Defending Big Ten Champs Meet in Columbus – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 18, 2006
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THIS WEEK
Top-ranked Ohio State opens the Big Ten season Saturday by hosting Penn State in a battle of last year’s conference co-champions. Kickoff is set for 3:36 p.m. in sold out Ohio Stadium (102,329) on ABC. In addition to national television coverage, ESPN’s College Game Day will be set up on the OSU campus just south of St. John Arena.
WBNS Radio, the flagship station for the 73-station Ohio State network, will begin its network programming 30 minutes before kickoff. The USA Radio Network will broadcast the game nationally.
The Buckeyes are 3-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 in both the USA Today/Coaches poll and the Associated Press writers’ poll. Jim Tressel’s team, which has won 10 in a row dating back to a 17-10 loss at Penn State last year, is coming off a 37-7 win over visiting Cincinnati. Following the loss at Penn State in 2005, the Buckeyes closed out the regular season with six consecutive Big Ten wins to earn a share of the conference crown. OSU then rolled over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and was fourth in the final polls. Penn State is 2-1 on the year. Coach Joe Paterno’s team opened the season with a 34-16 win over Akron, then dropped a 41-17 decision at Notre Dame prior to a 37-3 win last week over visiting Youngstown State. Following their win over Ohio State last year, the Nittany Lions had their bid for an unbeaten season ended when they dropped a last-second 27-25 decision at Michigan. It was the only loss of the season for Penn State, which would go on to post an 11-1 record and claim the third spot in the final polls. The loss at Notre Dame this year snapped their six-game winning skein.
OHIO STATE IN BIG TEN PLAY
Over the years, Ohio State has either won outright or shared 30 Big Ten titles. Last year’s co-championship was OSU’s second under Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes also shared the title in 2002, notching a perfect 8-0 record. Ohio State’s all-time Big Ten record stands at 425-162-24 in 93 seasons of league competition heading into Saturday’s game with Penn State.
BUCKEYES TOP BOTH POLLS
Ohio State continues to hold down the No. 1 spot in both polls. The Buckeyes received 60 of 63 first-place votes in this week’s coaches’ poll and 59 of a possible 65 in the voting by the Associated Press writers. The Buckeyes have been in the weekly polls for 17 consecutive weeks, have held down a top 10 spot in five straight polls and have been No. 1 in the past four polls, beginning with the preseason voting.
SERIES INFORMATION
This will be the 22nd meeting between Ohio State and Penn State. The Nittany Lions hold a slim 11-10 edge in the series, but the Buckeyes have won seven of the 12 games played in Columbus. The two teams have met continuously since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993 and Ohio State has an 8-5 edge in those games. In last year’s meeting, Penn State came away with a 17-10 victory in State College, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter for a 14-10 lead and then blanking the Buckeyes in the second half. Both defenses excelled and the Nittany Lions won the turnover battle, snaring an interception in the second quarter that led to Penn State’s first touchdown and then forcing a fumble late in the fourth to snuff out OSU’s candle of hope.
The Buckeyes finished with 230 yards in total offense. Penn State managed just 195.
COACH Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel is in his sixth season as head coach at Ohio State. His record with the Buckeyes is 53-13, including a 30-10 slate in the Big Ten, and his career ledger now stands at 188-70-2 (.726) in 20 previous seasons 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 following the season. In 2003, the Buckeyes won their first five games to extend their winning streak to 19 and finished with an 11-2 record. The 2004 squad, which had to replace 14 NFL drafted players, won five of its last six games en route to an 8-4 finish.
A season ago, Tressel guided the Buckeyes to a 10-2 overall record with seven-consecutive victories down the stretch, which included a 34-20 victory over Notre Dame in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in January. The current 10-game win streak is second only to the 19-consecutive wins under Tressel in 2002 (14-0) and 2003 (5-0 to start season).
Tressel’s teams have appeared in five bowl games and are 4-1 in those contests, including three BCS wins in the Fiesta Bowl over the last four seasons. They also are 4-1 against Michigan in one of the most intense and storied rivalries in all of sports.
Eleven of Tressel’s players have won first-team All-America honors and four have won major awards, including linebacker A.J. Hawk, the recipient of the 2005 Lombardi Award. He was the 36th recipient of the honor and sixth Buckeye to be recognized as the top lineman (offensive or defensive) in college football.
Tressel is a master in close games. Since coming to Ohio State, he is 17-9 in games decided by a touchdown or less and 4-1 in overtime games.
He is at his best against the best with a 22-7 record against teams ranked in the Top 25 and a 7-2 mark against teams ranked in the Top 10.
The 53-year-old Tressel is a 1975 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College.
OHIO STATE AWARDS CANDIDATES
Several Ohio State players are listed on the various postseason awards watch lists. Senior Troy Smith and junior Ted Ginn Jr. both are preseason Heisman Trophy candidates. The pair also is listed on the 2006 Walter Camp Player of the Year watch list. Additionally, senior center Doug Datish (Rimington, Lombardi), Ginn Jr. (Biletnikoff), Smith (Manning), junior offensive tackle Kirk Barton and senior defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock (Lombardi), and junior running back Antonio Pittman (Doak Walker) have been listed on various watch lists as major awards candidates.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Heading into this week’s game against Penn State, the Buckeyes have an all-time mark of 368-104-20 in Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes have won seven straight and 11 of their last 12 in the Horseshoe.
BUCKEYES DRAW A CROWD
Ohio State has played to full houses in each of its first three games this season. The Buckeyes drew 103,896 fans for their season opener against Northern Illinois in Ohio Stadium, then played before a record crowd of 89,422 in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium before returning home this past week to down Cincinnati in front of 105,037 fans in the Horseshoe. That works out to an average of 99,451 for all games and 104,466 for the two home games.
BUCKEYES DOWN BEARCATS
Ohio State ran its record to 3-0 Saturday with a 37-7 victory over visiting Cincinnati. The win was the Buckeyes’ 10th in a row, giving OSU the nation’s second longest winning streak behind TCU’s 13.
After falling behind 7-3 at the end of the first quarter (the first time all year that OSU has trailed), the Buckeyes scored 34 unanswered points en route to their seventh consecutive win in Ohio Stadium.
Quarterback Troy Smith again led the Buckeyes to victory, completing 21 of 30 passes for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns. OSU rolled up 444 yards in total offense and scoring drives of 85, 80 and 72 yards – their three longest drives of the year.
Smith connected with Ted Ginn Jr. on a pair of scoring strikes in the second and third quarters to give OSU a comfortable 20-7 lead. But it was Antonio Pittman who put the game out of reach with a 48-yard scoring jaunt with just over nine minutes to go in the fourth period. Pittman finished his afternoon with 155 yards on 16 carries, an impressive 9.7 yards per attempt. Backup tailback Maurice Wells scored the other OSU touchdown on a nine-yard run. Aaron Pettrey added field goals of 47 and 43 yards and Ryan Pretorius hit from 52-yards away to complete the scoring.
Gonzalez and Ginn each had five receptions to pace the receiving corps as four different quarterbacks hooked up with 11 different receivers.
The Ohio State defense limited the Bearcats to 212 yards of total offense, including a scant 64 in the second half. Senior tackle Quinn Pitcock had a career-high three sacks and narrowly missed two more. He finished the day with five tackles. With Pitcock leading the way, the Buckeyes recorded eight sacks, 10 tackles for loss and had three interceptions.
Sophomore linebacker James Laurinaitis led the Buckeyes with nine tackles, including a sack, and picked off his second interception of the year.
TRESSEL ON THE CINCINNATI GAME
“I knew they would come in here and play us tough. That is the way Mark Dantonio coaches. They had us on our heels a little bit in the first half, but we stuck to our game plan and I think eventually wore them down. You have to give Cincinnati a lot of credit.
“Winning the turnover battle (3-0 OSU) certainly helped and our running game picked up a little bit, too. In fact, I think (Antonio Pittman) Pitt gave us a real boost in the third quarter.
“We are anxious for the Big Ten to start and I think we played like that at times against Cincinnati. It is going to get more difficult from this point on, so we need to get better.”
PETTREY HONORED BY BIG TEN
Ohio State sophomore kicker Aaron Pettrey has been selected as Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week following Ohio State’s 37-7 win over Cincinnati. Pettrey successfully converted field goal attempts of 43 and 47 yards and made all four of his extra point tries against the Bearcats. Additionally, five of his seven kickoffs went for touchbacks.
This marks the third consecutive week Ohio State has had a Big ten honoree. Quarterback Troy Smith was the offensive player of the week after throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener against Northern Illinois. Linebacker James Laurinaitis and punter A. J. Trapasso were honored following the Texas game – Laurinaitis as the defensive player of the week with 13 tackles an interception and a forced fumble; and Trapasso as the special teams player for averaging 50.8 yards per punt.
OSU PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Antonio Pittman and Quinn Pitcock were selected as the offensive and defensive players of the game, respectively, following Ohio State’s win over Cincinnati. Pittman ran for a season-high 155 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown, and averaged 9.7 yards per carry against the Bearcats. Pitcock recorded five tackles, including a career-high three sacks for minus 24 yards. Other honors went to guard Steve Rehring (offensive lineman of the week), James Laurinaitis (attack force player of the week), Ted Ginn (big hit of the week) and Aaron Pettrey (special teams player of the week).
BUCKEYES OFFENSE ON A ROLL
Ohio State is averaging 32 points and 426 yards in its first three games. The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 96 to 26 and have scored seven touchdowns passing and five via the rush. After missing their first three field goal attempts (two against Northern Illinois and a solo shot at Texas), the Buckeyes have successfully converted their last four tries, including a 52-yard shot last week against Cincinnati. The Buckeyes have committed just two turnovers on the year and are 11-of-14 in the red zone. The Buckeyes have scored 24 or more points in each of the last 10 games.
SMITH LEADS OSU ATTACK
Senior quarterback Troy Smith is now 16-2 as a starter. Smith, who made his first collegiate start against Indiana in 2004, was 4-1 that year, 9-1 in 2005 and 3-0 thus far in 2006 for the No. 1 ranked Buckeyes. Some other Buckeye quarterbacks who have enjoyed success over the years include: Ramblin’ Rex Kern, who led the Buckeyes to a 27-2 record between 1968 and 1970; Cornelius Greene; who fashioned a 31-3-1 record during the last three years of the Archie Griffin era (1973-75); Bobby Hoying whose resume included a mark of 30-7-1 while at the controls from 1993 to 1995; and Craig Krenzel, who was 24-3 in two season plus and led Ohio State to a perfect 14-0 mark in 2002.
TROY ON TARGET
Buckeye quarterback Troy Smith is completing 69.1 percent of his passes (56 of 81) and has not thrown an interception in his last 151 attempts, dating back to last year’s Northwestern game. Smith has seven touchdown passes this year, giving him 31 for his career against seven career interceptions.
OSU “FUN BUNCH” CUTTING UP
The Buckeye “Fun Bunch” of quarterback Troy Smith, wide receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez and tailback Antonio Pittman is off to a rollicking start. Smith has completed 69 percent of his passes for 769 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. He leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency and is averaging 251 yards per game in total offense. Smith has thrown for 200 or more yards in each of the Buckeyes’ first three games and has topped the 200 mark in nine of his last 10 starts. Ginn has a team-high five touchdown grabs on 14 receptions and is averaging 18.1 yards per catch, while Gonzalez leads the team in receptions with 17 and is averaging 16.5 yards per catch. Pittman is the Buckeyes’ leading ground gainer with 340 yards on 51 carries and has three touchdowns to his credit. The hard-running junior has two 100-yard games this year and is averaging 113.3 yards per game and 6.7 yards per carry. A fifth member of the group, split end Roy Hall, missed the first two games of the season with a gimpy ankle, but returned to action last week and hauled in his first reception of the year.
GONZO MOVES THE CHAINS
Junior split end Anthony Gonzalez has 13 receptions in his last two games and leads the Buckeyes with 17 catches. Amazingly, 16 of those receptions have resulted in first downs by the sure-handed speedster. With 17 receptions, 280 yards and a pair of touchdown catches, he is on a fast track to surpass last year’s totals of 28 receptions, 373 yards and three scores.
PITT TOPS THE CENTURY MARK AGAIN
Junior tailback Antonio Pittman recorded a season-high 155 yards against Cincinnati. It was his second 100-yard game of the year and the 10th of his career. The 5-11, 195-pounder from Akron has topped the 100-yard mark in eight of the Buckeyes’ last 12 games. His top game is 186 yards at Minnesota last year.
Pittman has three touchdowns for the Buckeyes so far this year. He rushed for seven scores last year, but his first touchdown did not come until Minnesota in the eighth week of the season.
BUCKEYE DEFENSE STEPS IT UP
The loss of nine starters, including three first-round draft picks from last year’s OSU defense, has been well chronicled. But through the first three games of the 2006 season, the Buckeyes’ young defense has surrendered just 26 points, is allowing a very respectable 293.7 yards per game, has recorded 30 tackles-for-loss and 13 sacks and has six takeaways to its credit. In its last two games, the OSU defense has not allowed a touchdown in the second half. In the win over Cincinnati this past week, the Bearcats were limited to 64 yards and four first downs after intermission. The Buckeye defense recorded eight sacks against the Bearcats and forced three turnovers. The young Bucks rank second in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing just 8.7 points a game. They also are allowing their opponents to complete just 21 percent of their third-down attempts (7 of 34).
DON’T TRED ON ME
Through the first three games, the Ohio State defense has not allowed a rushing touchdown. The Buckeyes have given up three passing touchdowns and a pair of field goals (both by Northern Illinois).
LAURINAITIS TAKES OVER TACKLE LEAD
Sophomore linebacker James Laurinaitis has taken over the team lead in tackles with 26. Laurinaitis, who had a career-high 13 stops against Texas, added nine in the win over Cincinnati. Laurinaitis has figured in three of the Buckeyes’ six takeaways this year, forcing a fumble that was recovered by OSU teammate Donald Washington. A native of Hamel Minnesota (Wayzata High School), the 6-3, 245-pound linebacker also forced another fumble that OSU did not recover. Following his performance at the Texas game, where he had his first pick and forced two fumbles, he was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week as well as the Walter Camp, Sporting News and Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week.
PITCOCK HAS CAREER DAY
Defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock came within a shoestring of tying and perhaps setting the Ohio State single-game record for sacks this past Saturday against Cincinnati. The 6-3, 295-pound senior bull rushed his way through the Bearcats’ offensive line en route to a career-high three sacks for a minus 24 yards. Pitcock narrowly missed two other sacks, UC quarterback Dustin Grutza somehow slipping out of his grasp. The OSU single-game sack record of four is shared by Bobby Carpenter (Michigan State, 2005) and Jason Simmons (Washington State, 1991). Pitcock had one sack all of last year.
OSU IMPROVES RECORD AS NO. 1
With the victory over Cincinnati, Ohio State is now 54-8-1 when ranked as the nation’s No. 1 team. Overall, the Buckeyes are 286-68-9 when carrying a Top 10 ranking and 393-123-14 as a Top 25 team. Ohio State has opened the season No. 1 seven times, second only to Oklahoma (9). The Buckeyes own the record for most appearances (53) in the first 57 years of the Associated Press poll.
BUCKEYES STAY PERFECT IN NO. 1 VS. NO. 2 SHOWDOWNS
The Sept. 9 showdown in Austin between top-ranked Ohio State and second-ranked Texas was the earliest regular-season match-up in college football annals between a No. 1 and a No. 2 team. Ohio State has been involved in two such games previously, the first in the 1969 Rose Bowl and the second in the 2002 national championship game at the 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. OSU won both, downing the University of Southern California, 27-16, in the former and Miami of Florida, 31-24 in two overtimes, in the latter. On both occasions, the Buckeyes were the No. 2 ranked team.
BUCKEYES RECORD IMPRESSIVE WINS
In their last five games, Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes have recorded wins over three of college football’s most successful programs – Michigan, Notre Dame and Texas. Michigan tops the list with 852 wins (852-280-36), Notre Dame is second at 814-266-42 and Texas ranks third at 802-311-33. The Buckeyes are fifth all-time with 778 wins.
BUCKEYES HOLD COMMANDING EDGE AGAINST OHIO OPPONENTS
With the victory over Cincinnati last week, Ohio State has an all-time record of 174-48-17 against teams from the state of Ohio. The Buckeyes last loss to an in-state school was a 7-6 reversal to Oberlin in 1921. Since that loss, OSU has won 22 in a row against in-state opponents.
SEPTEMBER SUCCESS
The Buckeyes are now 20-2 under Jim Tressel in the month of September, the only setbacks coming at UCLA (9/22/01) and to visiting Texas (9/10) last year.
BUCKEYES GET HIGH GRADES
A league-best 18 Ohio State football players were named to the Big Ten’s All-Academic team last fall, marking the fourth year in a row the Buckeyes have led the conference in that area. Additionally, a record 46 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 2.83. A total of 52 football student-athletes earned a 3.00 or better during Ohio State’s spring quarter and 46 had a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 after spring grades were calculated.
BUCKEYE GRADUATES
Quarterback Troy Smith (communications), center Doug Datish (history), strong safety Brandon Mitchell (political science) and fullback Stan White Jr. (finance) all are working toward graduate degrees while playing football for the Buckeyes this season. Two most recent student-athletes to earn their degrees are All-America linebacker A.J. Hawk and Richard Schafrath, who lettered from 1956-58. Both were awarded degrees following the 2006 summer quarter. Other 2005-06 graduates include Bobby Carpenter, Angelo Chattams, R.J. Coleman, John Conroy, Ryan Hamby, Rob Harley, Mike Roberts, Anthony Schlegel, Brandon Schnittker, Rob Sims, Steve Winner and Ashton Youboty.
THE BUCKEYES ALL-TIME
Ohio State enters this week with an all-time record of 778-300-53 in 116 seasons of competition. That includes a Big Ten record of 425-162-24 since 1913, an Ohio Stadium slate of 368-104-20 since 1922 and a bowl mark of 18-19. The Buckeyes have winning records against 91 of the 105 opponents they have played since 1890.
BUCKEYE CAPTAINS
Seniors Troy Smith, Doug Datish, Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson were voted by their teammates as captains of the 2006 Ohio State football team. Smith (QB) and Datish (C) will lead from the offensive side while Pitcock and Patterson represent the defense from the defensive tackle spot. The four entered the season with 128 games of combined experience as Buckeyes.
HONORARY CAPTAIN
Jeff Logan will be this week’s honorary captain. Logan played for the Buckeyes from 1974 to 1977, becoming OSU’s fourth 1,000 yard rusher with 1,248 yards in 1976. He was a co-captain of the 1977 team.
SMITH, GINN MOVE UP OSU CAREER CHARTS
Quarterback Troy Smith is the all-time completion percentage leader in Ohio State history. He has connected on 62 percent of his passes (273-440) to date. He also is ninth all-time at Ohio State in career passing yardage with 3,947 yards entering the game this week against Cincinnati (Craig Krenzel with 4,493 career yards from 2000-03 is eighth). Smith’s also ranks tenth in career total offense with career 4,897 yards. Smith has thrown for 200 or more yards in nine of his last 10 games.
Receiver Ted Ginn Jr. is in 15th place on the all-time OSU receiving list with 90 receptions. He is also 15th in career receiving yardage with a total of 1,415, an average of 15.7 yards per reception.
The speedy Ginn has caught at least one pass in 22-consecutive games (beginning with Iowa in 2004) and has multiple catches in 20-consecutive games.
Ginn, who led the nation in punt returns as a freshman and kick returns last year, has returned six kicks for touchdowns – five punts and one kickoff. He needs three more scores on punt returns to break the NCAA record in that category.
OSU COACHES IN THE PRESS BOX
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.
ABOUT THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State got back in the win column last Saturday with a 37-3 victory over visiting Youngstown State. The Nittany Lions opened the season with a 34-16 home victory over Akron before traveling to then-No. 4 Notre Dame, where it lost 41-17 the second week of the season. Penn State now is 2-1 on the season and ranked No. 25 in the nation.
The Nittany Lions are averaging 29.3 points and 411 yards per game this season. The balanced offense is averaging 207.7 yards rushing and 203.3 yards passing. Tony Hunt is yielding 84.3 rushing yards per game and has totaled 253 yards on 44 carries, an average of 5.8 yards per carry. He has scored two touchdowns. Anthony Morelli takes the snaps behind center and is averaging 183.0 yards per game. He has completed 48-of-92 passes for 549 yards and four touchdowns. He has thrown just one interception in completing 52.2 percent of his passes. Six different receivers have caught five or more passes. Jordan Norwood has 13 receptions for 152 yards and one TD. Derrick Williams has seven catches for 79 yards and a score, while Deon Butler has six grabs for 95 yards and two TDs.
Penn State’s defense is limiting opponents to averages of 20 points and 268.7 yards per game. Last week in the win over Youngstown State, the Nittany Lions limited the Penguins to just 47 yards rushing. Opponents average 63.3 rushing yards and 205.3 passing yards per game. The defensive unit as intercepted four passes, recovered four fumbles and made 12 sacks totaling losses of 94 yards. Dan Connor leads the team with 30 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for losses of 26 yards. He also has three sacks and has forced one fumble. Paul Posluszny, winner of the 2005 Bednarik and Butkus awards, is second on the team with 27 tackles. A total of seven Penn State defenders have double-digit tackle totals.
PENN STATE’S LAST GAME
Tony Hunt ran for 143 yards and a touchdown and A.J. Wallace scored on a 76-yard reverse to help lead Penn State to a 37-3 victory over Youngstown State last Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Penn State had 568 yards of total offense, including 389 rushing yards, and held the Penguins to 184 total yards. Neither team scored in the opening quarter, but the Nittany Lions scored 20 points in the final nine minutes of the first half. Anthony Morelli completed 11-of-27 for 154 yards.
HEAD COACH JOE PATERNO
Joe Paterno (Brown, 1950) is coaching his 41st season at Penn State and holds a 356-118-3 record, a win total which ranks second among major college coaches. In December, Paterno will be among the first three active coaches or players to be inducted into the College Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame. He is in his 57th season at Penn State and the Ohio State game will be his 632nd on the sideline as a Nittany Lion assistant or head coach. Paterno has led Nittany Lion teams to 21 bowl victories and is the only coach to win the four traditional New Year’s Day games – the Rose, Sugar, Cotton and Orange bowls – as well as the Fiesta Bowl. His teams have won two national championships in 1982 and 1986, but also have finished undefeated in 1968, 1969, 1973, 1986 and 1994. The AFCA has tabbed Paterno its coach of the year five times.
BUCKEYES STEER BY TEXAS
Led by Troy Smith, Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez and Antonio Pittman on offense and bolstered by a young but quickly coming-of-age defense, top-ranked Ohio State solidified its place in the polls with its 17-point victory over the defending national champion Longhorns.
Smith enhanced his early season Heisman Trophy status by completing 17 of 26 passes for 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns against a veteran Texas defense, giving him five touchdown passes and 566 passing yards in his first two games. After two games, the 6-1, 215-pound quarterback has completed 68.4 percent of his passes and leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency with a 194.2 figure.
Ginn, the Buckeyes’ other Heisman hopeful, was on the receiving end of five passes for 97 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown grab just before halftime that put Ohio State in front 14-7 going into the locker room. Ginn’s grab capped off a business-like 5-play, 66-yard drive that began with 1:55 remaining in the second quarter. The speedy flanker set the tone early with a 46-yard catch-and-run on the Buckeyes’ second play from scrimmage.
The Buckeyes also received a career-best performance from Gonzalez, who hauled in eight catches for 142 yards. The junior split end and honor student got Ohio State on the board with 1:04 to play in the first quarter by latching on to a 14-yard pass from Smith that put the icing on a 50-yard drive.
Pittman led the Buckeyes in rushing for the second consecutive week, finishing with 74 yards on 16 carries, an average of 4.6 yards per attempt. His 2-yard touchdown run with 6:31 to play capped off the scoring and put the game out of reach. The Buckeyes, who took over the ball at their own 28-yard line after a missed Texas field goal, marched 72 yards in 10 plays for the score.
The Buckeye defense limited the Texas offense to 326 total yards and just the one touchdown and set up two OSU scores with timely takeaways.
Sophomore linebacker James Laurinaitis was involved in both turnovers. First, he forced a first-quarter fumble at the OSU 1-yard line that cornerback Donald Washington scooped up and returned 49 yards to set up the Smith-to-Ginn touchdown pass. Then, on the first play of the third quarter, he intercepted a Colt McCoy pass and ran it back 25 yards to the Texas 31-yard line. Kicker Aaron Pettrey gave the Buckeyes a 10-point cushion with a 31-yard field goal.
With the aggressive defensive front keeping the pressure on throughout the evening, Laurinaitis finished with a game-best and career-high 13 tackles to go along with two forced fumbles, his first career interception and a pass broken up. Safety Brandon Mitchell was credited with nine stops, while Washington, who was making his first start at corner, had five. Cover corner Malcolm Jenkins and nickel back Antonio Smith each had five stops as Ohio State kept Texas under 40 points for the first time in 13 games.
Sophomore punter A. J. Trapasso kept the Longhorns corralled in their own territory by averaging 50.8 yards per punt on six kicks – the third best single-game performance in Ohio State history. That average includes a 39-yard punt at the end of the game that rolled out-of-bounds on the Texas 6-yard line. The Longhorns’ average field position after a Trapasso thumper was their own 21-yard line.
The victory squared the series at 1-1 and gave Ohio State an all-time record of 4-0 in the Lone Star state.
NEXT WEEK
Ohio State is at Iowa for a prime time game in Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. EDT.
