Sixteen Ohio State Seniors to Play Home Finale – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 7, 2005
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THE NORTHWESTERN GAME
Ohio State closes out its home season Saturday by hosting Northwestern. Kickoff is set for 12:10 p.m. in sold out Ohio Stadium (cap. 102,329). The game will be televised nationally by ABC and broadcast by WBNS Radio, the flagship station for the 73-station Ohio State radio network. Prior to the game, this year’s seniors and their families will be recognized by the OSU coaching staff.
The Buckeyes enter the game with a 7-2 record, including a 5-1 slate in Big Ten play. Coach Jim Tressel’s squad has won four in a row and is ranked 10th nationally. Ohio State is coming off a 40-2 win over Illinois.
Northwestern is 6-3 on the year and 4-2 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats downed visiting Iowa 28-27 last week.
The Buckeyes are 5-1 at home this year and 30-4 in Ohio Stadium under Tressel. Northwestern, coached by Troy, Ohio, native Randy Walker, is 2-1 in three road games this year, losing at Arizona State but bouncing back with wins at Purdue and Michigan State.
Ohio State enters this week’s game leading the Big Ten in all four major defensive categories – rushing, passing, scoring and total defense. The Buckeyes are allowing 280 yards per game. Northwestern is averaging 508.1 yards per game and leads the league in passing offense at 319.1 yards per game. OSU is allowing 203.7 yards per game through the air.
In Saturday’s win over Illinois, the Buckeyes rolled up 526 yards in total offense, their second highest output of the season, and limited the Illini to 160 yards, the fifth time this year that OSU has held its opponent below the 200-yard mark.
THE BIG TEN CHASE
With six games down and two to go, the Buckeyes trail league-leader Penn State by half a game. The 6-1 Nittany Lions are idle this week, then close out the regular season next week at Michigan State. A win by Joe Paterno’s team would give the Nittany Lions the Big Ten’s automatic BCS berth. In order for Ohio State to at least share the title, the Buckeyes must win their remaining two games with Northwestern this week and at Michigan next week. Wisconsin is in third place at 5-2, followed by Northwestern and Michigan at 4-2. Northwestern concludes its regular season next week at Illinois.
THE SENIOR CLASS
Sixteen seniors will be recognized in Saturday’s pregame ceremonies. This year’s class has a combined record of 40-7 the past four seasons, including a 14-0 season and the National Championship in 2002 and a string of 19 consecutive victories from the 2002 season through the first five games of 2003. They have played in three bowl games to date, including two BCS games. The following seniors and their families will be introduced Saturday: Bobby Carpenter, John Conroy, Tyler Everett, Marcus Green, Ryan Hamby, Rob Harley, A.J. Hawk, Josh Huston, Mike Kudla, Nick Mangold, Nate Salley, Anthony Schlegel, Brandon Schnittker, Rob Sims, Andree Tyree and Steve Winner.
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes have moved up to the No. 10 spot in this week’s rankings. During their current four-game winning streak, the Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 161 to 67 and are averaging 459.7 yards per game. They have topped the 40-point plateau in each of the past three games and have a 45-7 scoring bulge in the fourth quarter. OSU has thrown for 200 or more yards in its last four games and rushed for 200 or more in the last three. As a result of their recent surge, the Buckeyes have moved up to fifth in the Big Ten in rushing offense at 183.3 yards per game and sixth in scoring offense at 31.7 points per game.
Quarterback Troy Smith has taken over the Big Ten lead in passing efficiency with a rating of 165.1. The Buckeye junior is completing 60 percent of his passes, has thrown for 1,563 yards and 13 touchdowns and has been intercepted just three times. In the last four games, Smith has passed for 1,006 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The receiving trio of Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez has combined for 93 receptions and 15 touchdowns. Holmes leads the way with 39 grabs for 732 yards and nine scores. Ginn has 31 receptions and Gonzalez 23. Each has three scores.
In the rushing department, sophomore Antonio Pittman is in the midst of his best year with 978 yards rushing on 181 carries. Pittman, who has scored four touchdowns the past two weeks, is averaging 5.4 yards per carry and 108.7 yards per game. He is the Big Ten’s fifth leading rusher.
On the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in rushing (76.6), scoring (15.0), passing (203.7) and total defense (280.2). They also lead the league in opponent first downs (133), opponent third-down conversions (26.4 percent) and sacks (36).
OSU has held five opponents to less than 200 yards in total offense and the same number to less than 100 yards rushing. The Buckeyes have been particularly effective at home, holding their opponents to averages of 58 yards rushing and 268 yards in total offense.
Senior linebacker A.J. Hawk is the team leader in tackles with 94, including a team high 11.0 tackles-for-loss. Linebacker Bobby Carpenter has eight sacks.
| NW | TEAM COMPARISONS | OSU |
| 6-3, 4-2 | Records | 7-2, 5-1 |
| 33.9 | Points Per Game | 31.7 |
| 32.0 | Opp. Pts. Per Game | 15.0 |
| 189.0 | Avg. Rushing Yards | 183.3 |
| 319.1 | Avg. Passing Yards | 217.9 |
| 508.1 | Avg. Total Offense | 401.1 |
| 199.0 | Opp. Avg. Rush/Yds. | 76.6 |
| 295.4 | Opp. Avg. Pass/Yds. | 203.7 |
| 494.4 | Opp. Avg. Tot. Off. | 280.2 |
| 58/131 | 3rd Down Conv. | 56/121 |
| 62/490 | Pen./Yards | 46/420 |
| 29:40 | Avg. Time of Poss. | 31:55 |
| 8 | Sacks By | 36 |
| 7 | Sacks Allowed | 15 |
| 6-5, 302 | Avg. Ht./Wt. OL | 6-5, 303 |
| 6-3, 283 | Avg. Ht./Wt. DL | 6-3, 284 |
SERIES INFORMATION
Ohio State and Northwestern are meeting for the 71st time. The Buckeyes have won 55 of the games, against 14 losses and one tie. OSU has a 30-8 edge in games played in Columbus and has won 14 in a row from the Wildcats in Ohio Stadium dating back to a 14-10 loss in 1971. Northwestern recorded a 33-27 overtime win over the Buckeyes last year in Evanston, ending a 24-game losing streak at the hands of the Buckeyes.
LAST YEAR’S GAME
The Buckeyes dropped their Big Ten opener to the Wildcats, the beginning of a three-game league tailspin for OSU. Northwestern led 27-17 early in the fourth quarter, but the Buckeyes tied it on 21-yard pass from Justin Zwick to Santonio Holmes with 1:54 to play. The Buckeyes failed to score on their overtime possession and NU pulled off the upset on a 1-yard run by Noah Herron, who rushed for 133 yards and a pair of scores. Quarterback Brett Basanez completed 24 of 44 passes for 278 yards. Zwick was 18 of 38 for 211 yards and Holmes had 10 receptions for 99 yards. In addition to his touchdown catch, Holmes also scored on a 69-yard punt return.
OHIO STATE LAST WEEK
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.
The Buckeyes scored on four drives of 80 or more yards and had four plays of at least 40 yards.
GINN HAS IT IN GEAR
Ted Ginn Jr. had four receptions for a career-high 138 yards against Illinois, an average of 34.5 yards per catch. He also had a 65-yard kick return, a 20-yard punt return and an 8-yard run. Ginn has scored touchdowns in each of the past four games. He started the streak with a 57-yard reception against Michigan State. In the win at Indiana, Ginn scored on a 67-yard punt return to tie the Big Ten record for career punt returns for touchdowns at five. The following week at Minnesota, he raced 100 yards with a kickoff return, marking the first time since 1997 that OSU has scored on a kickoff return. Against Illinois, Ginn hauled in a 73-yard pass from Troy Smith and then streaked the final 20 yards to pay dirt. He also had a 52-yard reception against the Illini.
PITTMAN NEARING MILESTONE
Sophomore tailback Antonio Pittman has 978 yards rushing on the year, leaving him 22 yards shy of the coveted 1,000-yard mark. Pittman has carried the ball 181 times and is averaging 5.4 yards and 108.7 yards per carry. He has topped the 100-yard mark five times this year and rolled up a career best 186 yards in the win at Minnesota. He is bidding to become the 23rd player in Ohio State history to top the 1,000-yard mark. The last to do so was Maurice Clarett with 1,230 yards in 2002. The school single-season record of 1,927 belongs to Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George and was set in 1995.
HOLMES THIRD IN TD CATCHES
With two touchdown catches against Illinois, 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 126 career receptions, Holmes ranks sixth on the all-time OSU receiving list. He is also seventh in career receiving yardage with 2,050 yards. The 5-11, 190-pound junior has caught two or more passes in 27-consecutive games.
SMITH HAS HOT HAND
Junior quarterback Troy Smith (now 10-2 as a starter) has been on a hot streak of late, completing 51 of his last 79 passes for 1,006 yards and 10 touchdowns in his last four games. Smith, who has moved into first place in the Big Ten in passing efficiency, has accounted for 21 touchdowns on the year (13 passing and 8 rushing) and is averaging 249.5 yards per game in total offense.
Ohio State Single Season
QB Rushing TDs
| Total | Name | Year |
| 14 | Les Horvath | 1944 |
| 13 | Art Schlichter | 1978 |
| 12 | Cornelius Greene | 1973 |
| 9 | Art Schlichter | 1979 |
| Cornelius Greene | 1974 | |
| Rex Kern | 1969 | |
| 8 | Troy Smith | 2005 |
| Cornelius Greene | 1975 | |
| Donald Lamka | 1971 | |
| Rex Kern | 1968 |
HUSTON EXTENDS STREAK
Senior kicker Josh Huston kicked off 16 times the past two weeks (eight each at Minnesota and against Illinois) and all 16 of those kicks have sailed into the end zone for touchbacks. On the year, 40 of his 56 kicks have been touchbacks. Huston leads the Buckeyes in scoring with 81 points and has made 16 of 19 field goal attempts, including two this past week against Illinois. He leads the Big Ten in kick scoring and is fourth in overall scoring. He also is the league leader in field goal percentage.
GINN TIES BIG TEN RECORD
Sophomore speedster Teddy 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).
HAWK HONORED
Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk is a semifinalist for both the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Butkus Award. The list of semifinalists for both awards was announced last week. Finalists for both honors will be announced in November. Hawk also is among the quarterfinalists for the second annual Lott Award.
BUCKEYE NOTES
Ohio State now has an all-time record of 772-300-53, includinga Big Ten mark of 423-162-24. Ohio State has won 26 of its last 28home games – the losses coming to Wisconsin in 2004 and Texasearlier this year. Under Tressel, the Buckeyes are 34-3 whenleading at the half and 37-3 when ahead after three quarters. OhioState is 11-8 in Big Ten road games since Tressel took over in2001. The Buckeyes have scored at least one touchdown in110-consecutive games. The win over Minnesota gives Ohio State a3-2 record against Top 25 teams so far in 2005. Troy Smith hasthrown for 1,006 yards and 10 touchdowns in his last four gamesAntonio Pittman needs 22 yards to become Ohio State’s 23rd1,000-yard rusher. The Buckeyes have outscored their last fouropponents 45-7 in the fourth quarter. Josh Huston has 16consecutive touchbacks to his credit. The OSU defense has held fiveopponents to less than 200 yards in total offense this year. TheOSU defense has held five opponents to less than 100 yards rushing.In six home games, the Buckeyes are allowing 58 yards per gamerushing. Sophomore flanker Ted Ginn Jr. averaged 34.5 yards percatch on four receptions vs. Illinois. Ohio State has had 18 playsof 40 or more yards this year.
TRESSEL AVAILABILTIY
Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel meets with the media each Tuesday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m., followed by Coach Tressel’s comments and a question-and-answer session at about 12:15 p.m. Selected players are available at the luncheon and again after practice on Tuesday. Tressel also meets with the media following practice each Wednesday during the season.
THE EXPERTS THIS WEEK
Two Ohio State assistant coaches (one from each side of the ball) are available in the atrium of the Woody Hayes Athletics Center after practice each Thursday during the season to preview the upcoming game. This week’s experts are tight ends coach John Peterson and defensive backs tutor Tim Beckman
MICHIGAN INTERVIEWS
All coach and player interviews for the Michigan game will be held Monday, Nov. 14. Coach Jim Tressel will meet with the media at 2:30 p.m. Monday in the team meeting room, followed by defensive players at 3 p.m. and selected offensive players at 3:45 p.m. and selected . Assistant coaches will be available upon request during the 2:30-3 p.m. window.
BIG TEN SUCCESS
Since beginning league play in 1913, Ohio State has compiled an all-time Big Ten record of 423-162-24 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 47-13 and his career record is 182-70-2 (.720). 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 19-7 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 Northwestern.
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 with Northwestern, the Buckeyes have 36 sacks and are averaging a Big Ten best four per game. 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. Carpenter is also fourth in the Big Ten in tackles for losses with 10.5. The 6-3, 255-pound Carpenter has 43 total tackles on the year.
HAWK SIXTH IN CAREER TACKLES
Senior linebacker A.J. Hawk now has 367 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 94, including 11.0 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks. He has led the team in tackles in eight of nine games (all but Minnesota) and is averaging 10.4 stops per game. His high game this year is 19 stops in the win over Michigan State. In the win over Illinois on Saturday, he had 10 tackles and a pair of sacks.
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 772-300-53 since first fielding a football team in 1890. That includes a Big Ten record of 423-162-24 since 1913, an Ohio Stadium slate of 360-102-20 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.
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.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Northwestern improved to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten with a last-minute 28-27 victory over Iowa last Saturday in Evanston. It was the second time this season the Wildcats have won a game in the closing minutes, edging Purdue 34-29 with a touchdown in the final two minutes, a week after holding on to beat Wisconsin 51-48 in a shootout. In another close game, Penn State scored with just under a minute to play to beat Northwestern 34-29 Sept. 24. Northwestern opened the season with wins over Ohio (38-14) and Northern Illinois (38-37) before setbacks to Arizona State (52-21) and Penn State (29-34). The Wildcats then won three in a row, beating Wisconsin and Purdue before a 49-14 victory over Michigan State. Michigan turned back Northwestern 33-17 two weeks ago before it rebounded with the win last Saturday.
The Wildcats average 33.9 points and 508.1 yards of total offense each game, breaking down to 189 yards on the ground and 319.1 yards through the air. Brett Basanez has completed 64.7 percent of his passes (236-of-365) for 2,845 yards and 16 touchdowns. His favorite target is Shaun Herbert who has caught 66 passes for 744 yards and five touchdowns. Jonathan Fields has 46 catches for 402 yards and Mark Philmore has caught 39 passes for 526 yards and four TDs. Tyrell Sutton, a freshman from Akron, has rushed for 1,085 yards, an average of 120.6 yards per game, and has scored 16 touchdowns.
The Northwestern defense is allowing 32.0 points and 494.4 yards per game, surrendering 199 rushing yards and 295.4 passing yards per game. The Wildcats have intercepted 15 passes and recovered nine fumbles and have eight sacks on the year. Tim McGarigle leads Northwestern with 122 tackles, including 63 solo stops. He has 6.5 tackles for losses of 20 yards and two sacks for 11 yards. He also has one interception, has recovered two fumbles and forced another. Nick Roach has 57 tackles. Adam Kadela has 52 and Herschel Henderson has 50.
NORTHWESTERN’S LAST GAME
Tyrell Sutton scored on a 1-yard run to bring the Wildcats within six points with 2:10 to play in the game and Reggie McPherson recovered an onside kick to set up a 9-yard touchdown pass from Brett Basanez to Ross Lane with 42 seconds remaining to lift Northwestern to a 28-27 comeback victory over Iowa last Saturday in Evanston. Basanez was 31-of-51 for 338 yards with two touchdowns. Sutton carried 17 times for 65 yards, and Mark Philmore had 123 yards receiving. Tim McGarigle became Northwestern’s all-time leading tackler with 13 against Iowa, giving him 511 for his career to break Chuck Kern’s record of 503. Iowa’s Albert Young rushed for a career-high 202 yards, and Drew Tate passed for 273. Iowa gained 492 yards.
NORTHWESTERN COACH RANDY WALKER
Randy Walker (Miami, Ohio, 1976) is 36-44 in his seventh season at Northwestern and is 95-79-5 in his 16th year as a college coach. Walker is the first Northwestern coach to own victories over all 10 Big Ten Conference foes. Walker’s teams have gone 6-6 each of the last two years and have played in two bowl games, the 2000 Alamo Bowl and the 2003 Motor City Bowl. In 29 seasons that have included stints at North Carolina, Miami (Ohio) and Northwestern, Walker was 59-35-5 in nine seasons at Miami (Ohio), leaving with a winning percentage of .621 and as the winningest coach at the school that has produced such noted coaches as Bo Schembechler, Bill Mallory, Paul Brown and Woody Hayes.
NEXT WEEK
The Buckeyes are at Michigan in the traditional season finale between the two schools. ABC Sports will televise the game nationally at 1 p.m.
