Saturday Night Lights … – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Buckeyes 6-1 all-time in night games at Ohio Stadium, look back at the seven memorable nocturnal contests
From a hard-fought three point win over Pittsburgh in the first night game in Ohio Stadium history in 1985 to a hard-to-take three point loss to Texas in the last Horseshoe game under the lights in 2005, a lot of excitement has been packed into the rare evening occurances in the “House that Harley Built.”
The game Saturday vs. No. 3 Penn State will be just the eighth all-time night contest in Ohio Stadium history. For some perspective, that means just more than 1 percent of the 554 all-time games in the ‘Shoe have been played at night.
In prep for the 8 p.m. kick off against Penn State Saturday, take a look back at the seven all-time night games in the Horseshoe.
September 14, 1985 – Ohio State 10, Pittsburgh 7
Ohio State football coach Earle Bruce shook his head and smiled at the thought: “Who would ever have thought Ohio State would throw the ball with a fourth down just a yard and a half away?”
But the element of surprise worked in ninth-ranked Ohio State’s favor Saturday night as the run-oriented Buckeyes scored a 10-7 victory over Pittsburgh.
The Buckeyes trailed 7-3 with 4:24 remaining and were faced with a fourth-and-goal with the ball resting just inside the Pitt 2-yard line.
But Ohio State, the home of short-yardage fullbacks, shocked the Panthers and a crowd of 88,518 in the first collegiate night game at Ohio Stadium by going to the air.
“(The defender) jumped to the inside when I started to run at him,” said wide receiver Cris Carter, who caught the surprise pass from quarterback Jim Karsatos. “I guess he thought I was going to break inside. When I turned outside the ball was right there on the numbers.”
Bruce laughed, “That was a little unfair, Carter going one-on-one with anybody.”
Karsatos completed 19 of his 30 passes for 245 yards and one touchdown.
Defense was the keynote for both teams as Ohio State forced a fumble and William White and Eric Kumerow each had interceptions.
September 11, 1993 – Ohio State 21, Washington 12
There’s a track surrounding the football field at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State coach John Cooper suggested that’s not just a coincidence.
“I think our players are sick and tired of hearing about how fast everybody else is. We’ve got guys on the track team that won the Big Ten championship,” Cooper said after the 16th-ranked Buckeyes beat No. 12 Washington 21-12 Saturday night. “Our players are as quick as anybody’s. We’ve got some speed on our football team, too.”
That became evident in the fourth quarter when Butler By’not’e raced 49 yards on a sprint draw to put the final touches on the victory. He took the handoff from quarterback Bob Hoying and streaked up the middle, then cut to the left sideline and outraced the last defender for the decisive score.
“It’s nice to have a home-run hitter,” said offensive coordinator Joe Hollis.
Ohio State got the most from its big plays, completing passes for 35, 32, 26, 19, 18 and 12 yards and running for 49, 13, 11, 10 and 10 yards. Whenever the Buckeyes needed a chunk of yardage, they got it.
Ohio State limited the Huskies to 277 yards, including only 85 rushing. The Buckeyes ran for 183 and passed for 142.
“More than anything else, we just played a good football team,” UW coach Jim Lambright said.
Raymont Harris finished with 102 yards on 23 carries, while the Buckeyes head UW All-American Napoleon Kaufman to 51 yards on 13 carries.
August 28, 1997 – Ohio State 24, Wyoming 10
Quarterback Stanley Jackson ran for one touchdown and passed for one as No. 9 Ohio State got untracked after a lethargic first half to beat Wyoming 24-10 on a Thursday night season opener.
Jackson completed 6 of 10 passes for 112 yards and carried 11 times for 75 yards. Quarterback Joe Germaine, the MVP of Ohio State’s 20-17 Rose Bowl victory over Arizona State, hit 9 of 13 passes for 98 yards.
Michael Wiley gained 121 yards in 10 carries and Pepe Pearson carried 14 times for 71 yards as Ohio State totaled 500 yards total offense.
Sept. 10, 1999 – Ohio St. 42, UCLA 20
Michael Wiley rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns and Ken-Yon Rambo caught two scoring passes as 13th-ranked Ohio State climbed out of a 10-0 hole to beat No. 14 UCLA 42-20.
Ohio State won its 21st straight home opener before 93,283 in only the fourth night game in Ohio Stadium’s 78 seasons.
Rambo caught both of his touchdown passes from Steve Bellisari, who came off the bench to complete 11-of-16 for 159 yards without an interception.
Less than 2 minutes after the opening kickoff, UCLA quieted the crowd with a quirky touchdown pass that appeared to be intercepted twice.
Quarterback Drew Bennett’s pass in the left flat for Brad Melsby slipped through the hands of Ohio State safety Percy King and squirted to cornerback Ahmed Plummer. But Plummer ran into linebacker Courtland Bullard and the ball popped loose. It was plucked off Melsby’s back by UCLA’s Matt Stanley who lumbered the rest of the way to complete the 67-yard touchdown play.
Ohio State coach John Cooper inserted backup quarterback Bellisari and he connected on three consecutive passes for 44 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown toss to Rambo. Wiley went the last five yards to finish a 58-yard scoring drive to make it 21-10.
Ohio State totaled 489 yards of offense after mustering just 220 in its 23-12 loss to Miami in the Kickoff Classic two weeks earlier.
Oct. 6 2001- Ohio State 38, Northwestern 20
Jonathan Wells rushed for three touchdowns and 179 yards on 22 carries to lead the Buckeyes to a 38-20 win over No. 14 Northwestern before an Ohio Stadium record crowd of 104,042.
Both the Ohio State and Northwestern offenses started strong but defense decided the contest in just the fifth night game in Ohio Stadium history.
Wells scored on the second play of the game on a 71-yard run with less than a minute played.
Northwestern responded less than five minutes later with an 8-yard touchdown run by tailback Damien Anderson.
The Ohio State defense then took control.
Buckeye strong safety Mike Doss returned an Anderson fumble 30 yards for a touchdown with 54 seconds remaining in the first quarter to give the Buckeyes a 14-7 lead.
Northwestern quarterback Zak Kustok turned the ball over on the next Wildcat possession, throwing an interception to Ohio State’s Derek Ross with 12:32 to play in the first half. Ross returned the pick 43 yards.
Wells scored his second touchdown of the game with just 26 seconds left in the first half on a 1-yard run, giving the Buckeyes a 21-7 lead at intermission.
Wells and the Ohio State defense did not miss a beat once the second half started.
Wells led the Buckeyes back to the endzone for a 28-7 lead with 33 rushing yards during a five-play 42-yard scoring drive that culminated with a 9-yard touchdown run by freshman tailback Lydell Ross.
The contest was the first Big Ten night game in Ohio Stadium history.
Aug. 30, 2003 – Ohio State 28, Washington 9
Ohio State opened its 2003 season with a 28-9 over No. 17 Washington before the third-largest crowd (105,078) in Ohio Stadium history. The Buckeyes rolled to a 21-0 first half lead and remained undefeated in six night games at home.
Maurice Hall capped off the 72-yard, eight-play drive with a two-yard run up the middle. The drive’s key play came on second and four from the Buckeyes’ 44-yard line when quarterback Craig Krenzel connected with Drew Carter on a 37-yard pass.
The Buckeyes tallied again on their next possession, Krenzel scrambling out of harm’s way and racing 23 yards around left end to cap off a 78-yard march.
Punter B.J. Sander and the OSU defense set up Ohio State’s third touchdown. First Sander pinned the Huskies on their own one-yard line, then the stout OSU defense forced the Huskies to punt from deep in their own end zone. Krenzel then took the bark out of the Huskies with an 11-yard touchdown run that came on third-and-10 with 11 seconds left in the half. From that point on, it was purely academic.
But the Buckeyes answered a Washington field goal with their final score of the game as junior tailback Lydell Ross broke a tackle and darted in from 15 yards out to give the Buckeyes a 28-3 lead.
The defense played a key role in extending Ohio State’s win, holding UW to seven total rushing yards. Defensive end Simon Fraser had seven tackles, including three tackles for loss and a sack, and was named co-Big Ten defensive player of the week.
Krenzel led the Buckeye offense, completing 15 of 27 passes for 203 yards with no interceptions. He also gained 27 yards on eight carries and the two first half TDs. Michael Jenkins led the Buckeye receiving corps with six catches for 80 yards.
Sept. 11, 2005 – Texas 25, Ohio State 22
No. 4-ranked Ohio State was defeated by No. 2 Texas, 25-22, in the first-ever meeting between the schools in front of a record crowd of 105,565 Saturday in Ohio Stadium.
Josh Huston kicked a school and stadium record five field goals (45 yards, 36, 25, 44, 26). Santonio Holmes had 36-yard touchdown reception from Troy Smith and finished with 73 yards on four catches to lead the Buckeyes. Antonio Pittman had a team-best 75 yards on 17 carries.
A.J. Hawk had an interception, two sacks, a team-high 12 tackles (including three for loss), a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
For Texas, quarterback Vince Young was 18-for-29 for 270 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries. Receiver Billy Pittman had 130 yards on five catches.
Texas scored on its first and second possessions of the game to claim a 10-0 first-quarter lead.
Holmes took the ensuing kickoff and raced 47 yards, leading to a Huston connection from 45 yards out to pull the Buckeyes within a 10-3 score in the second quarter.
The Buckeyes followed with a nine-play, 80-yard drive that saw quarterback Troy Smith complete a 36-yard pass to Holmes in the corner of the end zone to tie the score.
Huston’s leg gave the Buckeyes a 13-10 lead with 4:33 to play before halftime.
Hawk fell on a fumble on the ensuing Texas possession to give the ball back to Ohio State. Nine plays later, Huston kicked his third field goal of the night to build the Buckeye lead to 16-10 with 35 seconds to play before intermission. Texas pulled within three points on a Pino 37-yard field goal with two seconds left in the opening half.
In the second half, another Texas turnover led to anther Huston field goal. On the Longhorns’ second play of their first second-half drive, Vince Young threw his second interception of the game as safety Nate Salley picked off a ball tipped by linebacker Bobby Carpenter. Six plays later, Huston booted his fourth field goal of the game, this time connecting from 44 yards to give the Buckeyes a 19-13 lead with 11:46 to play in the third quarter.
After the Longhorns pulled within three, 19-16, on a 25-yard Pino field goal, Huston tied a school and Ohio Stadium record with his fifth field goal of the game to retake a six-point lead. His connection from 26 yards out made the score 22-16 with 5:12 to play.
The Longhorns tied the game on a Young 24-yard touchdown pass to Limas Sweed with 2:37 left in the fourth quarter. Pino put Texas ahead with the extra point. The seven-play drive covered 67 yards and took 2:23 off the clock.
On the next drive, Ohio State fumbled and the Longhorns recovered on the OSU 21 with 2:19 left. Texas did not score on the drive, turning the ball over to OSU on downs inside the 1-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Smith was sacked in the end zone for a safety, pushing the Texas lead to 25-22.
Ohio State attempted an onside kick following the safety, but it was recovered by Texas, giving the Longhorns possession at the OSU 32. V. Young took a knee to run out the clock.
