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 are 286-68-9 when carrying a Top 10ranking and 393-123-14 as a Top 25 team.
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 now are 39-3 when leading at thehalf and 41-3 when ahead after three quarters.
With the win Saturday, Ohio State now is 778-300-53 in 117seasons.
All-time, the Buckeyes are 43-11-1 vs. teams from the Big EastConference.
Against Cincinnati, the Buckeyes are 13-2, including 8-0 inColumbus. Ohio State has held the Bearcats to a touchdown or lessin the last two meetings (27-6 win Sept. 4, 2004 in Ohio Stadium).
The Buckeyes’ 37 points were a season-high. OSU has outscoredits opponents 96-26 this year.
The OSU defense totaled eight sacks and held the Bearcats to -4yards rushing in 22 attempts. It was the first time since Sept. 24,2005 vs. Iowa (18 attempts, -9 yards) the Buckeyes have held anopponent to negative rushing yards.
The Buckeyes have scored at least one touchdown in116-consecutive games.
The Buckeyes trailed, 7-3, following the Bearcats’ touchdownwith 6:36 remaining in the first quarter. It marked the first timethis season Ohio State was behind in a game and the first timesince the 12:59 mark of the first quarter against Notre Dame in the2006 Fiesta Bowl.
Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith ended the game 21-for-30 for203 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Smith has attempted 152-consecutive passes without aninterception. He was last intercepted vs. Northwestern last seasonon his last attempt of the first half.
Smith has a least one TD pass in nine of his last 10 games andtwo or more in six of the last eight.
He has thrown for 200 or more yards in nine of the last 10games. It was his 10th career game with 200-plus yards passing.
Smith’s career total offense total of 4,897 yards is 10thall-time in Ohio State history. He is 200 yards behind CraigKrenzel, who had 5,097 yards from 2000-03 to rank ninth.
Antonio Pittman ended the game with a season-high 155 yardsrushing on 16 carries. It was the 10th 100-yard game of his career.
Pittman’s rush for 23 yards in the second quarter was theBuckeyes’ first over 20 yards this season. He had a 48-yardtouchdown run in the fourth quarter for Ohio State’s longest rushthis year.
16 of 17 receptions this season by Anthony Gonzalez haveresulted in Ohio State first downs. In addition, 16 of his 17catches this season have been for 10 or more yards.
Ted Ginn Jr. had two touchdown receptions vs. the Bearcats, thesecond game this season and in his career with two TD catches. Healso hauled in two passes for TDs in the season opener vs. NorthernIllinois.
Ginn Jr. has at least one reception in 22-consecutive games hadhas recorded 2 or more catches in 20-consecutive games.
Maurice Well’s 9-yard touchdown rush in the fourth quarter wasthe first of his career.
Freshman Chris Wells’ 10-yard reception of a Troy Smith pass inthe first quarter was the first catch of his Buckeye career.
Ryan Pretorious booted a 52-yard field goal late in the fourthquarter, the first made field goal of his Buckeye career. It wasOSU’s longest field goal since Mike Nugent hit a 53-yarder atMichigan State Nov. 6, 2004.
Aaron Pettrey’s 47-yard field goal in the first quarter was thelongest of his career. He added a 43-yarder in the second quarter.Pettrey had a 31-yard kick vs. Texas last week for his first careerfield goal.
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 a career-high three sacks (for 24 yards) vs.the Bearcats. He now has 10 in his career.
Ray Small’s 36-yard reception from Justin Zwick was the longestof his career.
Freshman quarterback Rob Schoenhoft entered the game in thefourth quarter, marking his first appearance as a Buckeye. Hecompleted 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 Craig Krenzel.
The seven men and six women in the 2006 Ohio State AthleticsHall of Fame class were introduced at halftime. The groups wereinducted in separate ceremonies Friday evening. The class includes:Men – Kevin Akins (track and field, 1979-82), Adam DiSabato(wrestling, 1989-91), Alex Eckelman (baseball, 1994-97), EddieGeorge (football, 1992-95), Ted Provost (football, 1992-95) and KipSimons (gymnastics, 1991-94); and Women – Kate Hedman (swimming,1992-95), Annette Kraml (rifle, 1984-87), Donica Merriman (track,1998-01), Patricia Szelle (fencing, 1995-98) and Lindsey Vagedes(gymnastics, 1998-01). In addition, Jim McDonough, former headcross country and assistant track coach, was presented with anHonorary 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’s 22-yard touchdown reception in the first quarterwas the redshirt freshman’s first career reception.
Dominick Goodman’s 53-yard kickoff return was the longest ofthe sophomore’s career and the longest by a Bearcat since MarshwanGilyard’s 60-yard return vs. Pittsburgh last season (Oct. 8, 2006).
Dustin Grutza’s 23-yard run was the longest run from scrimmagethis season by a Bearcat and a career long for the third-yearsophomore.
The setback marked the first time in eight games during MarkDantonio’s tenure as head coach that Cincinnati had lost afterowning a lead at the end of the first quarter of play.
