Postgame Notes From No. 1/1 Ohio State vs. Cincinnati – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 16, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes
Attendance: 105,037
Ohio State Postgame Notes
Ohio State’s 10-game winning streak is second nationally. TCU(vs. Texas Tech at 5:30 p.m.) leads with 12-consecutive victories.With the win over Cincinnati, the Buckeyes hold a 55-9-1 recordwhen ranked as the top team nationally. Overall, the Buckeyes are286-68-9 when carrying a Top 10 ranking and 393-123-14 as a Top 25team. Jim Tressel’s record with the Buckeyes now is 53-13 and hiscareer record is 188-70-2. He is 40-4 at Ohio State when theBuckeyes score 24 or more points. Under Tressel, the Buckeyes noware 39-3 when leading at the half and 41-3 when ahead after threequarters. With the win Saturday, Ohio State now is 778-300-53 in117 seasons. All-time, the Buckeyes are 43-11-1 vs. teams from theBig East Conference. Against Cincinnati, the Buckeyes are 13-2,including 8-0 in Columbus. Ohio State has held the Bearcats to atouchdown or less in the last two meetings (27-6 win Sept. 4, 2004in Ohio Stadium). The Buckeyes’ 37 points were a season-high. OSUhas outscored its opponents 96-26 this year. The OSU defensetotaled eight sacks and held the Bearcats to -4 yards rushing in 22attempts. It was the first time since Sept. 24, 2005 vs. Iowa (18attempts, -9 yards) the Buckeyes have held an opponent to negativerushing yards. The Buckeyes have scored at least one touchdown in116-consecutive games. The Buckeyes trailed, 7-3, following theBearcats’ touchdown with 6:36 remaining in the first quarter. Itmarked the first time this season Ohio State was behind in a gameand the first time since the 12:59 mark of the first quarteragainst Notre Dame in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State quarterbackTroy Smith ended the game 21-for-30 for 203 yards, with twotouchdowns and no interceptions. Smith has attempted152-consecutive passes without an interception. He was lastintercepted vs. Northwestern last season on his last attempt of thefirst half. Smith has a least one TD pass in nine of his last 10games and two or more in six of the last eight. He has thrown for200 or more yards in nine of the last 10 games. It was his 10thcareer game with 200-plus yards passing. Smith’s career totaloffense total of 4,897 yards is 10th all-time in Ohio Statehistory. He is 200 yards behind Craig Krenzel, who had 5,097 yardsfrom 2000-03 to rank ninth. Antonio Pittman ended the game with aseason-high 155 yards rushing on 16 carries. It was the 10th100-yard game of his career. Pittman’s rush for 23 yards in thesecond quarter was the Buckeyes’ first over 20 yards this season.He had a 48-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for OhioState’s longest rush this year. 16 of 17 receptions this season byAnthony Gonzalez have resulted in Ohio State first downs. Inaddition, 16 of his 17 catches this season have been for 10 or moreyards. Ted Ginn Jr. had two touchdown receptions vs. the Bearcats,the second game this season and in his career with two TD catches.He also hauled in two passes for TDs in the season opener vs.Northern Illinois. Ginn Jr. has at least one reception in22-consecutive games had has recorded 2 or more catches in20-consecutive games. Maurice Well’s 9-yard touchdown rush in thefourth quarter was the first of his career. Freshman Chris Wells’10-yard reception of a Troy Smith pass in the first quarter was thefirst catch of his Buckeye career. Ryan Pretorious booted a 52-yardfield goal late in the fourth quarter, the first made field goal ofhis Buckeye career. It was OSU’s longest field goal since MikeNugent hit a 53-yarder at Michigan State Nov. 6, 2004. AaronPettrey’s 47-yard field goal in the first quarter was the longestof his career. He added a 43-yarder in the second quarter. Pettreyhad a 31-yard kick vs. Texas last week for his first career fieldgoal. The game vs. UC was the first time a Buckeye had two fieldgoals of more than 40 yards since Josh Huston converted 45 and 44kicks against Texas in 2005. The last time the team had three 40 ormore yard field goals in a single game was against N.C. State Sept.18, 2004. Against the Wolfpack, Mike Nugent had kicks of 50, 46 and47 yards. Reigning Big Ten Defensive player of the week JamesLaurinaitis’s sack of UC quarterback Dustin Grutza, for an 8-yardloss, was the second of his career and his second in as many games.He had an interception in the second quarter, the second of hiscareer and his second in as many games. Quinn Pitcock had acareer-high three sacks (for 24 yards) vs. the Bearcats. He now has10 in his career. Ray Small’s 36-yard reception from Justin Zwickwas the longest of his career. Freshman quarterback Rob Schoenhoftentered the game in the fourth quarter, marking his firstappearance as a Buckeye. He completed his first career pass.
Miscellaneous
The attendance of 105,037 was the 13th-largest in Ohio Stadiumhistory. The Buckeyes’ honorary captain for the game was CraigKrenzel. The seven men and six women in the 2006 Ohio StateAthletics Hall of Fame class were introduced at halftime. Thegroups were inducted in separate ceremonies Friday evening. Theclass includes: Men – Kevin Akins (track and field, 1979-82), AdamDiSabato (wrestling, 1989-91), Alex Eckelman (baseball, 1994-97),Eddie George (football, 1992-95), Ted Provost (football, 1992-95)and Kip Simons (gymnastics, 1991-94); and Women – Kate Hedman(swimming, 1992-95), Annette Kraml (rifle, 1984-87), DonicaMerriman (track, 1998-01), Patricia Szelle (fencing, 1995-98) andLindsey Vagedes (gymnastics, 1998-01). In addition, Jim McDonough,former head cross country and assistant track coach, was presentedwith an Honorary Varsity “O.”
Cincinnati Postgame Notes
Tight end Brent Celek extended his streak of consecutive gameswith at least one reception to 15. Celek, with three receptions for65 yards, topped the UC career record for receiving yards by atight end. He finished with 826 career receiving yards, topping theprevious mark of 791 set by Kris Bjorson (1989-92) Jared Martin’s22-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the redshirtfreshman’s first career reception. Dominick Goodman’s 53-yardkickoff return was the longest of the sophomore’s career and thelongest by a Bearcat since Marshwan Gilyard’s 60-yard return vs.Pittsburgh last season (Oct. 8, 2006). Dustin Grutza’s 23-yard runwas the longest run from scrimmage this season by a Bearcat and acareer long for the third-year sophomore. The setback marked thefirst time in eight games during Mark Dantonio’s tenure as headcoach that Cincinnati had lost after owning a lead at the end ofthe first quarter of play.
