Nation’s Top 2 Teams Clash in Austin – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 2006
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THIS WEEK
Ohio State and Texas meet again this week. And like last year when the Longhorns came away with a 25-22 win over the Buckeyes in Columbus, in the inaugural meeting between the two football powerhouses, there is plenty on the line.
Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes are ranked No. 1 in both polls and have won eight-consecutive starts. The second-ranked Longhorns of Mack Brown are defending national champions and have reeled off 21 victories without a defeat. Additionally, the Longhorns have won 18 of their last 19 games in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Saturday’s kickoff in Austin is set for 8:13 p.m. EDT and will be televised nationally by ABC. A crowd of more than 85,000 is expected to pack the stadium for the game that has had fans from both schools buzzing since last year’s classic. In addition to ABC, College GameDay will originate its broadcast from Austin.
Both teams are coming off solid opening day performances. Ohio State opened the 2006 campaign with a 35-12 win over visiting Northern Illinois. Led by quarterback Troy Smith, the Buckeyes scored on their first four possessions and raced out to a commanding 28-0 lead. Smith threw touchdown passes on each of the Buckeyes’ first three possessions and finished the day by completing 18 of 25 passes for 297 yards. Texas got out of the gate with a 56-7 thumping of North Texas in Austin as freshman quarterback Colt McCoy made his debut as the successor to Vince Young.
This will be the first regular-season showdown between a No. 1 and No. 2 team since second-ranked Florida State upended No. 1 ranked Florida 24-21 in Tallahassee in November of 1996.
TRESSEL ON THIS WEEK
“We got off to a good start last week, but there is certainly room for improvement. Texas is a veteran team that is very talented on both sides of the ball. Everyone knows how good they were on offense last year, but I am not sure people realize how talented they were defensively, and most of those starters are back. They present a very difficult challenge for our offense. But we are excited about the opportunity to go into a terrific environment and see what we can do against the defending national champions.”
OSU TRAVEL PLANS
The Ohio State team and official travel party will depart Rickenbacker Airport about noon Friday en route to Austin. The team will hold a walk-through in Memorial Stadium Friday night. The Buckeyes will stay at the Hyatt Regency and will return to Columbus following the game.
MORE ON LAST WEEK
Ohio State rolled up 488 yards in total offense in winning its 28th-consecutive home opener. The win gives the Buckeyes an all-time opening day record of 101-12-4 as well as an all-time ledger of 776-300-53.
The Buckeyes set the tone early, going 66 yards in eight plays on their opening drive. Smith’s 5-yard pass to Ted Ginn Jr. in the right corner of the endzone capped off the drive. OSU also scored on its next two possessions as Smith first found Ginn on a 58-yard scoring strike and then connected with Anthony Gonzalez from 15 yards out for a 21-0 lead with 3:15 to play in the first quarter. An 8-yard run by freshman tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells made it 28-0 with 14:55 to play in the half. Linebacker Larry Grant set up the latter score with a 49-yard interception return.
Ginn and Gonzalez each pulled in four receptions for the Buckeyes. Smith and backup Justin Zwick, neither of whom came close to being sacked by the Huskies’ defense, spread the ball around to nine different receivers.
Junior tailback Antonio Pittman had 111 yards on 19 carries and wrapped up the OSU scoring with a 1-yard run at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Buckeyes’ young defense, meanwhile, held NIU to 12 points and allowed just one touchdown. Senior safety Brandon Mitchell led the team with 10 tackles, while defensive ends Vernon Gholston and Jay Richardson combined for 4.5 tackles-for-loss and 2.5 sacks. Northern finished with 343 total yards and was able to convert just 1 of 13 third-down attempts.
“I thought we did some good things on both sides of the ball,” Tressel said. “I was pleased with the way we started offensively and the way we got after it on defense. Troy played very well. He can make all the throws, and he got great protection. We didn’t have a missed assignment on the line and for the first game that is encouraging. But we have to avoid turnovers in the red zone, that’s for sure.
“We did get to play a lot of players and that is a plus, too.”
SMITH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Quarterback Troy Smith has been named as the Big Ten’s co-offensive player of the week following the Buckeyes’ 35-12 win over Northern Illinois. Smith completed 18-of-25 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns in leading the OSU offense to touchdowns in each of its first four possessions. Smith leads the Big Ten in total offense (296 yards per game) and is second in passing efficiency (211.4).
PITTMAN GETS IT GOING
Junior tailback Antonio Pittman rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against Northern Illinois. Pittman, who rushed for 1,331 yards last year, now has nine career 100-yard games to his credit, including six of the last eight games. During that span, the 5-11 speedster is averaging 122 yards per game and 5.8 yards per attempt.
OSU PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
First-week honorees by the Ohio State coaching staff include quarterback Troy Smith (offensive player of the week), right tackle Kirk Barton (offensive lineman of the week), defensive tackle David Patterson (defensive player of the week), defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock (attack force player of the week) and Jamario O’Neal (special teams player of the week).
OSU IMPROVES RECORD AS NO. 1
With the victory over Northern Illinois, Ohio State is now 52-8-1 when ranked as the nation’s No. 1 team. Overall, the Buckeyes are 284-68-9 when carrying a Top 10 ranking and 391-123-14 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. With Texas ranked No. 2 this week in the AP poll, Ohio State has been part of a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup twice previously, winning both times. The first was a 27-16 victory Jan. 1, 1969 and the double overtime victory by No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Miami (Fla.) Jan. 3, 2003 (31-24).
SEASON OPENERS AS NO. 1
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 10/17/42 | Purdue | W | 26-0 |
| 9/27/58 | No. 20 SMU | W | 23-20 |
| 9/27/69 | TCU | W | 62-0 |
| 9/26/70 | Texas A&M | W | 56-13 |
| 9/13/80 | Syracuse | W | 31-21 |
| 9/5/98 | at No. 11 WVU | W | 34-17 |
| 9/2/06 | N. Illinois | W | 35-12 |
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.
OPENING DAY NUMBERS
The Buckeyes have an all-time opening day record of 101-12-4 and have won their last 28 home openers. OSU’s last opening day loss at home was to Penn State in 1978. The Buckeyes last opening day loss on the road was to the University of Miami in the 1999 Kickoff Classic.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Over the past four years, Ohio State has posted a 21-1 record in Ohio Stadium for a winning percentage of .955. Only the University of Southern California has a better mark. USC is 18-0 in the Coliseum the past four years.
SERIES INFORMATION
This will be just the second meeting between Ohio State and Texas. The Longhorns prevailed 25-22 last year in Columbus, scoring the winning touchdown on a 24-yard Vince Young to Limas Sweed pass with 2:37 to play for a 23-22 lead. Josh Huston tied a school record with five made field goals for the Buckeyes and linebacker A.J. Hawk had 12 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, an interception and a fumble recovery. Young completed 18 of 29 passes for 270 yards and a pair of scores and also rushed for 76 yards. The Longhorns jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter, trailed 16-13 at the half and 22-16 at the end of three quarters. Their winning touchdown drive covered 67 yards. Over the years, Ohio State has posted a 27-4-1 record against teams from the Big 12 Conference.
Ohio State vs. The Big 12
| Baylor | 2-0 |
| Colorado | 3-1 |
| Iowa State | 0-0 |
| Kansas State | 1-0 |
| Missouri | 10-1-1 |
| Nebraska | 2-0 |
| Oklahoma | 1-1 |
| Oklahoma State | 2-0 |
| Texas | 0-1 |
| Texas A&M | 4-0 |
| Texas Tech | 2-0 |
| Totals | 27-4-1 |
RARE VISIT TO THE LONGHORN STATE
This will be Ohio State’s first regular-season visit to the state of Texas since a 1977 game against SMU (OSU W 35-7) in the Cotton Bowl. The Buckeyes’ only other appearances in the Longhorn state were against Texas A&M in the 1987 Cotton Bowl (W 28-12) and Oklahoma State (W 33-7) in the 2004 Alamo Bowl.
SPARKLING DEBUTS
Redshirt freshman Brian Hartline won’t soon forget his first play as a Buckeye. The 6-3 receiver caught a 32-yard pass from Troy Smith on the Buckeyes’ first play from scrimmage against Northern Illinois before literally being tripped up at the Huskies’ 34-yard line. The Buckeyes scored five plays later.
Linebacker Larry Grant, meanwhile, intercepted his first pass as a Buckeye, latching on to the ball at the OSU 8-yard line and returning it 49 yards to the NIU 43. His pick set up Ohio State’s fourth touchdown, an 8-yard run by freshman Beanie Wells at the start of the second quarter.
The 6-1, 225-pound Wells, who had 10 carries for 50 yards and an average of 5.0 yards per carry, wasn’t the only true freshman to turn in an impressive first-game performance. Wide receiver Ray Small had three receptions for 19 yards and linebacker Ross Homan chipped in with three tackles, including his first tackle-for-loss.
BUCKEYES ENJOY ACADEMIC SUCCESS
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.
SMITH INCLUDED ON MANNING AWARD WATCH LIST
Troy Smith is one of several quarterbacks listed on the Manning Award watch list released Aug. 23. The award, won a season ago by Vince Young of Texas, is presented following the bowl season to a quarterback in honor of the accomplishments of the Manning family (Archie, Peyton and Eli). Both regular season and bowl performances are considered by a national media panel and each of the Mannings when selecting the winner.
GINN MR. VERSATILITY FOR OSU
Junior Ted Ginn Jr. is listed at flanker for the Buckeyes, but that only tells part of the story. As a true freshman, Ginn also lined up at tailback and quarterback in addition to returning punts. Last year he returned kickoffs and finished second on the team with 51 catches for 803 yards and four scores. Ginn Jr. has had 200 or more all-purpose yards in four of his last seven games, including a career-high 279 yards at Indiana Oct. 22, 2005 and a 260-yard effort in the 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl vs. Notre Dame. He has a total of five 200-plus all-purpose yard games in his career and 11 with 100+ all purpose yards.
In the win over Northern Illinois, Ginn touched the ball eight times and amassed 192 yards, an average of 24 yards per touch.
THE BUCKEYES ALL-TIME
Ohio State enters the 2006 season with an all-time record of 776-300-53 in 116 seasons of competition. That includes a Big Ten record of 425-162-24 since 1913, an Ohio Stadium slate of 367-104-20 since 1922 and a bowl mark of 18-19.
COACH Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel is in his sixth season as head coach at Ohio State. His record with the Buckeyes is 51-13 (30-10 in the Big Ten) and his career record is 186-70-2 (.725) 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 eight-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 sport.
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. Ohio State leads all of college football in Lombardi awards ahead of Nebraska and Notre Dame, each with four.
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 21-7 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.
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.
DANGEROUS DUO
Quarterback Troy Smith is the all-time completion percentage leader in Ohio State history. He has connected on 62 percent of his passes (217-359) to date. He also is ninth all-time at Ohio State in career passing yardage with 3,475 yards entering the game this week at Texas (Craig Krenzel with 4,493 career yards from 2000-03 is eighth). Smith’s also ranks ninth in career total offense with career 4,438 yards.
Receiver Ted Ginn Jr. is tied for 16th place (with Reggie Germany and Cedric Anderson) on the all-time OSU receiving list with 80 receptions. He is also 16th in career receiving yardage with a total of 1,285, an average of 16 yards per reception.
The speedy Ginn has caught at least one pass in 20-consecutive games (beginning with Iowa in 2004) and has multiple catches in 18-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.
THE ROOKIE CLASS
There are three true freshmen and seven redshirt freshmen in the depth chart for this week’s game at Texas. On offense Jim Cordle at center and Brian Hartline at slot receiver are the redshirt rookies listed at No. 2, while Ray Small at flanker and Chris Wells at running back are both true freshmen.
On the defensive side, redshirt freshmen Todd Denlinger (DT), Andre Amos (field CB) and Anderson Russell (FS) are listed as backups at their respective positions. Russell also is the No. 1 nickel back. True freshman Ross Homan is the backup at the mike (middle) linebacker spot. On special teams, redshirt freshman place-kicker Aaron Pettrey won the job in fall camp. Redshirt punter Jon Thoma is listed at No. 2.
THEY WILL BE UPSTAIRS
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 LONGHORNS
After getting past Ohio State, 25-22, last year in Columbus, Texas went on to win the Big 12 South Division, the Big 12 championship game vs. Colorado and the national championship thanks to a 41-38 victory against Southern California in the Rose Bowl. It was the fourth national championship for the Longhorns and the first since 1970. The Longhorns were 13-0 last year and after a 56-7 win in the 2006 season opener combined with wins in the final seven games of the 2004 season, they have won 21-consecutive games.
Texas scored 14 points in each quarter in the home win last week vs. North Texas and outgained the Mean Green in total yards, 410-95. Colt McCoy was 12-for-19 for 178 yards and three touchdowns, while backup Jevan Snead completed 3-of-7 passes for 20 yards. Limas Sweed caught five passes for 111 yards and a pair of scores. On the ground, Texas had 212 yards, getting 77 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries by Jamaal Charles. Three other players ran for scores. The Burnt Orange limited North Texas to just 8 yards rushing, 87 passing yards and just one third-quarter touchdown. The Texas defense had 10 tackles-for-loss and four sacks last week, led by Aaron Ross, who had seven tackles.
The Longhorns have two non-conference games remaining in 2006 – against Rice at Reliant Stadium in Houston and at home against Sam Houston State. In addition to the Big 12 South slate vs. Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, Texas also plays Big 12 North teams Iowa State, Kansas State and Nebraska in 2006.
TEXAS’ LAST GAME
Redshirt freshman quarterback Colt McCoy led Texas to a 56-7 victory over North Texas last Saturday in front of 85,123 fans at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Making his first start after beating out Jevan Snead as the replacement to Vince Young, McCoy finished 12-for-19 for 178 yards and three touchdowns. He hit Limas Sweed for a 60-yard touchdown on his second pass of the game and never looked back. Sweed finished with five catches for 111 yards and two scores. The win extended the Longhorns’ win streak to 21 games, the longest streak in the nation.
COACH MACK BROWN
Mack Brown (Florida State, 1974) is 170-93-1 in his 23rd year as a collegiate head coach. Since arriving at Texas in 1998, the Longhorns have gone 83-19 in nine seasons. Brown’s teams have won at least 10 games in each of the last five years, including 11 in 2001, 2002 and again in 2004 after beating Michigan 38-37 in the Rose Bowl. Last year, his team finished 13-0, beating Southern California, 41-38, in the Rose Bowl to win the national championship. His Texas teams also have participated in three Cotton and three Holiday bowls. Before arriving in Austin, Brown spent 10 seasons (1988-97) at North Carolina directing the Tar Heels to bowl games in each of his last six seasons there. His teams won 10 games three different seasons and finished with a record of 69-46-1. Brown’s first head coaching job was at Appalachian State in 1983 before becoming the head coach at Tulane in 1985 after one season as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma.
NEXT WEEK
Ohio State returns home to host the University of Cincinnati, coached by former Buckeye defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio. Kickoff is scheduled for shortly after noon in Ohio Stadium. The game is sold out. ESPN Plus will televise the game.
