No. 1 Buckeyes Claim 35-7 Win over Bowling Green – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 9, 2006
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith threw three touchdown passes, including a 57-yard strike to Ted Ginn Jr. as the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) handed Bowling Green (3-3, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) a 35-7 loss in front of 105,057 fans Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State ran the nation’s longest win streak to 13 games with the non-conference victory.
Ginn finished with a career-high 10 receptions for 122 yards and Smith completed 17-of-20 passes for 191 yards without an interception. Smith hit Rory Nicol for a 3-yard touchdown in the first quarter and Ray Small for an 11-yard score in the fourth quarter. Smith’s 85 percent completion percentage is the third best by an Ohio State quarterback. The Buckeyes totaled 387 yards, including 248 through the air. Justin Zwick contributed 57 yards on 4-of-9 passing. Ohio State had 139 yards on the ground, 61 from Antonio Pittman who carried 13 times and scored twice. Pittman has run for a touchdown in 11-consecutive games.
Ohio State started the game with excellent field position after Bowling Green elected to squib kick and keep the ball away from Ginn, the Buckeyes’ return man. Anthony Gonzalez returned the kick 16 yards and Ohio State began its drive at the BG 36-yard line. Nine plays and 64 yards later, Smith found Nicol for a 3-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead with 11:09 to play in the opening stanza.
Kurt Coleman blocked a 50-yard field goal attempt by Sean Ellis and Jamario O’Neal returned it 14 yards to the OSU 47-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-26 from the BG 42-yard line, Smith picked up his own fumble and raced across the field to the right sideline and reached the 8-yard line. Pittman ran over the left end for an 8-yard score to give Ohio State a 14-0 lead with 3:51 to play in the first quarter.
Defensive end Vernon Gholston snagged the Buckeyes’ 12th interception of the year and returned it 8 yards to the BG 21-yard line. The pick was the first by an OSU defensive lineman since Quinn Pitcock intercepted Purdue’s Brandon Kirsch in 2004. Smith hit Ginn for 10 yards and Roy Hall for 13 yards before Pittman ran over the left end 8 yards for his second TD of the game. Aaron Pettrey connected on the point after to give the Buckeyes a 21-0 lead with 12:13 to play in the second quarter.
The score remained 21-0 at the half with Ohio State having a slight edge in total yards, 195-155. Smith completed 12-of-14 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown, while Zwick, who quarterbacked the team’s final possession of the first half, completed 2-of-5 passes for 21 yards. The Buckeyes had a 108-106 advantage through the air, but outgained the Falcons 87-49 on the ground. Smith was Ohio State’s leading rusher in the opening half, carrying five times for 46 yards. Pittman had seven carries for 41 yards and two scores. Ginn had eight first-half catches for 53 yards.
Bowling Green came out of the locker room after halftime and took the kickoff and marched 85 yards in 15 plays for its first score of the game. The drive guzzled 8:39 off the clock and was capped by a 12-yard pass from Anthony Turner to Corey Partridge to pull the Falcons within a 21-7 score.
Ohio State countered the longest timed drive against it with its second longest drive of the season to reclaim a three-touchdown lead, 28-7, with 14:03 remaining in the game. Smith found Small on the right sideline for an 11-yard touchdown that capped a 14-play, 70-yard drive that consumed 7:18. On the drive, Pittman had six carries for 20 yards and Smith ran twice for 8 yards. He also connected with Brian Robiskie for seven, Hall for 15 and Gonzalez for 14.
The OSU defense forced Bowling Green to a three-and-out on its next possession, forcing the Falcons to punt. For the first time in the game, Rojas punted to Ginn, who got 21 yards on the return. The very next play, Smith found a streaking Ginn for a 57-yard touchdown pass that gave Ohio State a 35-7 lead with 12:13 to play in the game. It was the 18th play in Ginn’s career that went for 50 or more yards and was the eighth pass play of 50-plus, all of which have been thrown by Smith.
The Buckeye defense finished with one interception and Andre Amos nearly had a second, but the play was overturned after video replay. The unit also got sacks from Gholston and Pitcock. Malcolm Jenkins and James Laurinaitis each had nine tackles to lead Ohio State. Bowling Green had 339 total yards, running for 160 and throwing for 179.
Ohio State resumes Big Ten play next Saturday at Michigan State. ABC Sports will televise the game, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m., EDT.
