No. 2/2 Ohio State vs. Ohio Game Notes – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Ohio University (1-1) at #2/2 Ohio State (2-0)
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010 – Noon ET
Ohio Stadium (102,329)
Columbus, Ohio
THE BROADCASTS
Television: The Big Ten Network will televise the game with Eric Collins and Chris Martin in the booth and Charissa Thompson on the sidelines.
Radio: WBNS (FM 97.1 The Fan) is the flagship station for the 73-station Ohio State radio network. The Jim Tressel pregame show airs 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Paul Keels will call the play-by-play with former Buckeye Jim Lachey in the booth and Marty Bannister on the sidelines. The game can also be heard live on Sirius satellite radio 113 and XM 104.
FIRST AND 10
• Ohio State holds a 6-0 lead in the series against the Ohio Bobcats
• Ohio State leads the NCAA in turnover margin (+3.50), having not committed a turnover and forcing seven through two games
• Chimdi Chekwa and Devin Barclay earned Big Ten defensive and co-special teams player of the week recognition for their play against Miami
• Terrelle Pryor has thrown 52 passes this season without an interception, including 28 runs without a fumble: 80 plays, zero turnovers
• Ohio State is 54-5 at Ohio Stadium since the start of the 2002 season
• OSU is one of only three FBS teams to record at least 10 wins in each of the past five seasons
• Ohio State has played in 8 BCS bowls, the most all-time ahead of USC and Oklahoma (7)
• Ohio State has won 55 straight regular-season non-conference home games against unranked teams
• The Buckeyes are going for their sixth consecutive Big Ten championship in 2010
• Ohio State has had 57 consecutive crowds of more than 100,000 at Ohio Stadium
DID YOU KNOW?
Ohio State has allowed only 93 touchdowns (39 rushing and 54 passing) since the start of 2005 (66 games; 56-10 record), an average of only 1.4 touchdowns allowed per game by the defense over that time.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS
Ohio enters Saturday’s game with a 1-1 record, winning its opener against Wofford (33-10) before losing its MAC opener last weekend to Toledo, 20-13.
Ohio is gunning for its 500th program victory Saturday in Columbus. The Bobcats finished 9-5 last season, losing in the MAC championship game to Central Michigan before earning a bid to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl where they fell to Marshall, 21-17.
The Bobcats are averaging 23.0 points per game on offense and giving up 15.0 per contest so far in 2010. They are led at quarterback by redshirt senior Boo Jackson who also played in the 2008 meeting in Columbus. Before his 2009 season was cut short by injury, Jackson played in every game and started the final 10 under center in 2008. That year he passed for 2,355 yards, the second highest single-season total in school history, and set single-season school records with 19 touchdown passes and 2,688 yards of total offense. This season Jackson is 24-of-39 for 234 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions.
Head coach Frank Solich is in his sixth year in Athens with a 33-32 mark and a 91-51 career record. He spent six season at his alma mater, Nebraska, where he amassed a 58-19 record and took the Cornhuskers to two BCS bowl games.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the seventh meeting in the series history. The two schools last met in 2008, a 26-14 Buckeye victory in Columbus.
Ohio State is 177-48-15 in its history against opponents from the state of Ohio; that list includes Akron, Bowling Green, Case, Cincinnati, Denison, Heidelberg, Kent State, Kenyon, Marietta, Miami, Mount Union, Muskingum, Oberlin, Ohio Medical, Ohio, Ohio Wesleyan, Otterbein, Toledo, Western Reserve, Wilmington, Wittenberg, Wooster and Youngstown State.
The Buckeyes have played at least one team from Ohio each season since 1997. Ohio State has not lost to an Ohio opponent since 1921, falling to Oberlin 7-6; the Buckeyes tied Wooster 7-7 in 1924 in Columbus.
The Ohio Series:
1899: Ohio State 41, Ohio 0
1900: Ohio State 20, Ohio 0
1901: Ohio State 17, Ohio 0
1902: Ohio State 17, Ohio 0
1999: Ohio State 40, Ohio 16
2008: Ohio State 25, Ohio 14
GROUND SUPERIORITY
Over the last seven games dating to last season, the Buckeyes have outgained the opposition on the ground by +1,138 yards (1,749 to 550) — an average of +171.2 yards per game. Ohio State has averaged 249.9 yards per game during that span to opponent’s 78.5 and has totaled 15 rushing touchdowns to the opposition’s one.
In non-conference home games under Tressel (since 2001), the Buckeyes have outgained opponents on the ground by an average of *97.8 yards per game and have scored 54 rushing touchdowns to the opponent’s 10.
CHEKWA, BARCLAY EARN WEEKLY HONORS
Earning Walter Camp national defensive player of the week and Big Ten defensive player of the week honors, Chimdi Chekwa had two interceptions and six tackles (4 solo), including one for a loss, as second-ranked Ohio State defeated 12th-ranked Miami 36-24. Chekwa also broke up two passes as the Buckeyes improved to 2-0.
Kicker Devin Barclay, with an Ohio State record-tying five field goals against the Hurricanes and 18 points scored, shared Big Ten special teams player of the week honors with Michigan State kicker Dan Conroy. He also was awarded the Lou Groza Star of the Week award.
NOTING THE BUCKEYES
• Ohio State leads the nation in turnover margin (+3.50) with seven forced turnovers in 2010.
• Through two games, Ohio State ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring (40.5 ppg), total offense (471.5) passing offense (241.0), kickoff returns (31.3 ypg) and pass defense (88.9 ypg) and third in total defense (275.5 ypg).
• Ohio State is 32-4 in non-conference regular-season games since Jim Tressel became the Buckeyes coach in 2001.
• Ohio State has won 54 straight regular-season non-conference games against teams not ranked in the AP Top 25. The last unranked non-conference team to beat Ohio State was Pitt, a 42-17 winner on Sept. 17, 1988.
• Ohio State has won 55 straight regular-season non-conference home games against teams not ranked in the AP Top 25. The last unranked non-conference team to beat the Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium was Florida State, a 34-17 winner on Oct. 2, 1982.
• Junior quarterback Terrelle Pryor is 21-3 as Ohio State’s starting quarterback. That includes an 8-1 mark in 2008 and an 11-2 record in 2009. Pryor started at wide receiver in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl.
• Pryor leads the Big Ten in passing at 240.0 yards per game and is second in total offense at 305.0 ypg.
• With 5,425 yards of total offense in his career, Pryor needs 165 more to pass Archie Griffin (5,589) for eighth place on Ohio State’s all-time list.
• Pryor completed passes to eight different receivers in the season opener against Marshall. A total of nine different Buckeyes caught at least one pass, the most since Ohio State had 11 different receivers catch a pass in the 2008 opener against Youngstown State.
• Pryor is the first Big Ten quarterback to return the season after winning Rose Bowl MVP since Ohio State’s Joe Germaine in 1997. The last Big Ten player to return the season after winning Rose Bowl MVP was Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne in 1999. Dayne went on to the win the Heisman Trophy in 1999.
• In the BCS Era (since the 1998 season), three previous quarterbacks returned after winning Rose Bowl MVP: Vince Young (Texas, 2005), Matt Leinart (2004, USC) and Ken Dorsey (2002, Miami). All three quarterbacks led their teams to the BCS title game the season after winning Rose Bowl MVP. Leinart and Young led their team to a BCS title while Dorsey lost to Ohio State in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.
• Pryor rushed for 779 yards in 2009. That was the fifth-most overall and led all quarterbacks in the Big Ten last season. That also was the most by any Big Ten quarterback since Penn State’s Michael Robinson had 806 in 2005.
• Pryor rushed for 1,410 yards over the last two seasons. That was the sixth-most by an FBS quarterback in that span, trailing only UAB’s Joe Webb (2,448), Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick, Georgia Tech’s Joshua Nesbitt (1,730), Navy’s Ricky Dobbs (1,698) and Florida’s Tim Tebow (1,583).
• Pryor currently ranks third among Ohio State quarterbacks in career rushing yards with 1,540. He trails Rex Kern (1,714) and Cornelius Greene (2,066).
• Pryor rushed for a first down or ran for a touchdown 58 times last season, trailing only Big Ten rushing champion and offensive player of the year John Clay from Wisconsin (84).
• Pryor had two games in which he passed for at least 200 yards and rushed for at least 100 last season. Since 1996, the only other Big Ten players to have at least two performances with 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards are Indiana’s Antwaan Randle El, Northwestern’s Zak Kustok and Illinois’ Juice Williams.
• Ohio State is 14-1 in the games in which Pryor has rushed for at least 50 yards.
• Ohio State is 8-0 against Big Ten opponents when Pryor has rushed for at least 50 yards.
• Ohio State is 12-1 in the games in which Terrelle Pryor has rushed for at least one touchdown. The Buckeyes’ only loss in these performances was the 26-18 loss on Oct. 17, 2009, at Purdue.
• Ohio State is 18-1 in the games in which Pryor has thrown at least one touchdown pass.
• Only four times in Ohio State history has a Buckeye quarterback rushed for 100 yards and passed for 200 yards or more in the same game, a feat achieved three times by Terrelle Pryor. The times it has happened at OSU:
Ohio State 200 yd passing/100 yd rush games
T. Smith vs. Michigan, 2004: 145 rush/241 pass
T. Pryor vs. Toledo, 2009: 110 rush/262 pass
T. Pryor vs. Minn., 2009: 104 rush/239 pass
T. Pryor vs. Miami (FL), 2010: 113 rush/233 pass
• Ohio State rushed for at least 200 yards in each of its final five regular-season games in 2009.
• Ohio State had eight performances with at least 200 rushing yards last season, the most in the Tressel era.
• Terrelle Pryor and Brandon Saine each rushed for more than 700 yards during the 2009 season. It is the first time a pair of Buckeyes reached that rushing total in the same season since 1989. Carlos Snow had 990 rushing yards and Scottie Graham added 977 that season.
• Terrelle Pryor, Brandon Saine and Dan Herron each recorded at least 600 rushing yards during the 2009 season, marking the first time in program history that the Buckeyes featured three players with at least 600 yards rushing.
• Ohio State went 11-0 in the games in which it rushed for at least 90 yards in 2009.
• Ohio State is 86-6 in the games in which it has rushed for at least 125 yards since Jim Tressel became the Buckeyes coach in 2001. Ohio State is 10-15 in the games in which it has failed to rush for that total in this span.
• Senior running back Brandon Saine had 739 rushing yards and 224 receiving yards in 2009. He was among two Big Ten players to have at least 700 rushing yards and 200 receiving yards in 2009; Purdue’s Ralph Bolden was the other.
• Saine recorded the third 100-yard game of his career against Marshall with 103 yards and two touchdowns (4, 45) on nine carries.
• The Buckeyes are 10-0 in Saine’s career when he has rushed for at least 50 yards.
• OSU is 11-0 when Saine scores a touchdown.
• Junior running back Daniel “Boom” Herron scored six of his seven rushing touchdowns at Ohio Stadium last season.
• The Buckeyes are 11-1 in Herron’s career when he has rushed for at least 50 yards.
• Ohio State is 10-2 when Herron has a rushing touchdown.
• Junior wide receiver DeVier Posey had a breakout season in 2009 with 60 catches for 828 yards and eight touchdowns. He posted 11 catches for 117 yards and a score as a freshman in 2008.
• Posey has caught at least one pass in 16 consecutive games.
• Posey hauled in two touchdown passes in the season opener against Marshall, and totaled 105 yards receiving on four catches in the Miami win, the third 100-yard receiving game of his career.
• Senior wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher averaged 37.6 yards per catch in the season opener against Marshall, including a 65-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
• Ohio State is 26-4 in the games in which Sanzenbacher has recorded at least one catch.
• Kicker Devin Barclay is tied for the NCAA lead with 3.0 field goals made per game. He tied a school record with five in the win over Miami.
• Last season Ohio State became the first FBS team to beat five teams that finished with at least 10 wins: Iowa (11-2), Penn State (11-2), Wisconsin (10-3), Oregon (10-3) and Navy (10-4).
• Ohio State is one of only three FBS teams to record at least 10 wins in each of the past five seasons. The other two are Virginia Tech and Texas.
• Ohio State finished fifth in the final AP poll of the 2009 season. The Buckeyes have finished in the Top 10 in that poll in each of the five seasons since 2005.
• Under Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes are 27-2 at Ohio Stadium versus non-conference teams, the only loss coming to No. 3 USC, 18-15, in 2009 and 25-22 to No. 2 Texas in 2005. The Buckeyes are 32-4 overall in regular season non-conference games since 2001.
• Ohio State has won at least a share of the Big Ten title in each of the last five seasons. That is tied with Michigan from 1988-92 for the second-longest run of consecutive titles. Ohio State holds the record with six straight championships from 1972-77.
• Ohio State has recorded 34 Big Ten championships all-time. The only football program with more is Michigan with 42.
• Ohio State has won three outright Big Ten titles in the last four years. That is more than the rest of the Big Ten in the last decade. The only other Big Ten teams to win the conference title outright since 2000 were Illinois in 2001 and Michigan in 2003. The Buckeyes shared the conference title with Penn State in 2008.
• The Buckeyes have recorded at least 10 wins in each of the last five seasons. The Buckeyes have a chance to become the first team in Big Ten history to record six straight 10-win seasons. The only other Big Ten team to have this long of a run of double-digit victories was Michigan from 1901-05.
• Ohio State has made 86 consecutive appearances in the AP Top 25 poll. The only longer active streak among FBS teams is Texas at 160. Florida is third with 83 and Alabama and Penn State are tied for fourth with 35.
• Ohio State has finished in the top 10 of the final AP poll in seven of the eight seasons since 2002. The only time the Buckeyes finished outside of the top 10 in this span was 2004, when Ohio State ended up ranked 20th.
• Ohio State is the only FBS team to have finished in the top 10 in the final AP poll in each of the last five seasons.
• Ohio State has finished in the top 10 in the final AP poll in each of the last five seasons. That has only happened once previously in OSU football history. The Buckeyes were in the top 10 of the final poll in each season from 1972-76.
• Ohio State has appeared in a BCS bowl in seven of the last eight seasons.
• The Buckeyes appeared in a BCS bowl for the eighth time overall last season. That is the most all-time, leading USC and Oklahoma (7).
• Ohio State has been to a BCS bowl in each of the last five seasons. It is the longest active streak among FBS teams. The only team with a longer run of BCS bowls was the seven straight made by USC from 2002-08.
• Ohio State is 5-3 all-time in BCS bowls. That is tied with Florida (5-1) for the second-most all-time BCS bowl wins. The only team with more BCS bowl wins is USC (6-1).
• Ohio State enjoyed one of the most successful decades in Big Ten history during the 2000s. The Buckeyes went 102-25 (.803) in the 10 seasons from 2000 through 2009. That was the most wins by any Big Ten team in any decade all-time. The 102 wins tied USC for the fourth-most wins by an FBS team in that span — Boise State (112-17), Texas (110-19) and Oklahoma (110-24).
• The 102-win total is at least 16 more than any other Big Ten team during that span. Wisconsin had the second-most wins with a record of 86-43 since the 2000 season.
• Ohio State has won six Big Ten titles since the 2000 season. That is the third-most in any decade by any Big Ten team. Ohio State won eight and Michigan had seven in the 1970s.
• Ohio State won six Big Ten titles since the 2000 season. That is at least twice as many as any Big Ten team. Michigan has the second-most over this span with three.
• Ohio State has appeared in a bowl game in each of the 10 seasons since 2000. Nine of those appearances have been January bowl games. The Buckeyes’ run is the longest active streak in the Big Ten. They are among 11 FBS teams to have appeared in a bowl game in each of the last 10 seasons, joining Boston College, Florida State, Florida, Georgia Tech, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech.
• Ohio State has appeared in a January bowl game in each of the last five seasons. The only other FBS team to play in that month in each season in this span is Florida.
• Ohio State has been to 15 bowl games in 16 seasons since 1994. Fourteen of those bowl appearances have taken place in January.
• Ohio State ended the Big Ten’s six-game Rose Bowl skid when it defeated Oregon, 26-17. The previous Big Ten team to win the Rose Bowl was when Wisconsin defeated Stanford, 17-9, on Jan. 1, 2000.
• The only time Ohio State reached the Rose Bowl in back-to-back seasons was when it appeared in four straight from 1972-75.
• Ohio State has appeared in eight BCS bowls. That is as many as Michigan (4), Penn State (2) and Wisconsin (2) combined.
• OSU is 89-16 (.846) since the start of the 2002 season, the fourth-best record among FBS teams in this span. The only teams with a better record are: Boise State (95-11, .896), USC (93-13, .876) and Texas (92-14, .867).
• Ohio State is 46-8 (.849) since the start of the 2006 season, the fourth-best record among FBS teams in this span. The only teams with a better record in this span are: Boise State (50-4, .925), Florida (50-7, .875) and Texas (47-8, .851).
• Ohio State is 36-4 in Big Ten games since the 2005 season, winning the conference title each year in that span. The only FBS team with a better conference record in this span is the 38-2 mark of Boise State.
• The Buckeyes are 54-5 at Ohio Stadium since the start of the 2002 season.
• Ohio State is 29-3 in Big Ten home games since the start of the 2002 season.
• Ohio State is 18-1 in Big Ten road games since Oct. 22, 2005. The only conference road loss in that span was the 26-18 defeat to Purdue on Oct. 17, 2009.
• Ohio State is 87-6 when it has allowed fewer than 24 points in the nine seasons under Tressel.
• Ohio State has never recorded a losing Big Ten record in nine seasons under Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes went 4-4 in 2004.
• Ohio State is 26-4 in November games since Jim Tressel became coach in 2001. The Buckeyes are 14-1 in November games since 2005, suffering a 28-21 loss to Illinois Nov. 10, 2007.
• Ohio State is 26-4 in November games since Jim Tressel became coach in 2001. That is the fourth-best November record among FBS teams in this span. The only teams with better November records in this span are: USC (29-1), Boise State (32-3) and Florida (31-3).
• Ohio State is 14-1 in November games since 2005, only suffering a 28-21 loss to Illinois on Nov. 10, 2007. Only Florida (19-1) and USC (16-1) have better records in this month in this span.
• Jim Tressel has taken Ohio State to seven BCS bowls. That is tied with USC’s Pete Carroll and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops for the most by any coach.
• Ohio State is 8-1 in Big Ten openers under Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes have won their Big Ten opener in each of the last five seasons, winning the conference title each season since 2005.
• Ohio State has started 3-0 or better in the Big Ten in each of the last four seasons.
THE SILVER BULLET DEFENSE
Noting the Silver Bullets
• It has been 25 games since the Buckeye defense has allowed a 100-yard individual rushing performance; that was by USC’s Joe McKnight, who gained 105 yards on 12 carries in the 2008 meeting in Los Angeles. That streak is second-longest in the nation, trailing only Alabama (34 games).
• Since the beginning of the 2005 season, the Buckeyes have allowed only seven 100-yard rushers during a span of 67 games. That mark is the best record by an FBS school during that time period.
• Ohio State’s defense has given up just one touchdown in 2010 and has recorded seven turnovers in two games.
• Ohio State has held 53 opponents to 21 points or fewer since the start of the 2005 season, the second most among FBS teams. TCU is first (54) and Virginia Tech third (52).
• Ohio State’s defensive squads have held opponents to fewer than 21 points 51 times since 2006, the best among FBS teams. The Buckeyes are 48-3 in those games. OSU has allowed fewer than 10 points 26 times since the start of the 2006 season.
• OSU has allowed 13.5 points per game since the start of the 2005 season. That is the best scoring defense among FBS teams in this span.
• Ohio State has allowed 104 touchdowns overall since the start of the 2005 season. That is the fewest by any FBS team in this span. Virginia Tech and TCU have allowed the second fewest (114).
• Ohio State has allowed 93 touchdowns from scrimmage since the start of the 2005 season. That is the fewest by any FBS team in this span. Virginia Tech is second (104).
• Ohio State has surrendered 39 rushing touchdowns since the start of the 2005 season. That is the fewest among FBS teams in this span. Alabama is second with 41.
• Ohio State has surrendered 54 passing touchdowns since the start of the 2005 season, the second-fewest among FBS teams. Only Virginia Tech has surrendered fewer with 52.
• Ohio State went 9-0 in the games in which it has surrendered 17 points or fewer last season. The Buckeyes were 2-2 in the games in which they gave up 18 points or more.
• Ohio State had 24 interceptions last season. That was tied with Alabama and Boise State for the second-most among FBS teams. Only Texas had more with 25.
• The Buckeyes intercepted 24 of the 417 passes thrown against them last season. The 5.8 interception percentage was second-best among FBS teams, trailing only Air Force (6.1 pct) and Clemson (also 5.8 pct).
• Ohio State finished the 2009 campaign ranked among the NCAA Top 10 in five categories: total defense (5th), scoring defense (5th), turnover margin (5th), pass efficiency defense (5th) and rushing defense (7th). Ohio State ranked 13th among the NCAA leaders in pass defense.
• The Ohio State defense averaged 5.61 three-and-outs per contest in 2009, third in the nation in that statistic behind TCU and Alabama. Ohio State had 73 total three-and-outs for the 2009 campaign.
Past defensive rankings under Tressel:
2001: 33rd in total defense (10th in TO margin)
2002: 23rd in total defense (2nd in scoring def, 3rd in rushing defense)
2003: 10th in total defense (2nd in rushing defense)
2004: 30th in total defense
2005: 5th in total defense (1st in rushing defense, 5th in scoring defense)
2006: 12th in total defense (5th in scoring defense, 10th in pass eff. def.)
2007: 1st in total defense (1st in scoring defense, 1st in pass defense, 3rd in rushing defense, 4th in pass efficiency defense)
2008: 14th in total defense (6th in scoring defense, 6th in TO margin)
Fewest Touchdowns Allowed From Scrimmage in 2010
0 – Alabama, Arizona, Baylor
1 – Arkansas, Cal, CMU, Ohio State, Oregon, South Carolina, Stanford
Fewest 100-yd rushers allowed (FBS Teams Since 2005)
| 1. | Ohio State | 7 |
| 2. | Boston College | 8 |
| Alabama | 8 | |
| 4. | Boise State | 10 |
| 5. | Penn State | 11 |
Teams That DID NOT ALLOW a 100-Yard Rusher in 2009
Alabama
Ohio State
Penn State
Nevada
GMS Allowing Fewer than 21 Pts (FBS Teams Since 2005)
| Team | No. | Record | |
| 1. | Ohio State | 51 | 48-3 |
| 2. | TCU | 50 | 47-3 |
| 3. | Virginia Tech | 49 | 46-3 |
| 4. | Florida | 48 | 47-1 |
| 5. | Penn State | 47 | 44-3 |
BUCKEYES WILL HOST BUFFS IN 2011
Ohio State and Colorado will meet on the football field Sept. 24, 2011, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Ohio State will pay the Buffaloes $1.4 million for the one-time matchup.
Ohio State’s 2011 non-conference schedule will be: Sept. 3 vs. Akron; Sept. 10 vs. Toledo; Sept. 17 at Miami (Fla.); Sept. 24 vs. Colorado. The two schools last met in football in 1986. Ohio State leads the all-time series by a 3-1 margin.
OHIO STATE TO WEAR SPECIAL NIKE UNIFORMS FOR MICHIGAN GAME
Ohio State is one of 10 of the top college football programs that will wear uniquely designed Nike uniforms for at least one game during the 2010 season the company announced today. Ohio State will wear the innovative design for the Michigan game November 27, saluting the Buckeyes’ 1942 national championship team.
Other premier schools participating include Alabama, Boise State, Florida, Miami (FL), Oregon State, Pitt, TCU, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
BIG TEN DIVISIONS/TITLE GAME ANNOUNCED
The Big Ten football division alignments beginning in 2011 will include a division featuring Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin, and a division featuring Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern. Each school will play the other five schools within its division and will also face three teams from the other division, including one cross-division matchup guaranteed on an annual basis.
The guaranteed cross-division matchups are Illinois-Northwestern, Indiana-Michigan State, Ohio State-Michigan, Penn State-Nebraska, Purdue-Iowa and Wisconsin-Minnesota.
Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis has been chosen as the site for the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game to be played December 3, 2011.
NOT SINCE 1922-24
Ohio State ranks second among all NCAA Div. I programs with 84 consecutive seasons since last posting back-to-back losing records. The Buckeyes have not been under .500 for two or more consecutive seasons since 1922-24, which trails only Tennessee; the Vols have not had back-to-back losing seasons since 1909-11, a span of 97 consecutive seasons.
FOR STARTERS
The Buckeyes have 29 players on the 2010 roster with at least one game of starting experience. Those are: Cameron Heyward (35); Bryant Browning, Chimdi Chekwa (29); Mike Brewster, Terrelle Pryor (25); Ross Homan (21); Jermale Hines (18); Dane Sanzenbacher (17); Justin Boren (15); Brian Rolle, DeVier Posey (14); Devon Torrence (13); Dexter Larimore, J.B. Shugarts, Brandon Saine (12); Zach Boren (10); Dan Herron (8); Mike Adams (6); Jake Stoneburner (4); Andrew Miller, Tyler Moeller (3); Solomon Thomas, John Simon, C.J. Barnett (2); Andrew Sweat, Aaron Gant, Nathan Williams, Marcus Hall, Taurian Washington (1).
First-time starters in 2010: C.J. Barnett, John Simon, Andrew Sweat and Solomon Thomas.
The Boren brothers – Justin (OG) and Zach (FB) – products of Pickerington, Ohio, are the first siblings to start in the same game for the Buckeyes since John (LB) and Mike (NG) Sullivan from Mentor, Ohio, started nine games together during the 1988 season.
HONOR ROLL
For 2009, 31 Buckeyes were named to the Big Ten’s all-academic team; the Buckeyes have led the conference over the past eight years. Those honored last season were: Devin Barclay, Zach Boren, Bryant Browning, Ben Buchanan, Chimdi Chekwa, Jim Cordle, Todd Denlinger, Zach Domicone, Nate Ebner, Donnie Evege, James Georgiades, Garrett Goebel, Adam Homan, Ross Homan, Orhian Johnson, Dexter Larimore, Jake McQuaide, Andrew Miller, Andrew Moses, Aaron Pettrey, Terrelle Pryor, Anderson Russell, Etienne Sabino, Dane Sanzenbacher, Ryan Schuck, Austin Spitler, Jake Stoneburner, Andrew Sweat, Marcus Williams, Nathan Williams, Lawrence Wilson.
Additionally, 44 Ohio State football players qualified for the annual OSU Scholar-Athlete Dinner in May, which requires a grade-point average of 3.00 or better for the past academic year.
Three current Buckeyes – Josh Kerr, Scott Sika and Aaron Gant — are already graduates of The Ohio State University.
YOUNG PUPS
Six true freshmen saw action for the Buckeyes in the Marshall game. Making their college debuts were kicker Drew Basil, receiver Corey “Philly” Brown, defensive back Christian Bryant, defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins, running back Carlos Hyde and offensive lineman Andrew Norwell.
BUCKEYES NAME CAPTAINS
Six seniors, OL Bryant Browning, DL Cameron Heyward, LB Ross Homan, LB Brian Rolle, RB Brandon Sanie and WR Dane Sanzenbacher, were elected as captains for the 2010 season, marking just the second time in Ohio State’s 121-year history that six Buckeyes will serve as season-long captains for the Buckeyes. In 1982, Glen Cobb, Jerome Foster, Joe Lukens, Marcus Marek, Tim Spencer and Gary Williams served as captains. The Buckeyes elected five captains in 1974, 1989 and 1990.
UP NEXT
Ohio State hosts the Eastern Michigan Eagles at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 25, in a game that will be televised on ABC and mirrored on ESPN. Ohio is at Marshall that evening.
