Postgame Notes From No. 1/1 Ohio State vs. No. 24 Penn State – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 23, 2006
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Attendance: 105,266 With the win Saturday, Ohio State upped itswinning streak to 11 games, which is second nationally. TCU leadsthe NCAA with 13-consecutive victories. TCU does not play Saturday.With the win over Penn State Saturday, the Buckeyes hold a 56-9-1record when ranked as the top team nationally. Overall, theBuckeyes are 287-68-9 when carrying a Top 10 ranking and 394-123-14as a Top 25 team. Jim Tressel’s record with the Buckeyes now is54-13 and his career record is 189-70-2. He is 41-4 at Ohio Statewhen the Buckeyes score 24 or more points. Ohio State trailed PennState 3-0 at halftime Saturday, marking the first time the Buckeyeshave trailed at half since Michigan State held a 17-14 advantage atOhio Stadium Oct. 15, 2005.
The last time Ohio State failed to score in a half was vs. Penn State last season, when the Buckeyes were shut out in the second half during a 17-10 loss in State College, Pa.
The Buckeyes took a 7-3 lead in the third quarter. UnderTressel, Ohio State is 42-3 when ahead after three quarters.
Under Tressel, Ohio State is 21-2 in September.
With the win Saturday, Ohio State now is 779-300-53 in 117seasons. The Buckeyes have scored at least one touchdown in117-consecutive games. With the victory against Penn State, theBuckeyes have an all-time mark of 369-104-20 in Ohio Stadium. TheBuckeyes have won eight straight and 12 of their last 13 in theHorseshoe. Series and Big Ten Notes
Saturday marked the 22nd meeting between Ohio State and Penn State.With the win, Ohio State tied the all-time series at 11 winsapiece.
The Buckeyes have won eight of the 13 games played in Columbus. The teams have met continuously since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993 and Ohio State now has an 9-5 edge in those games.
In Big Ten play, Penn State never has beaten Ohio State at Ohio Stadium.
Ohio State allowed six points to Penn State Saturday, tying thelowest point total for PSU in the series between the programs. PennState also scored six points against the Buckeyes Sept. 23, 2000,in a 45-6 OSU win at Ohio Stadium and Oct. 30, 1993, in a 24-6Buckeye win in Columbus. Ohio State’s all-time Big Ten recordstands at 426-162-24 in 93 seasons of league competition.
Offensive Notes
With Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith’s first-quarterinterception, the Buckeyes turned the football over for the firsttime since freshman running back Chris Wells’ fumble againstNorthern Illinois in the 2006 season opener. The Buckeyes scored atouchdown on their lone visit to the red zone Saturday. For theseason, Ohio State is 12 of 15 in the red zone. Ohio State hasscored at least 24 points in 11 consecutive games.
Offensive Player Notes
Troy Smith threw his first interception of the season in thefirst quarter Saturday, ending his streak of 152 passes without aninterception. Smith last threw an interception in the secondquarter against Northwestern last season. Smith finished the gameSaturday with 115 yards passing, snapping a five-game streak oftotaling 200 or more yards through the air. Smith’s 17-yardsecond-quarter scramble was his longest run of the season. Smithconnected with sophomore split end Brian Robiskie for a 37-yardtouchdown in the third quarter. He has a least one TD pass in 10 ofhis last 11 games. Smith’s career total offense total of 5,030yards is 10th all-time in Ohio State history. He is 67 yards behindCraig Krenzel, who had 5,097 yards from 2000-03 to rank ninth. Withthe win Saturday, Smith moved to 17-2 as starting quarterback.
Ohio State also is 17-2 with T.J. Downing in the Ohio State starting lineup.
Antonio Pittman ended the game with 110 yards rushing on 20carries. It was the 10th 100-yard game of his career. Pittman putthe Buckeyes ahead 6-3 in the third quarter with a 12-yardtouchdown run, which extended his streak with at least onetouchdown run to nine-consecutive games.
Pittman topped the 100-yard mark for the third time in four games this season. He has rushed for 100 yards or more in 9 of the last 13 games.
Robiskie caught the first touchdown pass of his career, a37-yard reception from Smith. Robiskie finished the day with acareer-best three grabs for 51 yards. Ted Ginn Jr. had tworeceptions vs. the Nittany Lions Saturday. He has at least onereception in 23-consecutive games and has recorded two or morecatches in 21-consecutive outings. The game Saturday marked thefirst this season Ginn failed to catch a touchdown pass. AnthonyGonzalez finished Saturday with two catches for 22 yards with along of 12 yards. This season, 17 of his 18 catches this seasonhave been for 10 or more yards.
Defensive Notes
Ohio State intercepted Penn State three times Saturday. TheBuckeyes also picked off Cincinnati three times last week (Sept.16). The last time Ohio State had back-to-back games with three ormore interceptions was the 2001 season, when the Buckeyes pickedoff PSU three times Oct. 27 in State College and intercepted SanDiego State four times Oct. 20 in Ohio Stadium. Malcolm Jenkins (61yards) and Antonio Smith (55 yards) returned interceptions fortouchdowns Saturday. The last time Ohio State returned twointerceptions for touchdowns was Sept. 7, 2002, in a 51-17 victoryover Kent State at Ohio Stadium. The first-quarter interception byJames Laurinaitis was the sixth pass picked off by the Buckeyedefense this season. That number equals Ohio State’s total of sixinterceptions from the 2005 season. Ohio State added two moreinterceptions Saturday to up the 2006 season total to eight.
The Buckeyes have intercepted at least one pass in all four games this season.
Ohio State held Penn State out of the endzone Saturday, markingthe first time since Ohio State defeated Illinois 40-2 Nov. 5,2005, in Ohio Stadium a Buckeye opponent has not scored atouchdown. The Buckeyes held the Nittany Lions without a touchdownin the second half Saturday. Ohio State opponents have yet to scorea second-half touchdown this season. The Penn State offense was3-of-14 on third down conversions Saturday. This season, Ohio Stateopponents are 10-48 on third down. Through four games this season,Ohio State has allowed just 8.0 points per game.
Defensive Player Notes
Laurinaitis recorded the third interception of his career andthe 2006 season Saturday in the first quarter. He has aninterception in each of his last three games.
Laurinaitis led the team in tackles for the third-consecutive game Saturday. He finished with 10 stops Saturday.
Senior defensive tackle David Patterson had a career-best eighttackles Saturday. His previous high was six stops against MichiganState last season. Sophomore defensive tackle Vernon Gholston had acareer-best seven tackles Saturday. Gholston has at least one sackin three of four games this season. Jenkins picked off a Penn Statepass in the fourth quarter. He has an interception in each of hislast two games. He returned the interception 61 yards for hisfirst-career touchdown. Antonio Smith’s fourth-quarter interceptionSaturday was the first of his career. He returned the interception55 yards for his first career touchdown. Freshman Robert Rose hadhis first career sack in the fourth quarter Saturday. Seniordefensive lineman Joel Penton recorded his first career sackSaturday.
Miscellaneous
The crowd of 105,266 that attended the Penn State at Ohio Stategame Saturday marks the fifth-largest crowd in Ohio Stadiumhistory. Former Buckeye Jeff Logan, a fullback from 1974-77, servedas the honorary captain Saturday.
Penn State Postgame Notes
CB Justin King recorded his first career interception in thefirst quarter. The play marked the first interception against OhioState quarterback Troy Smith this year and in 152 pass attempts. DEJosh Gaines made his first career start. LB Dan Connor posted histeam-leading fourth sack of the season. He also made his secondcareer interception in the third quarter off a tipped pass by EdJohnson. P Jeremy Kapinos’ first two punts of the game (52 & 58yards) were his longest of the season and gave Ohio Statepossession on their own 19 and five yard lines, respectively.Kapinos’ third kick, a 40-yarder, pinned OSU on its 7-yard line. TBTony Hunt’s 34-yard run in the fourth quarter was his longest ofthe season and put him over 100 yards rushing for the secondstraight game. He has two 100-yard games on the season and nine forhis career. The run also move Hunt into 12th on Penn State’sall-time rushing chart. LB Sean Lee posted a career-high 11 tacklesLB Paul Posluszny made 4 tackles, to move into third place on thePenn State career list with 291, passing Dennis Onkotz.
