Ohio State vs. Youngstown State Postgame Notes – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
No. 10/11 Ohio State (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) 38, Youngstown State (0-1, 0-0 Gateway) 6
Ohio Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
Sept. 1, 2007
Attendance: 105,038
Ohio State Postgame Notes
Ohio State has won 19-consecutive regular season games. The Buckeyes last lost a regular season contest at Penn State, 17-10, Oct. 8, 2005. Overall, the Buckeyes have won 20 of their last 21.
Overall, the Buckeyes are 296-69-9 when carrying a Top 10 ranking and 403-124-14 as a Top 25 team.
Jim Tressel’s record with the Buckeyes now is 63-14 and his career record is 198-71-2.
Under Tressel, the Buckeyes now are 48-3 when leading at the half (21-3 Saturday) and 50-3 (24-6 Saturday) when ahead after three quarters.
Ohio State now is 788-301-53 in its 118th season of play.
The Buckeyes boast an all-time record of 374-104-20 in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State has won 13 straight, and 17 of the last 18, games played in the Horseshoe. Ohio State’s all-time record in Columbus is 517-151-35 in 702 games.
The Buckeyes have scored at least one touchdown in 126-consecutive games.
The Buckeyes have won 29-consecutive season openers at Ohio Stadium. All-time, the Buckeyes are 102-12-4 in season openers and 106-8-4 all-time in home openers.
Ohio State is 138-21-5 all-time in September, including a 115-10-4 ledger in home games in the month.
Series Notes
The game Saturday was the first meeting between the Buckeyes and the Penguins on the football field. Youngstown State is the first OSU opponent to be part of the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division 1-AA.
The two schools will meet again next year in the season opener Aug. 30, 2008, at Ohio Stadium.
Jim Tressel is in his seventh season as Ohio State head coach after leading Youngstown State for 15 seasons from 1986-2000. Tressel is the first Buckeye head coach to face his former team since John Cooper, Ohio State head coach from 1988-2000, defeated Arizona State in the 1997 Rose Bowl. Cooper was the head man at ASU from 1985-87.
Ohio State is 172-48-15 in its history against opponents from the state of Ohio. Ohio State has not lost to an Ohio opponent since 1921, falling to Oberlin 7-6. The Buckeyes tied Wooster 7-all in 1924 in Columbus.
The last time the Buckeyes matched up against three in-state rivals was in 1926. Ohio State faces Youngstown State, Akron and Kent State in 2007. The Buckeyes have played at least one team from Ohio each season since 1997.
The game Saturday featured the two winningest programs in Ohio since 1990. The Buckeyes have won 162 games in that time span, while YSU has chalked up 155 victories.
The Buckeye victory ended YSU’s streak of 10-consecutive wins in season openers.
Offensive Notes
Nine Ohio State players had at least one reception Saturday, including four who marked the first receptions of their collegiate careers (Fifth-year senior Trever Robinson and true freshmen Dane Sanzenbacher, Devon Torrence, and Taurian Washington).
Three Buckeye quarterbacks combined for 270 yards passing Saturday. The trio was a combined 21-for-31.
The Buckeye offense went over 400-yards total offense for the ninth time in the last 13 regular season games.
Offensive Player Notes
Todd Boeckman started his first game for the Buckeyes at quarterback Saturday. On his first drive, Boeckman went 4-4 for 67 yards and a TD pass of 3 yards to freshman Dane Sanzenbacher. Boeckman’s first three throws were completions to junior Brian Robiskie for 64 total yards, including a 41-yard play that put the Buckeyes at the Penguins’ 13-yard line.
Boeckman ended the game 17-for-23 for 225 yards.
Boeckman was one of five Buckeyes to start their first game on offense. Chris Wells started his first game at tailback and was joined in the backfield by senior co-captain Dionte Johnson at fullback. Jim Cordle, sophomore center, and Ben Person, junior guard, made their first starts on the offensive line.
Robiskie went into the locker room at halftime Saturday with six catches for 113 yards and ended the game with nine catches for 153 yards. His total of 153 yards is the most since Ted Ginn Jr. had 167 vs. Notre Dame in 2006 Fiesta Bowl). His nine grabs were a career best, topping the seven he had vs. Michigan last year. The nine receptions are the most since Ginn had 10 against Bowling Green last season.
In Robiskie’s last two games at Ohio Stadium, he has totaled 16 catches for 242 yards. In the regular season finale last year vs. Michigan, Robiskie had 7 catches for 89 yards and a TD. On the game’s opening drive, Robiskie pulled in three catches for 64 yards. The 41-yard play, that put the Buckeyes on the Penguins’ 13-yard line, is the longest of his career, topping a 39-yard catch and run last season vs. Michigan.
Robiskie has caught a pass in 13-consecutive regular season games.
Sanzenbacher’s 3-yard TD grab counted as the first of his career. Brandon Saine also made his first career trip to the endzone with a 1-yard run in the second quarter. He finished the game with 42 yards on 10 tries.
Last season, three freshmen were on the receiving end of TD throws in tight end Jake Ballard (1 yard vs. Indiana), split end Brian Hartline (2 TD vs. Northwestern) and flanker Ray Small (11 yards vs. Bowling Green). Ballard’s TD grab also was his first catch of his career.
Chris Wells scored the Buckeyes’ second TD Saturday on a 1-yard plunge. The score was the eighth of his career. Wells finished 2006 with seven TDs.
Ballard had an 11-yard catch in the third quarter to gain an Ohio State first down. The catch was the longest of his career.
Rob Schoenhoft entered the game in the second quarter (12:46). He completed three passes on six attempts. Schoenhoft had a 16-yard scramble, the longest run of his career.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Antonio Henton completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to freshman Taurian Washington in the fourth quarter, marking Henton’s first completion and TD pass and Washington’s first TD reception. The catch was the first of Washington’s career.
Henton entered the game early in the fourth quarter. He ended the game 1-for-2.
Boeckman found freshman Trever Robinson for a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was Robinson’s first career catch.
Defensive Notes
Lawrence Wilson recorded the Buckeyes’ first sack of the 2007 season. It was the fourth of his career, after three sacks in 2007.
Wilson was one of four Buckeyes to start their first game on defense Saturday. He was joined on the defensive line by Todd Denlinger, Doug Worthington and Kurt Coleman.
Austin Spitler sacked YSU quarterback Ferlando Williams for a 12-yard loss in the fourth quarter, marking his first career sack. He ended the game with seven total tackles to share the team lead with Anderson Russell and James Laurinaitis.
Laurinaitis has led or tied for the team lead in tackles in nine of the last 13 games.
Youngstown State averaged 31.4 points per game in 2006, but was held to just six points on two field goals against the Buckeyes Saturday.
Special Teams
The game Saturday marked the first with kick offs starting at the 30-yard line. Ryan Pretorius handled the duties on all seven of the Buckeyes tries Saturday. He reached the 8-yard line on his first attempt, the 4-yard line on his second and the goal line on kick off No. 3. Pretorius boomed his first kick off of the second half into the endzone for a touchback. He had a fourth-quarter kick go to the 9-yard line.
Pretorius converted a 24-yard field goal in the third quarter. He is 2-for-3 in his career. He was successful on all five point-after attempts vs. Youngstown State Saturday.
Anderson Russell’s 29-yard kick off return in the third quarter was the first of his career.
Miscellaneous
A crowd of 105,038 attended the game Saturday, marking the 18th largest in Ohio Stadium history. The Buckeyes have attracted more than 105,000 fans in each of their last seven games. Ohio State has had 34-consecutive games with crowds of more than 100,000.
Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock is the older brother of Youngstown State head coach Jon Heacock.
Jim is in his 12th season at Ohio State, while Jon is in his 14th year overall at YSU and seventh season as head coach, after taking over for Jim Tressel in 2001.
Both Jim and Jon are Muskingum College graduates; their brother Jeff was the head coach at Muskingum for 26 seasons (1981-2006). Muskingum is a Division III athletics program located in New Concord, Ohio.
Ohio State junior cornerback Shaun Lane is the older brother of Youngstown State fullback Ben Lane. The brothers are natives of Hubbard, Ohio, and graduates of Hubbard High School. Their father, Garcia Lane, was a letterman for Ohio State from 1981-83 and is the only Buckeye to return two punts for touchdowns in the same game.
Ohio State’s honorary captain for the Youngstown State game was Greg Bellisari, a four-year Buckeye letterman who captained the 1996 Rose Bowl Championship team.
The game vs. Youngstown State was the first played on Ohio Stadium’s new playing surface, a synthetic surface called FieldTurf.
Youngstown State Postgame Notes
First Starts and Apperances
Dustin Helle, Matt Kishman, Jabari Scott, Brian Mellot and Nhemie Theodore made their first starts for the Penguins on offense. Starting for the first time on defense for the Penguins were Lenny Wicks, De’Angelo Wilson, Maurice Smith and Vince Gliatta. Wicks and Wilson starts marked their first career games. 14 other players appeared for their first time in a game including, Jordan Edwards, Luke Metelan, Torrence Nicholson, Deon’te Williams, Nick Gooden, Brandian Ross, Ben Nowicki, Jon Penick, Nick Mernedakis, Na’eem Outler, Stephen Blose and Ferlando Williams Jr., Dominique Barns and Nick Canterino. Gooden, Ross, Outler and Barns are true freshmen.
Key Performances
Edwards was credited with his first career catch for 18 yards. Edwards also had 23 yards rushing in the first half. Sophomore Jabari Scott totaled 23 yards rushing in the first half as well. Scott finished with 30 yards rushing.
Jon Penick recovered his first fumble in the third quarter. The fumble was forced by safety Vince Gliatta.
Aside from a 16 yard scramble Oho State quarterback Rob Schoenholft and a 18 yard run by Brandon Saine, Ohio State had just 19 yards on its 18 other carries in the first half.
Stephen Blose made his first career field goal for 41 yards.
Ferlando Williams’ first complete pass was to D’Michael Horne for 5 yards in the fourth quarter.
Other Notes
YSU played in front of the largest crowd in the school’s history with 105,038 fans. The attendance was also the 18th largest in Ohio Stadium history.
Youngstown State scored its most points against a BCS school.
Against schools from Ohio, the Penguins own an all-time record of 69-59-5.
Since 1990, the Penguins are 15-2-1 in season openers.
This game was the first time YSU has opened a game on the road since playing Kent State in 1995.
