Ohio State Travels to Michigan in Season Finale – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 14, 2005
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THE MICHIGAN GAME
Some things never change. So it is this weekend, when Ohio State travels to Michigan for the traditional season finale between the two Big Ten powerhouses. At stake, as always seems to be the case, is the Big Ten title and a possible BCS berth. ABC will once again televise the game, which will be shown to nearly 70 percent of the country. The other 30 percent of the nation will see the game on ESPN, which also is airing the annual slugfest internationally. WBNS Radio, the flagship station for the 73-station Ohio State radio network, will broadcast the game in Columbus and throughout Ohio. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:06 p.m. in sold out Michigan Stadium, where a crowd in excess of 110,000 is expected.
No. 9 Ohio State enters the game with an 8-2 record for all games and a 6-1 ledger in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have won five in a row and were No. 8 in last week’s BCS standings. Coach Jim Tressel’s squad is coming off an impressive 48-7 win over visiting Northwestern this past weekend. Michigan, ranked 17th in both polls, counters with a 7-3 record that includes a 5-2 Big Ten slate. The Wolverines have won four in a row, including a 41-14 pasting of Indiana last week in Ann Arbor.
Ohio State is 2-1 on the road this year, losing at Penn State, but downing Indiana and Minnesota in its most recent outings. Michigan is 4-2 at home this year.
Michigan will be the seventh Top 25 team Ohio State has faced this year. The Buckeyes are 4-2 thus far against those teams.
THE BIG TEN CHASE
Ohio State heads into its regular-season finale at Michigan tied with Penn State for the Big Ten lead at 6-1. A win over the Wolverines would assure the Buckeyes of at least a share of their 30th conference title. A Michigan victory could earn the Wolverines a piece of the pie, depending on the outcome of the Penn State at Michigan State game later in the day.
HAWK BUTKUS FINALIST
Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk is one of three finalists for the Butkus Award and one of seven semi-finalists for the Lott Trophy. Both lists were announced Nov. 10.
“I am very honored even to be considered for these two awards,” Hawk said. “I feel like it could have just as easily been either of our other two linebackers.”
Hawk is also a semi-finalist for the Lombardi Award.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes have scored 40 or more points in their last four games and at least 35 points in each of the past five. During that streak, they have outscored their opponents 208 to 74 and are averaging slightly more than 452 yards per game. In its last six games, OSU has outscored its opponents 55-7 in the fourth quarter.
Ohio State has thrown for 200 or more yards in four of the past five games (105 vs. Northwestern is the exception) and rushed for 200 or more in the last four, including a season-high 317 against Northwestern.
Led by All-American center candidate Nick Mangold, the anchor of what has become a very efficient offensive front, the Buckeyes rank fourth in rushing offense in the Big Ten with an average of 196.7 yards per game. They are fifth in scoring offense at 33.3 points per game and seventh in total offense at 403 yards per game.
Quarterback Troy Smith, tailback Antonio Pittman and split end Santonio Holmes have been the offensive catalysts of late.
Smith leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency with a 160.27 figure and has accounted for 15 touchdowns in the past six games. Pittman has topped the 100-yard mark in rushing in four of the last five games to surpass the 1,000-yard mark on the season (1,110) and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry. All five of his touchdowns have come in the past three games. Holmes has 42 receptions for 781 yards and nine touchdowns.
Holmes and flankers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez has combined for 99 receptions, 1,611 yards and 15 touchdowns.
The balanced Buckeye attack is averaging 196.7 yards on the ground and 206.6 through the air and has scored 19 rushing and 15 passing touchdowns.
Defensively, the Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in rushing, scoring, passing and total defense. They rank among the national leaders in three of those categories – rushing (second, 78.7), scoring (fifth, 14.2) and total defense (fifth, 277.3). Northwestern, which entered last week’s game averaging 508 yards per game, is the latest team to feel the sting of the OSU defense, managing 251 yards in total offense and crossing into OSU territory just three times all day long. The Wildcats finished with 98 yards on the ground, the sixth time this year that an OSU opponent has been held below the 100-yard mark.
All-American linebacker A.J. Hawk continues to lead the Buckeye defense with 102 tackles, including a team-high 12.0 tackles for loss. Hawk, who has 7.5 sacks, also has an interception, a fumble recovery and two forced fumbles to his credit.
Hawk, fellow linebackers Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel and defensive end Mike Kudla have combined for 38 tackles-for-loss. The senior foursome has 24 of the Buckeyes’ 38 sacks. Carpenter ranks second in the Big Ten in sacks with 8.0, Hawk is third at 7.5 and the unsung Kudla fifth at 6.5. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in sacks with 38, two more than Penn State.
Safety Donte Whitner leads the team in interceptions with two, has three passes broken up and has recorded nine tackles-for-loss. He is the Buckeyes’ third leading tackler with 60 stops, behind Hawk at 102 and Schlegel with 65.
The Buckeyes are second in the Big Ten in red-zone defense and lead the league in opponent third-down conversions.
In the special teams department, Ohio State leads the Big Ten in net punting with an average of 39.3, field goals made and field goal percentage. The Buckeyes have led the Big Ten in net punting each of the past four years.
| MICH | TEAM COMPARISONS | OSU |
| 7-3, 5-2 | Records | 8-2, 6-1 |
| 29.6 | Points Per Game | 33.3 |
| 18.7 | Opp. Pts. Per Game | 14.2 |
| 177.7 | Avg. Rushing Yards | 196.7 |
| 217.9 | Avg. Passing Yards | 206.6 |
| 395.6 | Avg. Total Offense | 403.3 |
| 137.9 | Opp. Avg. Rush/Yds. | 78.7 |
| 202.7 | Opp. Avg. Pass/Yds. | 198.6 |
| 340.6 | Opp. Avg. Tot. Off. | 277.3 |
| 43% | 3rd Down Conv. | 48% |
| 39/313 | Pen./Yards | 53/475 |
| 31:41 | Avg. Time of Poss. | 32:10 |
| 18 | Sacks By | 39 |
| 19 | Sacks Allowed | 15 |
| 6-6, 319 | Avg. Ht./Wt. OL | 6-5, 303 |
| 6-6, 308 | Avg. Ht./Wt. DL | 6-3, 284 |
SERIES INFORMATION
Saturday’s showdown will be game No. 102 between the Buckeyes and Wolverines. Michigan has a healthy 57-38-6 lead in the series which began in 1897 and has been continuous since 1918. This will be the 52nd game played in Ann Arbor, where the Wolverines hold a 30-17-4 edge. The two teams have ended their conference seasons against one another each year since 1935.
Ohio State has won three of the last four games between the two schools, including a 37-21 decision last year. The Buckeyes are 1-1 in Ann Arbor under Jim Tressel. Michigan downed the Buckeyes 35-21 in 2003 in Ann Arbor to snap a two-game Ohio State winning streak over the Wolverines.
LAST YEAR’S GAME
Troy Smith turned in one of the top individual performances in the history of the series by rushing for 145 yards and throwing for 241 more as the Buckeyes downed the Wolverines 37-21 before a crowd of 105,456 in Ohio Stadium. Smith threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Buckeyes overcame an early 14-7 deficit. The Buckeyes had scoring drives of 99 and 97 yards en route to piling up 446 yards in total offense. The OSU defense, meanwhile, limited the visitors to 71 yards rushing. Freshman Ted Ginn Jr. broke the game open with a dazzling 82-yard punt return and finished the day with 210 all-purpose yards. All-American Mike Nugent added field goals of 21, 42 and 48 yards for the Buckeyes. Michigan signal caller Chad Henne completed 27 of his 54 passes for 328 yards, including 11 throws for 147 yards to All-American Braylon Edwards.
OHIO STATE-MICHIGAN RECENTLY
2004 – Ohio State’s 37-21 victory forced Michigan to share the Big Ten title with Iowa and temporarily put the Wolverines trip to the Rose Bowl on hold.
2003 – Michigan won the outright Big Ten title with a 35-21 win that cost the Buckeyes the crown and a likely berth in the BCS title game.
2002 – Ohio State pulled out a 14-9 thriller to cap off an unbeaten season and earn a spot in the national championship game.
2001 – Ohio State upset the Wolverines 26-20, costing them a share of the Big Ten title.
OHIO STATE-MICHIGAN FACTS
The Michigan series is now Ohio State’s longest runningcontinuous series, dating back to 1918. Michigan posted a 13-0-2record in the first 15 meetings between the two schools. Between1901 and 1909, the Wolverines won all nine games, the longestwinning streak in the series. The Buckeyes’ longest winning streakin the series is four games (1934-37 and again from 1960-63). Since1951, the series is deadlocked at 26-26-2. Between 1969 and 1978(the Woody Hayes-Bo Schembechler era), Michigan held a 5-4-1 edge.Between them, the two schools have won or shared 71 Big Ten titlesand recorded 1,622 wins.
RECAPPING NORTWESTERN The Buckeyes spotted the Wildcats a quick touchdown, then, put up 48 unanswered points to record their eighth win of the year. Quarterback Troy Smith rushed for a pair of first quarter scores to give Ohio State a 14-7 lead and it was all downhill from there. The Buckeyes rushed for a season-high 317 yards and scored five rushing touchdowns, also a high-water mark. Josh Huston added a pair of field goals and All-American linebacker A.J. Hawk scored on a blocked punt to complete the scoring. Defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock got the block.
While the OSU offense was rolling up 422 yards, including 132 on the ground by tailback Antonio Pittman, the Buckeye defense allowed the normally explosive Wildcats to a meager 251 yards in total offense. It was the lowest point total of the year for the Wildcats and the fewest since a 20-0 loss to Ohio State in 2003, a span of 30 games.
The game marked the final home appearance of 16 Ohio State seniors.
PITTMAN JOINS SELECT CIRCLE Sophomore tailback Antonio Pittman recorded his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the year against Northwestern, gaining 132 yards on 18 carries against the Wildcats. In doing so, Pittman became the 23rd Ohio State running back to rush for 1,000 or more yards in a season. Pittman, who joins Archie Griffin and Keith Byars as the only OSU sophomores to surpass the 1,000-yard plateau, has 1,110 yards on 199 carries. He is averaging 5.6 yards per carry and 111 yards per game. The 5-10, 195-pound speedster has scored five touchdowns on the year, all five of those coming in the past three games. He is fifth in the Big Ten in rushing.
HOLMES THIRD IN TD CATCHES
Split end Santonio Holmes has 23 career TD grabs to rank third in Ohio State annals in that department. Only David Boston (34) and Cris Carter (27) had more touchdown receptions as Buckeyes. With 129 career receptions, Holmes ranks sixth on the all-time OSU receiving list. He is also seventh in career receiving yardage with 2,099 yards. The 5-11, 190-pound junior has caught two or more passes in 28-consecutive games. He needs four receptions to move around Dee Miller (132 from 1995-98) and take over fifth place in career receptions.
SMITH ON TOUCHDOWN ROLL
Junior quarterback Troy Smith has been on a touchdown tear of late, accounting for 15 touchdowns in the last five games. Smith, who now is 11-2 as a starter, has passed for 10 scores and run for five more in that span. On the year, he has accounted for 23 touchdowns – 13 via the pass and 10 via the rush. He leads the Buckeyes in total offense with an average of 228.7 yards per game. In addition to completing 59.9 percent of his passes for 1,640 yards, he is the Buckeyes’ second leading rusher with 508 yards and an average of 4.5 yards per carry. Smith has topped the 300-yard mark in total offense twice this year, joining Joe Germaine and Art Schlicther as the only other Ohio State players to accomplish that feat. His 10 rushing touchdowns represent the fourth highest single-season total in OSU history by a quarterback.
Ohio State Single Season
QB Rushing TDs
| Total | Name | Year |
| 14 | Les Horvath | 1944 |
| 13 | Art Schlichter | 1978 |
| 12 | Cornelius Greene | 1973 |
| 10 | Troy Smith | 2005 |
| 9 | Art Schlichter | 1979 |
| Cornelius Greene | 1974 | |
| Rex Kern | 1969 | |
| 8 | Cornelius Greene | 1975 |
| Donald Lamka | 1971 | |
| Rex Kern | 1968 |
HUSTON GROZA SEMI-FINALIST
Senior kicker Josh Huston has been named as one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award. Huston, who is in his first year as the Buckeyes’ starting field goal kicker, has come from virtually out of nowhere this year to project himself into the national spotlight by hitting 18 of 21 field goals, including a school-record tying five against Texas. He also has 45 touchbacks on 64 kickoffs, including a string of 18 in a row at one point. Huston leads the Big Ten in kick scoring, field goals made and field goal percentage.
GINN TIES BIG TEN RECORD
Sophomore speedster Ted Ginn Jr. has tied the Big Ten career record for punt returns for touchdowns. The explosive Ginn had a 62-yard runback for a score at Indiana, Oct. 22, giving him five career touchdowns on punt returns. That ties the mark set by former Iowa standout Tim Dwight (1994-97). On the year, Ginn is averaging 12.2 yards per punt return on 21 attempts. He also averages 29.6 yards per kick return (18 attempts including a 100-yard touchdown) and 16.1 yards per reception. Ginn leads the Buckeyes in all-purpose yardage with an average of 134.5 yards per game. He had scored touchdowns in four consecutive games leading up to Northwestern.
BUCKEYE NOTES
Ohio State now has an all-time record of 773-300-53, includinga Big Ten mark of 424-162-24. Ohio State has won 27 of its last 29home games. Under Tressel, the Buckeyes are 35-3 when leading atthe half and 38-3 when ahead after three quarters. Ohio State is11-8 in Big Ten road games under Coach Jim Tressel. The Buckeyeshave scored at least one touchdown in 111 consecutive games. Thewin over Northwestern gives Ohio State a 4-2 record against Top 25teams in 2005. The Buckeyes have outscored their last six opponents55-7 in the fourth quarter. The OSU defense has held five opponentsto less than 200 yards in total offense this year. The OSU defensehas held six opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. Ohio Statehas had 18 plays of 40 or more yards this year.
BIG TEN SUCCESS
Since beginning league play in 1913, Ohio State has compiled an all-time Big Ten record of 424-162-24 and captured 29 conference championships. Ohio State’s 29 championships include 15 outright and 14 shared crowns. Between 1972 and 1977, the Buckeyes shared the title six consecutive times and went to a still unprecedented four straight Rose Bowls.
COACH Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel is now in his fifth season as head coach at Ohio State. His record with the Buckeyes is 48-13 and his career record is 183-70-2 (.722). He is in his 20th year as a head coach.
Tressel took over the Buckeyes in 2001, directing them to a 7-5 record that year. In 2002, he led Ohio State to a 14-0 record and the school’s first consensus national championship since 1968 and was nearly everyone’s choice as National Coach of the Year. In 2003, the Buckeyes won their first five games to extend their winning streak to 19 and finished with an 11-2 record. The squad last year, which had to replace 14 NFL drafted players, won five of its last six games en route to an 8-4 finish.
Tressel’s teams have appeared in four Bowl games and are 3-1 in those contests, including back-to-back BCS wins in the Fiesta Bowl. They also are 3-1 against Michigan in one of the most intense and storied rivalries in all of sport.
Eight of Tressel’s players have won first-team All-America honors and three have won major awards, including kicker Mike Nugent, the recipient of the Lou Groza Award last year as the best place-kicker in college football.
Tressel is a master in close games. Since coming to Ohio State, he is 16-9 in games decided by a touchdown or less and 4-1 in overtime games.
He is at his best against the best with an impressive 20-7 record against teams ranked in the Top 25 and a 5-2 mark against teams ranked in the Top 10.
The 52-year-old Tressel is a 1975 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College. He is 3-1 against Michigan
BUCKEYES SET SACK RECORD
In the win over Michigan State, the Ohio State defense recorded a school record 12 sacks, breaking the old mark of 11 set against Iowa in 1998. Heading into this week’s game at Michigan, the Buckeyes have 38 sacks. The Ohio State single-season standard for sacks is 47, set first in 1998 and later matched in 2000.
CARPENTER SECOND IN BIG TEN
Senior linebacker Bobby Carpenter currently is second in the Big Ten in sacks with eight. Four of those came against Michigan State, when Carpenter tied the Ohio State single-game sack record that had been set originally by Jason Simmons in 1991.
HAWK READY TO CRACK TOP FIVE
Senior linebacker A.J. Hawk now has 375 career stops to rank sixth in Ohio State annals. He trails only Marcus Marek (572 tackles), Tom Cousineau (569), Chris Spielman (546), Steve Tovar (408) and Pepper Johnson (379) in the OSU records book. Hawk leads the Buckeyes in tackles with 102, including 12.0 tackles-for-loss and 7.5 sacks. He has led the team in tackles in nine of 10 games (all but Minnesota) and is averaging 10.2 stops per game. His high game this year is 19 stops in the win over Michigan State. In the win over Northwestern, he had eight tackles, including a sack, a forced fumble and a touchdown on a blocked punt recovery.
HUSTON IN THE RECORDS BOOK
After five years of waiting his turn, Josh Huston has etched his name in the OSU records book. The sixth-year senior tied the school records for most field goals in a game and most field goals in a game at Ohio Stadium by booting five treys against Texas. Huston converted from 45, 36, 25, 44, and 26 yards out against the Longhorns, staking OSU to a 22-16 lead. He also narrowly missed from 50 yards away. The five field goals in Ohio Stadium equals the record set by Bob Atha against Indiana in 1981 and matched last year by Mike Nugent, the school’s all-time leading scorer. Atha kicked his five in Ohio Stadium. Nugent’s five came at North Carolina State. Huston’s six field goal attempts against Texas is a school record.
INJURY UPDATE
Offensive tackle Steve Rehring is out for the year after contracting pneumonia. The 6-8, 330-pound true freshman had played in three games before becoming ill. Linebacker Marcus Freeman and tight end Rory Nicol remain sidelined with injuries and are not expected to play this season. Freeman played in the opener; Nicol has not played this year. Senior running back Brandon Schnittker is out for the remainder of the regular season after undergoing back surgery
ACADEMIC SUCCESS
A league-best 22 Ohio State football players were named to the Big Ten’s All-Academic team last fall, marking the third year in a row the Buckeyes have led the conference in that area. Additionally, a record 44 Ohio State football players qualified for last spring’s annual OSU Scholar-Athlete Dinner, which requires a grade-point average of 3.00 or better for the past academic year. As a team, the Buckeyes have an overall GPA of 2.82.
THREE PLAYERS RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS
Seniors Steve Winner, John Conroy and Rob “Chic” Harley have been put on scholarship by Coach Jim Tressel.
“They have worked hard and deserve it,” said the Ohio State coach. “It is nice to be able to reward players for their work ethic. All three have a passion to be here, so I know this is special for them.”
Winner is from Dublin, Ohio, Conroy from Bay Village, Ohio and Harley from Elmhurst, Ill.
HUSTON GETS DEGREE
Kicker Josh Huston was one of 23 Ohio State student-athletes to receive an undergraduate degree Aug. 28. With a degree in real estate and urban development already completed, Huston began work on another undergrad degree in psychology when fall classes started in late September.
THE BUCKEYES ALL-TIME
Ohio State enters this week with an all-time record of 773-300-53 since first fielding a football team in 1890. That includes a Big Ten record of 424-162-24 since 1913, an Ohio Stadium slate of 361-102-20 since 1922 and a bowl mark of 17-19.
BUCKEYE CAPTAINS
Linebacker A.J. Hawk, center Nick Mangold, safety Nate Salley and offensive guard Robbie Sims are the 2005 captains. The four seniors were elected by a vote of their teammates. Hawk and Mangold are both from Centerville, Ohio (as is Mike Nugent who was one of last year’s co-captains and Kirk Herbstreit, who captained the 1992 team). Salley is from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Sims from Macedonia, Ohio.
SEVEN ROOKIES SEE ACTION
Seven true freshmen – offensive tackle Alex Boone, cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, linebacker James Laurinaitis, safety Jamario O’Neal, flanker Brian Robiskie, tailback Maurice Wells and defensive end Lawrence Wilson – have seen action this year for the Buckeyes. Jenkins and Boone are currently starting.
COACHING STAFF ADDITIONS
There are two new faces on the Ohio State coaching staff this year, both on the defensive side of the ball. Tim Beckman has taken over as the cornerbacks coach and Paul Haynes has assumed the role of safeties coach. Beckman comes to Ohio State from Bowling Green, where he spent the past seven seasons. Haynes, who grew up in Columbus and played at DeSales High School, was at Michigan State the past two years.
OTHER COACHING CHANGES
With the departures of defensive coordinator Mark Snyder for Marshall and Mel Tucker for the Cleveland Browns, veteran OSU assistant Jim Heacock has been elevated to defensive coordinator and Luke Fickell to co-defensive coordinator. Additionally, wide receivers coach Darrell Hazell will now serve as assistant head coach. This marks the second-consecutive year the Buckeyes have started the season with a new defensive coordinator, but Heacock is a former head coach who is in his 10th season at Ohio State and Fickell is in his fourth year on Tressel’s staff.
COACHING RESPONSIBILITIES
Offensive coordinator Jim Bollman and quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels will be in the press box for the Buckeyes during the game, as will cornerbacks coach Tim Beckman and co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell.
GAME 1 – MIAMI (OHIO)
| Miami | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Ohio State | 10 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 34 |
The Buckeyes opened the season with a 34-14 win over the RedHawks before an Ohio Stadium crowd of 104,695. The Buckeyes led 20-0 at the half and 34-0 after three quarters before giving up two late touchdowns.
Quarterback Justin Zwick completed 17 of 23 passes for 155 yards and one touchdown and Antonio Pittman rushed for 100 yards on 14 carries to pace a balanced OSU attack. Four different receivers caught five passes from Zwick and backup Todd Boeckman, including Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr., both of whom were on the receiving end of touchdown tosses.
The OSU defense, meanwhile, was its same aggressive and productive self, limiting Miami to just 159 yards through the first three periods, recording five sacks and scoring on a 26-yard interception return by Donte Whitner that put the Buckeyes ahead 20-0 with one minute, 21 seconds to play in the half and took most of the starch out of the visitors.
Linebacker A.J. Hawk led the defense with 10 tackles. The Buckeyes’ starting linebacker corps of Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel all had sacks. So did Whitner and defensive end Mike Kudla, who forced a fumble that led to OSU’s final touchdown – a 42-yard Boeckman-to-Ginn pass. The Buckeyes ended the afternoon with 382 yards (220 passing, 160 rushing) on offense. Miami finished with 298.
GAME 2 – TEXAS
| Texas | 10 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 25 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 22 |
The first meeting between the two football giants was everything it was supposed to be and then some. With a national television audience looking in and a record Ohio Stadium crowd on hand, the teams battled back-and-forth in an epic struggle that will go down in history as one of the classic games ever played in the Horseshoe.
After falling behind 10-0 at the end of the first period, the Buckeyes led 16-13 at the half and 22-16 after three quarters. But the Longhorns took a 23-22 lead with 2:37 to play and then added a safety with 19 seconds remaining to close out the scoring.
Led by All-America linebacker A.J. Hawk, the Buckeye defense forced three turnovers, including a pair of interceptions. Hawk, who seemed to be everywhere, had one of those picks and also recovered a fumble. The Buckeyes’ starting linebacker trio of Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel combined for 31 tackles.
Josh Huston tied the school record with five field goals and narrowly missed on a sixth. The Buckeyes’ only touchdown came on a 36-yard pass from Troy Smith to Santonio Holmes, tying the score at 10-all with 8:11 to play in the first half. In addition to catching four passes for 73 yards, Holmes also returned three kickoffs for 109 yards.
Sophomore Antonio Pittman led the Buckeyes in rushing for the second-consecutive week, finishing with 75 yards on 17 carries and repeatedly picking up additional yards with extra effort.
GAME 3 – SAN DIEGO STATE
| San Diego St. | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 27 |
After San Diego State registered a 6.0 on the Ohio Stadium Richter scale by scoring on an 80-yard pass on its first play from scrimmage, it was all Ohio State defense the rest of the way. Led by the brilliant linebacking corps of All-American A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel, the OSU defense completely shut down the Aztec offense for the next 59 minutes and 49 seconds. After their opening drive, the Aztecs could manage a meager 99 yards the rest of the day, including just 44 in the second half. Eleven of their 14 possessions ended with a punt – the other three were the lone score, the end of the half and a fumble. SDSU managed just 13 yards rushing.
Hawk again led the team in tackles with eight, including a tackle-for-loss. Carpenter had two sacks and Schlegel was credited with half a sack and also recovered a fumble. It was Schlegel’s pressure that forced the Aztec fumble, which he recovered on the SDSU 1-yard line on the final play of the third quarter. Brandon Schnittker scored on the next play to put OSU up 24-6.
Quarterback Troy Smith accounted for 235 yards in total offense and ran for a pair of touchdowns. Seven different receivers caught at least two passes, led by Santonio Holmes and Roy Hall with four catches each.
Kicker Josh Huston added a pair of field goals, connecting from 25 and 39 yards out to complete the scoring.
A number of young players saw their first extended playing time, including true freshmen Mo Wells, who carried the ball nine times for 32 yards, and Brian Robiskie, who gathered in his first career reception and then spun his way up field for 13 yards. Redshirt freshman Erik Haw made his debut and responded with one carry for 6 yards and two receptions for another 6.
The Buckeyes rolled up 375 yards in total offense on 82 plays.
GAME 4 – IOWA
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
The Buckeyes were masterful on both sides of the ball against the Hawkeyes. With junior quarterback Troy Smith and sophomore tailback Antonio Pittman both enjoying their best outings of the year, the Buckeyes amassed a season-high 530 yards – 314 rushing and 216 through the air. Smith completed 13 of 19 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 127 yards and a pair of scores on 18 carries, rolling up 318 yards in total offense. Pittman sliced and diced his way through the Hawkeye defense for 171 yards on 28 carries, both of which were career highs.
The OSU defense, meanwhile, limited the Hawkeyes to 137 yards and an average of 2.4 yards per play on 57 plays. Iowa had 13 yards at halftime, compared to Ohio State’s 331. The Buckeyes also converted 13 of their 18 third down opportunities, including nine-of-10 in the first half. Iowa converted just one-of-12 third downs.
As he has all year, A.J. Hawk led the Buckeyes in tackles with 10. Safety Donte Whitner had seven stops and an interception, and end Mike Kudla, a disruptive force all afternoon, had a sack and a half. Bobby Carpenter and Tyler Everett added sacks for the Buckeyes, who had five on the day.
The Buckeyes led 17-0 at the half and put the game away by scoring on their first possession of the third quarter on a 4-yard run by Smith, who scored earlier on a 16-yard jaunt. Both of Smith’s touchdown passes went to Anthony Gonzalez, who enjoyed his best day as a Buckeye with six receptions for 90 yards. Santonio Holmes had five receptions for 95 yards in a balanced OSU attack.
The 300-yards rushing was the most by the Buckeyes since the 2002 season opener against Texas Tech and the 530 yards in total offense marked the first time OSU had topped the 500 mark since 2002.
The minus-yardage figure by Iowa was the first time since 2003 that an opponent (Indiana, -12 on 32 attempts) had finished on the negative side of the ledger.
GAME 5 – PENN STATE
| Penn State | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| Ohio State | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
The Buckeyes dropped a hard-fought 17-10 decision to unbeaten Penn State in an old-fashioned defensive struggle. The Buckeyes held the Nittany Lions to 195 total yards, including just 74 in the second half and eight in the fourth quarter, but could not overcome an early 14-3 deficit and a pair of costly turnovers. A 30-yard Josh Huston field goal and a 10-yard run by Troy Smith accounted for all of the OSU scoring.
Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn combined for seven receptions and 81 yards and Antonio Pittman had 58 yards on 15 carries for the Buckeyes who wound up with 230 total yards.
Linebackers A.J. Hawk and Anthony Schlegel led the team with nine tackles each and Hawk had three of the Buckeyes 11 tackles-for-loss. Hawk has led the Buckeyes in tackles in all five games this year.
GAME 6 – MICHIGAN STATE
| Michigan St. | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
The Buckeye defense had its hands full with Michigan State’s high scoring offense, but still held the Spartans well below their season average of 45 points per game. Spartan quarterback Drew Stanton threw for a career-high 340 yards, but was sacked a school-recrod 12 times by the relentless Ohio State defense. Michigan State entered the game first in sacks allowed with five through its first five games. They left dead last.
Linebackers A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel all recorded double figures in tackles for the Buckeyes, as did safety Donte Whitner. Hawk finished the game with 19 stops, while Carpenter had 11 and tied the school record for sacks in a game with four. Whitner matched his career high with 11 tackles, one more than Schlegel. Defensive tackle David Patterson had a career high three tackles-for-loss.
Cornerback Ashton Youboty finished with six tackles, a blocked field goal and a 72-yard return for a touchdown on another MSU field goal attempt. Ohio State trailed 17-7 until Youboty scooped up a blocked field goal and scored with no time left on the clock to make it 17-14 at the half.
Offensively, the Buckeyes hurt their own cause with four lost fumbles, but scored on pass plays of 51, 57 and 46 yards to dig themselves out of a 17-7 hole. Troy Smith threw for a career high 249 yards and enjoyed the first three-touchdown-passing-game of his career. Two of those tosses went to Santonio Holmes, who sandwiched catches of 51 and 46 yards around Ted Ginn’s 57-yard scoring reception. Ginn’s catch is the longest play of the year for the Buckeyes.
Antonio Pittman recorded his third 100-yard day of the year, finishing with 101 yards on 18 carries to lead all rushers.
The Buckeyes had the ball for just over 19 minutes against the Spartans, but made the most of their opportunities, averaging a whopping 9.4 yards per play on 41 plays.
GAME 7 – INDIANA
| Ohio State | 7 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 41 |
| Indiana | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
The Buckeyes jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on a 23-yard pass from Troy Smith to Santonio Holmes and never looked back. OSU led 17-3 at the half on a 1-yard Smith run and a 23-yard field goal by Josh Huston. Indiana cut that lead to 17-10 on a fumble runback, but the Buckeyes answered immediately with a five-play, 79-yard drive that required just 56 seconds and was capped off by a 23-yard scamper by Smith. Nickel back Brandon Mitchell’s 57-yard interception return for a touchdown put the game out of reach at 31-10. The Buckeyes added a Huston field goal and a dazzling 62-yard punt return by Teddy Ginn in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring and head home with a 41-10 win.
The Ohio State defense simply smothered the Indiana offense, allowing the Hoosiers 137 total yards on 57 plays. IU, which entered the game averaging 410 yards a game, was held to 42 yards rushing and 137 passing. Besides the fumble return, Indiana’s only other score came following an interception.
Sophomore Antonio Pittman rushed 26 times for 133 yards to pace the OSU rushing attack. Smith accounted for 281 yards in total offense and found favorite receiver Santonio Holmes five times for 104 of those yards.
For the second week in a row, the Buckeyes blanked their opponent in the fourth period.
GAME 8 – MINNESOTA
| Ohio State | 17 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
| Minnesota | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
Troy Smith threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns, Ted Ginn Jr. scored on a 100-yard kickoff return and Antonio Pittman rushed for a career high 186 yards as the Buckeyes downed the Gophers 45-31. In addition to scoring the most points on the road since 1998, the Buckeyes rolled up 449 yard in total offense, including 216 on the ground. Minnesota, which had entered the game averaging 299 yards rushing, finished with 182, including just 45 in the second half. The Gophers’ talented tailback Laurence Mauroney finished with 127 yards to become the first back this year to rush for 100 yards against the Buckeyes, but he was held to 13 yards on 11 carries in the second half.
Smith, who has had a hot hand of late, gave the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead on their first possession with a 41-yard scoring strike to split end Santonio Holmes, one of two TD receptions on the day for Holmes. With OSU leading 10-7, Ginn sprinted 100 yards untouched on a kickoff return to put the Buckeyes on top 17-7. Pittman snapped a 17-17 tie with a 67-yard run on the Buckeyes’ first possession of the second half that gave OSU the lead for good. Smith made it 31-17 on a 27-yard pass to Anthony Gonzalez on the Buckeyes’ next possession.
The Gophers, who threw for 396 yards and had 578 yards in total offense, closed the gap to 31-24, but a 4-yard Pittman run and a 30-yard Smith-to-Holmes pass salted things away.
Donte Whitner led the Buckeye defense with 10 tackles, one more than A.J. Hawk and Ashton Youboty.
The Buckeyes had no turnovers in the game and recovered a Gopher fumble that set up Pittman’s second score. Nate Salley forced the fumble which was recovered by Quinn Pitcock.
GAME 9 – ILLINOIS
| Illinois | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Ohio State | 3 | 10 | 20 | 7 | 40 |
The Buckeyes ran their record to 7-2 with a 40-2 win over Illinois. Troy Smith threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns and Antonio Pittman ran for 96 yards and a pair of scores to pace the OSU attack. Linebacker A.J. Hawk had 10 tackles, one more than defensive end Mike Kudla and two more than strong safety Donte Whitner as the Buckeye defense held the Illini to 160 yards of total offense, including just 68 rushing.
Josh Huston put the Buckeyes ahead to stay with a pair of early field goals and a 41-yard Smith to Santonio Holmes pass made it 13-0 at the half. The Buckeyes put the game out of reach in the third quarter with 20 points, including the second TD catch of the day by Holmes and a season-long 73-yard strike from Smith to Ted Ginn Jr. Antonio Pittman rushed for 96 yards on 22 carries and for the second week in a row scored two touchdowns.
Smith’s 298 passing yards were a career high. Ginn also had a 65-yard kick return and a 52-yard reception. The Buckeyes scored on four drives of 80 or more yards and had four plays of at least 40 yards.
For the second consecutive week, all eight of Huston’s kickoffs were touchbacks.
2006 SCHEDULE COMPLETED
Ohio State has completed its 2006 football card with the addition of Bowling Green. The two teams will play Oct. 7 in Ohio Stadium, giving the Buckeyes seven home games next year. The Buckeyes and Falcons have met three times previously. Ohio State leads the series 3-0. All three games have been played in Columbus. The most recent game was in 2003.
WATCHING THE BUCKEYES
In seven home games this year, Ohio State drew an average of 105,017 to Ohio Stadium, eclipsing the previous best single-season attendance average of 104,876 set in 2004. The 105,565 fans who attended the Texas game on Sept. 10 of this year eclipsed the single-game record set against Michigan in 2002 (105,539). With road games at Penn State and Michigan this year, the Buckeyes will play in nine games where the crowds exceed the 100,000 mark.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
After starting the season 3-3, Michigan has won four straight games, including a 23-20 overtime victory at Iowa, to run its record to 7-3 overall. The Wolverines have won five of their seven conference games and have climbed to No. 17 in both polls this week. The team’s last loss was to Minnesota at Michigan Stadium. It has responded with wins over Penn State (27-25), Iowa, Northwestern (33-17) before beating Indiana last week (41-14).
The Wolverines are averaging 29.6 points and 395.6 yards per game, including 177.7 yards rushing and 217.9 yards passing. Quarterback Chad Henne has completed 177-of-303 passes (58.4 percent) for 2,033 yards and 19 touchdowns. He averages 203.3 yards per game. Jason Avant has been his favorite target this season, hitting him 70 times for 900 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns. Mario Manningham, who is second on the team with 20 receptions, has caught five touchdown passes. Mike Hart and Kevin Grady each have four of the team’s 14 rushing touchdowns. In six games this season, Hart has 122 carries for 573 yards (95.5 yards per game) and Grady, who has played in nine games, has 110 carries for 455 yards (50.6 average).
Defensively, Michigan is holding opponents to 18.7 points and 340.6 yards per game. That breaks down to 137.9 yards rushing and 202.7 yards via the pass. The Wolverines have benefited from 10 interceptions and nine fumbles. David Harris and Grant Mason are tied for the team lead with 72 tackles each. LaMarr Woodley leads the squad with 14 tackles-for-losses of 53 yards and five sacks totaling 43 yards.
MICHIGAN’S LAST GAME
Chad Henne had three touchdown passes in the first half as Michigan built a huge lead and coasted to a 41-14 victory over Indiana Saturday without scoring after halftime. The Wolverines won their fourth straight game, avoiding a letdown coming off a bye and heading into the regular-season finale against Ohio State. Henne’s passing, Kevin Grady’s two TD runs and Steve Breaston’s 201 all-purpose yards gave the Wolverines a 41-7 lead at halftime. It was Michigan’s highest-scoring first half since scoring 45 against Indiana in 2000. Henne was 17-of-24 for 174 yards and three TDs and was relieved in the second half by Matt Gutierrez. Grady had a career-high 94 yards rushing and two TDs, filling in for Mike Hart, who missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. Jason Avant had five receptions for 66 yards and a TD.
MICHIGAN COACH LLOYD CARR
Lloyd Carr (Northern Michigan, 1968) is in his 11th season as the Michigan head coach. In Ann Arbor, the 60-year-old coach owns a 102-32 record, including a 68-18 mark in the Big Ten. His teams have won 10 or more games five times, including 1997 when the team finished 12-0 and played in the Rose Bowl. His teams are 5-5 in bowl games. 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.
