Postgame Notes From No. 8/9 Ohio State vs. No. 21/21 Iowa – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 24, 2005
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Ohio State Notes
With the win Saturday, Ohio State now has won 24 of its last 26games at home. The losses came against Wisconsin in 2004 and Texastwo weeks ago. With the win Saturday, Jim Tressel’s career markmoved to 178-69-2, including a 43-12 record at Ohio State. Tresselnow is 28-4 at home at Ohio State.
Ohio State had a 17-0 lead at halftime. With the win, the Buckeyes now are 32-3 under Tressel when leading at the half. The Buckeyes extended their lead to 24-3 after three periods. With the victory, Tressel moved to 34-3 overall at Ohio State when leading after three periods.
Since coming to Ohio State, Tressel is 16-6 against teams ranked in the Top 25 after beating Iowa Saturday.
Tressel is 24-9 vs. Big Ten teams and 2-1 vs. Iowa at OhioState. Tressel also is 3-1 vs. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.Tressel’s Youngstown State team defeated Ferentz when he was atMaine, 38-17, in a 1990 Division I-AA playoff game.
With the win Saturday, the Buckeyes improved to 4-1 in Big Ten openers under Tressel, the lone loss came in 2004 in overtime at Northwestern.
The Buckeyes’ overall record in Big Ten openers now stands at 61-29-3.
In the four-plus years Tressel has been at the Ohio State helm,the Buckeyes have compiled an overall record of 16-2 during themonth of September. For the 105th consecutive game, Ohio Statescored at least one touchdown. The last time a Buckeye team washeld without a touchdown was a 13-9 loss to Michigan in the 1996season.
With the win vs. Iowa Saturday, Ohio State’s all-time mark as a Top 10 team moves to 281-67-9. Overall, Ohio State now is 382-122-14 as a team ranked in the AP Top 25. With the win, Ohio State now is 110-98-12 vs. teams ranked in the AP Top 25.
Matchup/Series Information
In its victory last season, Iowa outgained the Buckeyes intotal yardage 448 to 177 in a 33-7 win in Iowa City. Saturday, theBuckeyes totaled 530 yards compared to Iowa’s 137. Iowa had comeoff a season-high 496 yards of offense and 265 yards rushing in itswin over Northern Iowa last week. Saturday, the Buckeyes held Iowato minus 9 yards rushing on 18 carries. The game Saturday served asthe 60th meeting between Iowa and Ohio State in the series thatdates back to 1922. Ohio State now leads the overall series,43-14-3, including a 27-8-1 edge in games played in Columbus. TheBuckeyes now have won five straight in Columbus over Iowa. The lastloss at home to Iowa was in 1991 by a score of 16-9 The win by OhioState Saturday snapped a seven-game conference winning streak forIowa. The Hawkeyes won their last seven league games in 2004 afterdropping their Big Ten opener at Michigan. The game Saturday wasthe 11th time Ohio State has opened Big Ten play against Iowa. TheBuckeyes now have won 10 of the previous 11, the only loss in thatspan come in 1983. The two teams last faced one another in theirleague opener in 1997. With the 31-6 win Saturday, Ohio Stateimproved to 25-0 when scoring more than 30 points against theHawkeyes and moved to 12-0 when scoring between 30-39 points vs.Iowa. With the win Saturday, Ohio State improved its Big Ten recordto 419-161-24 since 1913.
Offensive Notes
Running back Antonio Pittman and quarterback Troy Smith eachtopped 100 yards rushing on Ohio State’s first drive of the secondhalf. Pittman finished the game Saturday with career highs with 171yards on 28, and Smith ran for 127 on 18 carries. The two 100-yardgames by Pittman and Smith marks the first time since 1976 OhioState had a 100-yard rusher at quarterback and running back in thesame game.
The last time Ohio State accomplished that feat was against Michigan State Sept. 11, 1976 in Ohio Stadium when quarterback Rod Gerald had 104 yards and running back Jeff Logan went for 112. Saturday marked the eighth time Ohio State has had 100-plus rushers at running back and quarterback in program history.
Ohio State’s opening drive Saturday resulted in a touchdown andcovered 81 yards on 15 plays. The drive marked the longest drive ofthe season and tied for the most plays in a single drive thisseason. The drive is the third of the season for the Buckeyes of 80yards or more.
The touchdown served as the second this season for Ohio State on its opening drive of the game. The Buckeyes last scored on their opening drive of the game against Miami in the season opener.
Coming into the game Saturday, Iowa had outscored its opponents42-6 in the first quarter in its three games. Saturday, Ohio Stateheld a 7-0 edge at the end of the first period and held anadvantage in total yards of 138 (19 plays) to 26 (13 plays).
At the end of the second quarter, Ohio State led 17-0. For the season, Ohio State now has outscored its opponents 40-3 in the second quarter.
The Buckeyes also upped their third-quarter scoring advantage to 30-6 after scoring a touchdown in the third period to take a 24-3 lead heading to the fourth period. The Buckeyes’ touchdown in the third period marked the first time this season Iowa had allowed an opponent to score in the third quarter. Coming into Saturday, the Hawkeyes held a 10-0 advantage in third-quarter points through three games.
At the end of the first half, Ohio State held an advantage intotal yards of 331 to 13 and outrushed the Hawkeyes, 208 (33carries) to -4 (10 carries). Ohio State rushed for a season-high336 yards on 60 carries Saturday vs. Iowa. The previous high was179 yards rushing last week against San Diego State. The last timeOhio State rushed for more than 300 yards in a game was vs. TexasTech Aug. 24, 2002, when the Buckeyes gained 317 yards on 57 tries.For the game, the Buckeyes totaled 530 yards of offense, markingthe first time the Buckeyes put up 500 yards of offense since Oct.12, 2002 against San Jose State (567). In 2003, Ohio State had 631yards of offense at Indiana.
Offensive Player Notes
With the win Saturday, junior quarterback Troy Smith now is 6-1in seven career starts at Ohio State.
Saturday, Smith scored his third and fourth rushing touchdowns of the season and now has six for his career. The first was on a 16-yard run in the second quarter to cap a 79-yard, 6-play drive. The 16-yard gain also served as a season-long rush for Smith. Later in the second quarter, Smith scrambled for 28 yards, marking a season-long for Smith and the Buckeyes.
Smith added his second rushing touchdown in the third quarter on a 4-yard run, marking his second career game with two touchdowns rushing. He had two touchdowns via the run last Saturday against San Diego State.
For the game, Smith had 127 yards rushing (18 attempts) and 191 yards passing with a 13-for-19 clip and two passing touchdowns to Anthony Gonzalez. Smith’s 328 yards of total offense ranks 11th all-time for a single game at Ohio State. Smith is just the fifth player to have two games of 300-plus yards of total offense in two games in his career. Smith had 386 yards of total offense against Michigan in 2004, which ranks third all-time at Ohio State.
In addition to setting career highs for yards and attempts,Pittman accounted for 63 of the 78 yards on the Ohio Statetouchdown drive to open the second half. Pittman gained the 63yards on five carries. In Ohio State’s opening drive of the game,Pittman accounted for 46 (seven carries) of the 81 yards Ohio Stategained en route to the 7-0 lead over the Hawkeyes. Pittman gainedthe 46 yards on seven carries. Pittman also set a season-long witha 29-yard gain. For the game, Pittman had three carries that wentfor 20 yards or more and six that covered more than 10 yards.Gonzalez had his first career two-touchdown game Saturday againstIowa. Gonzalez accounted for the Buckeyes’ first score in the firstquarter on an 8-yard pass and capped Ohio State’s scoring in thefourth quarter on a 29-yard strike from Smith. The two TDs are thefirst for Gonzalez in 2005. He also set career highs with sixcatches for 90 yards. Santonio Holmes gained 46 yards on his secondreception at the end of the first quarter to set a season-longcatch. The grab also upped his current streak to 22 consecutivegames with at least two catches. Holmes’ previous long for theseason was a 36-yard touchdown grab against Texas.
For the game, Holmes had five catches for a team-best 95 yards Saturday. For his career, Holmes now has 105 receptions for 1,602 yards. He ranks 11th in career catches and 12th in receiving yards.
Defensive Notes
Ohio State set a season best by limiting Iowa to a season-low137 yards. The minus 9-yard total (18 attempts) for Iowa Saturdayis the first time Ohio State has held a team to negative rushingyardage since 2003 against Indiana, when the Buckeyes limited theHoosiers to -12 yards on 32 attempts. In its last two games vs. SanDiego State and Iowa combined, Ohio State has allowed just fouryards rushing in the last two weeks. For the season, Ohio State hasallowed just one opponent (Texas – 112) to rush for more than 48yards. In the season opener, Miami ran for 48 yards on 30 attempts.With the 31-6 win, Ohio State has now won 73 consecutive games whenholding its opponent to less than 10 points in a game. Throughhalftime against Iowa, Ohio State had allowed just five first downsby the opposing offense its last six quarters played. The Buckeyesallowed San Diego State just three first downs in the game playedlast week. Iowa moved the chains four times in the second half. Inits last two games, Ohio State has limited opponents to nine firstdowns.
In its last two games, Ohio State has held opponents to 2-for-24 on third-down conversions. Saturday, Iowa converted just 1-of-12 chances on third down. Last week, San Diego State also converted just 1-of-12 opportunities.
The Buckeyes had five sacks Saturday, upping their season totalto 16 through four games. The Buckeyes had 24 sacks last season.The five sacks tied a season-high. The Buckeyes had five sacks inthe season opener vs. Miami.
Defensive Player Notes
Following a fumble return by Iowa in the second quarter, OhioState sacked Hawkeye quarterback Drew Tate twice in the ensuingdrive. Tyler Everett recorded his first career sack and Mike Kudlaand A.J. Hawk combined for a sack. Hawk, the Big Ten leader insacks coming into Saturday, added a sack in the second half and nowhas 4.5 for the season. He has a sack in three of the four gamesthis season.
Hawk recorded a team-high 11 tackles Saturday. Hawk has registered at least 10 stops in seven of his last 10 games and has led the Buckeyes in tackles in all four games this season. For his career, Hawk has 314 tackles, which moved him into a tie for 12th all-time at Ohio State with Aaron Brown (1974-77). With the 1.5 tackles-for-loss Saturday, Hawk now has 31.0 for his career and ranks 13th all-time on that list.
Kudla recorded 1.5 sacks Saturday against Iowa to mark acareer-high. This season, Kudla has recorded a sack in three of thefour games and has 3.5 for the season. Donte Whitner picked off anIowa pass Saturday, his second interception of the season and fifthof his career.
Special Teams
Senior place kicker Josh Huston connected on a career-long47-yard field goal in the second quarter and now is 10-for-11 onthe season and 10-for-10 from inside 50 yards.
On kickoffs, Huston booted all six of his kickoffs into the end zone and had two touchbacks. For the season, Huston has sent 14-of-26 of his kickoffs into the opposing end zone for touchbacks.
For the second-consecutive game, freshman punter A.J. Trapassoset a career long with a 53-yard punt in the first quarter. Hisprevious career long was a 49-yard boot against San Diego Statelast week.
Other Notes
A sell-out crowd of 105,225 attended the game Saturday vs. Iowaat Ohio Stadium. The figure ranks fifth all-time at Ohio State.
The Buckeyes now have played in front of 23-consecutive sell-out crowds at Ohio Stadium. During the last two seasons, Ohio State has played in front of sellout crowds in 16 straight games overall.
The game Saturday vs. Iowa marked the sixth-consecutiveSaturday ABC has televised the Buckeyes. The string started lastyear at Purdue and has continued with Michigan, Miami (Ohio),Texas, San Diego State and now Iowa. The Buckeyes first fielded afootball team in 1890. With the win Saturday, Ohio State has postedan all-time record of 767-299-53 in 114 years. With the winSaturday, Ohio State’s all-time record moved to 358-103-25 in OhioStadium (opened in 1922).
Iowa Game Notes
Iowa won the toss and elected to receive. The Hawkeyes havestarted on offense in 67 of their last 71 games. Iowa has startedon offense in 69-of-77 contests under Kirk Ferentz. DB CharlesGodfrey and DT Mitch King both started for the first time in theircareer. Godfrey is a sophomore who played last season as a truefreshman and King is a redshirt freshman. Iowa did not score on itsopening possession for the second time in four games. Iowa openedwith touchdowns vs. Ball State and Northern Iowa and lost a fumbleon its first drive at Iowa State. Ohio State scored a touchdown onits first drive of the game, becoming the first of Iowa’s fouropponents to score on their first possession. Iowa allowed itsfirst three opponents just six total points in the first period.Junior PK Kyle Schlicher had the longest field goal of his careerwith a 52-yard effort in the third quarter and he added a 37-yardkick in the fourth quarter. Schlicher had no previous attempts of50 yards or more. Schlicher’s previous career-long was 49-yards atMinnesota last season. Schlicher this season is 4-4 on field goalsand 14-14 on PATs. Schlicher is 25-30 in career field goalattempts, including 5-9 from beyond 40 yards. Schlicher now has 121points to rank 17th in career scoring, moving past Eddie Phillips.Iowa safety Marcus Paschal recovered Ohio State’s first fumble inthe second quarter to stop a Buckeye scoring threat. The fumble wascaused by LB Abdul Hodge. Later in the period, DL Mitch King forcedanother fumble that was recovered at the Iowa four-yard line by DBJovon Johnson. DE Kenny Iwebema also caused an OSU fumble in theopening half. The lost fumbles were the third and fourth by an Iowaopponent this season and the Hawkeyes also have two passinterceptions. Junior punter Andy Fenstermaker punted seven timesfor Iowa, averaging 43.4 yards, with a long of 48 yards. OSU hadjust two returns for no yards. LB Chad Greenway collected agame-high 14 tackles (eight solo) today. The senior tallied acareer-best 20 tackles last week vs. Northern Iowa. LB Abdul Hodgeregistered nine tackles (four solo) and also caused a fumble.Greenway reached double figures in tackles for the 18th time in hiscareer (third this season). Iowa had five true freshmen see actiontoday for the fourth straight game: RB Shonn Greene, TE TonyMoeaki, DL Alex Kanellis, OL Dace Richardson and DT Ryan Bain. Theattendance of 105, 225 is the largest crowd to attend at Iowa gameat Ohio State and the 13th largest crowd ever for an Iowa footballgame. Instant replay was used once in the game, changing a calledIowa fumble to an incomplete pass in the fourth period. That marksthe third time instant replay has been used in an Iowa game thisseason. At Iowa State, replay was used for clock adjustment and anIowa fumble was upheld.
