led the Wildcats 7-6 at halftime before score 35 points in the second half. Michigan has won 13 conference games in a row. Michigan quarterback Chad Henne was 19-of-26 for 187 yards with two TDs. Hart has run for 975 yards in his last five games and has 1,311 yards this season. Junior wide receiver Steve Breaston scored twice in 35 seconds, catching a 10-yard TD pass and returning a punt 67 yards for another TD, to give Michigan a 42-13 lead early in the fourth quarter. He finished with five catches for 49 yards. Receivers Braylon Edwards and Jason Avant each had 54 yards receiving on seven and five catches, respectively as the Wolverines had 190 passing yards and 231 yards on the ground.
MICHIGAN COACH LLOYD CARR
Lloyd Carr (Northern Michigan, 1968 is in his 10th season as the Michigan head coach. In Ann Arbor, the 59-year-old coach owns a 95-27 record, including a 63-16 mark in the Big Ten. He guided the Wolverines to a perfect 12-0 record and Rose Bowl berth in 1997. Prior to becoming the head coach for the Wolverines, he served the program for 15 years as an assistant coach, including the last eight years of that time as the defensive coordinator. He served his first seven years at Michigan as the defensive backs coach.
THIS WEEK’S INTERVIEWS
Coach Jim Tressel will be available at his weekly Tuesday luncheon at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe (approximately 12:15 p.m.) and again after practice on Wednesday. Offensive coordinator Jim Bollman and defensive coordinator Mark Snyder will be available after practice on Thursday.
