Postgame Notes (Ohio State vs. Navy) – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
No. 6/6 Ohio State (1-0) 31, Navy (0-1) 27
Ohio Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
September 5, 2009
Attendance: 105, 092 – opening day attendance record at Ohio State
OHIO STATE POSTGAME NOTES
• Ohio State has not lost a home opener in 31 years. Its last loss was Sept. 16, 1978 when No. 6 Ohio State dropped a 19-0 decision to No. 5 Penn State in Woody Hayes’ final season as the Buckeyes’ head coach.
• Ohio State boasts an all-time record of 104-12-4 on opening day.
• Ohio State is 809-307-53 in its 120th season of play. The win total ranks fifth all-time among FBS schools. The only other schools to have 800 or more wins are Michigan (872), Texas (832), Notre Dame (831), Nebraska (817) and Penn State (800). Alabama goes for its 800th win at 7 p.m. tonight against Virginia Tech in Atlanta.
• Head coach Jim Tressel has won 14-consecutive season openers and 18 of his last 20. His teams have outscored the opposition 700-333 in 24 career openers. His Buckeye teams have outscored opponents 309-109 in nine openers, an average margin of victory of 22.2 points.
• The win improves Jim Tressel’s record with the Buckeyes to 84-19 (.815) and his career record to 219-76-2 (.740). Tressel’s 219 victories rank fourth among active FBS coaches, just behind Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer, as well as Penn State’s Joe Paterno and Florida State’s Bobby Bowden.
• The Buckeyes are 423-129-14 all-time as a Top 25 team.
• Ohio State’s all-time record at Ohio Stadium is 386-106-20. The 386 wins are the fourth-most among all FBS stadiums, trailing Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium (429), Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium (422) and USC’s L.A. Coliseum (403).
• The Buckeyes boast an all-time record of 147-22-5 in September games and a record of 121-10-4 in September home games.
• Ohio State is 39-4 (.906) at home since the start of the 2003 season, which ranks fourth among FBS schools.
• Crowds of more than 100,000 have seen the last 49 games at Ohio Stadium.
SERIES NOTES
• Ohio State leads the all-time series with Navy, 4-0. The last meeting between the teams was the 1981 Liberty Bowl. The last regular-season game was the 1931 Homecoming game at Ohio Stadium, a 20-0 Buckeye victory.
• Saturday was the fifth time Ohio State has faced one of our nation’s service academies. Ohio State is now 4-0 against Navy and 0-1 against Air Force (1990 Liberty Bowl).
• Ohio State will return the game with Navy in 2014 in the Washington D.C./Annapolis area.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Quarterback Terrelle Pryor is 10-1 as Ohio State’s starting quarterback. Pryor passed for 174 yards with one touchdown and rushed for 30 yards, adding a second TD, against Navy.
• Pryor has accounted for 21 of 42 of Ohio State’s offensive touchdowns since the start of last season.
• Jake Ballard tied a career high with three receptions for a new personal record 51 yards.
• Dane Sanzenbacher caught two passes for 57 yards and a touchdown against Navy. He scored the first touchdown of the game and also scored the first touchdown of the 2007 season as a true freshman.
• Brandon Saine and Dan Herron combined for nearly 82 percent of Ohio State’s total 153 rushing yards. Saine averaged 5.9 yards on nine carries, while Herron rushed 72 yards on 17 carries with one touchdown.
• Jake Stoneburner caught his first career pass in the fourth quarter, a 17-yard toss from Pryor.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Ohio State held Navy, who has led the nation in rushing each of the last four seasons, including 292.4 yards a game last season, to 186 on 44 carries Saturday.
• Brian Rolle had a career day with a personal-best nine tackles. He had an interception of a two-point conversion attempt and subsequent return for two points late in the fourth quarter to maintain the Buckeyes’ two-point lead.
• Thaddeus Gibson tied a career high with two tackles for loss, marking the third time he has done so in his career and in the second-consecutive game.
• Dexter Larimore recorded a career-high seven tackles.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• Senior kicker Aaron Pettrey connected on a career-high three field goals, marking the second-consecutive time he has hit multiple FG’s in a game and the fourth time in his career. After successful kicks of 23 and 25 yards, his 52-yarder in the fourth quarter was the fifth field goal of 50 or more yards in his career.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
• The attendance was 105,092, a new record for opening day attendance at Ohio Stadium.
• Senior offensive lineman Jim Cordle was the Buckeyes’ offensive captain vs. Navy. former Columbus mayor and OSU player Greg Lashutka, former Buckeyes Mike Lanese and Phil Strickland served as honorary captains Saturday – all former servicemen of the United States Navy.
