No. 18/20 Ohio State at Maryland Game Notes – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 29, 2014
| Sophomore RB Ezekiel Elliott rushed 28 times for 182 yards and one TD and caught five passes for 51 yards in the 50-28 win over Cincinnati. |
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#18/20 Ohio State at Maryland
Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, Noon ET
Byrd Stadium (54,000), College Park, Md.
TV: ABC – Sean McDonough (Play-by-Play), Chris Spielman (Analyst), Todd McShay (Reporter)
Radio: WBNS (FM 97.1 The Fan) is the flagship station for the 64-station Ohio State Radio Network. The Urban Meyer 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 nationally on Sirius-XM satellite radio channels 84.
First and 10
- Ohio State enters the game having won 16 consecutive Big Ten regular season games.
- Ohio State tied an NCAA record with 45 first downs in the win over Cincinnati. It also topped 700 yards of total offense for the third time ever.
- Ohio State has recorded 15 pass plays of 20 or more yards through four games.
- Redshirt freshman QB J.T. Barrett accounted for 409 yards of offense (330 passing, 79 rushing) with four TD passes in the win over Cincinnati.
- Barrett has thrown for 300+ yards in back-to-back games for the first time since Troy Smith in 2005.
- Barrett leads the Big Ten in total offense with 323.0 yards per game.
- Sophomore RB Ezekiel Elliott enjoyed a breakout game with 182 yards rushing Saturday vs. UC.
- Senior WR Devin Smith needs three more receptions (97) to reach 100 for his career.
- Sophomore DE Joey Bosa has three forced fumbles this season, all of which have led to Buckeye points (23 total).
- Head coach Urban Meyer has not lost a game in the month of October since the 2010 season.
Big Ten Opener This Week
Ohio State opens Big Ten Conference play on the road at Maryland Saturday in a noon game that will be nationally televised by ABC. The Buckeyes are 3-1 on the season and have won two straight since a home-opening, 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech Sept. 6. Maryland is 4-1 on the season and also has won two consecutive games, including a first-ever Big Ten win last week over Indiana, 37-15.
First Meeting
Ohio State and Maryland are meeting for the first time on the college football gridiron. The Terrapins joined the Big Ten Conference on July 1 of this year after 62 years as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Location. Location. Location.
Maryland home football games are played at its on-campus facility in College Park, Md.: Byrd Stadium, capacity 54,000. The field is FieldTurf. The stadium is named for former football coach and Maryland president, Dr. Harry C. Byrd, who was the main advocate for the building of the facility. It was completed in 1923.
16 Consecutive Big Ten Wins
Ohio State has won 16 consecutive Big Ten Conference games dating to the start of the 2012 conference season. The Big Ten record for conference wins is 20, set by the 2005-07 Ohio State teams.
First Coaching Match-up
The game will match an Urban Meyer-coached team vs. a Randy Edsall-coached team for the first time. Meyer is in his 13th season as a head coach while Edsall is in year No. 16 as a collegiate head coach, having spent 12 seasons at Connecticut prior to taking over at Maryland in 2011.
Ohio State Tops Cincinnati
Ohio State’s offense was unstoppable Saturday in front of a record crowd of 108,362 in Ohio Stadium and the result was a 50-28 victory for the Buckeyes over the Cincinnati Bearcats. Ohio State topped 700 yards of total offense for only the third time ever with 710 yards, the third-highest total in school history (ahead are 718-yard games vs. Mt. Union in 1930 and 715 vs. Utah in 1986) and not far from the Big Ten record of 756 yards set by Wisconsin two weeks ago vs. Bowling Green. The Buckeyes set a school-record and tied the NCAA mark with 45 first downs. It also tied the school mark with 101 offensive plays from scrimmage.
Ohio State vs. Ohio Schools
Ohio State is now 180-58-15 all-time vs. schools from the state of Ohio. The Buckeyes’ 50-28 win over Cincinnati Saturday was the 45th consecutive win or tie vs. another Ohio school and it was the team’s 40th consecutive victory. Ohio State has not lost to an instate school in 93 years, or since losing, 7-6, to Oberlin in 1921.
Barrett Leads Offensive Charge
Red-shirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett was outstanding against the Bearcats with a career-best 330 passing yards and 409 total yards, the second-highest total in school history next to Art Schlichter’s 412-yard game vs. Florida State in 1981. Barrett was 26 of 36 passing with four touchdowns and no interceptions while connecting with 10 different receivers. He also rushed for a career-high 79 yards in 14 attempts.
J.T. Barrett So Far …
In just four collegiate games, Wichita Falls, Texas’ J.T. Barrett has …
- Thrown for 1,087 yards while completing 63.6-percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and only five interceptions;
- Thrown for 300-or-more yards in consecutive games, the first Buckeye quarterback to accomplish that since Troy Smith did so vs. Michigan and Notre Dame at the end of the 2005 season;
- Had the second-highest game for total yards in school history with 409 vs. Cincinnati;
- Climbed to eighth nationally in passing efficiency with a rating of 178.6 and to 10th nationally with 13 touchdown passes; and
- Moved to the forefront of the Big Ten in total offense with an average of 323.0 yards per game.
Big Ten Honors Barrett
J.T. Barrett was named the Big Ten’s co-Freshman of the Week for his efforts vs. Cincinnati that included 409 yards of total offense and four touchdown passes. This is the third Freshman of the Week honor (or co-Freshman) for Barrett this season. He has also earned the league’s offensive Player of the Week award once.
Break-Out Game for Ezekiel Elliott
Sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliott entered the Cincinnati game with 27 carries for 141 yards and two touchdowns, and with four receptions for 52 yards. Against UC he topped virtually all those totals with a take-notice 182 yards rushing off 28 carries and with five receptions for 51 yards. He had 10 rushes or receptions of over 10 yards and his three-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave the Buckeyes the lead for good at 14-7.
Big Bad Bosa
Another strip-sack and forced fumble for Joey Bosa gives the talented defensive end 4.5 tackles-for-losses this season, including 2.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles that have directly led to 23 Buckeye points. Saturday he leveled Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel and forced a fumble that rolled into the end zone so a Bearcat had to bat it out of play for a safety. Following the free kick, Ohio State marched 58 yards in nine plays for a touchdown and a 23-7 lead.
Fourth 300 & 300 Game
Ohio State had 380 rushing yards and 330 passing yards vs. Cincinnati. This marked the fourth time in school history the team has topped 300 yards in both categories in the same game.
300 Rushing & 300 Passing
- 2014 – 380 and 330 vs. Cincinnati
2010 – 342 and 303 vs. Eastern Michigan
1996 – 317 and 315 vs. Rice
1986 – 394 and 321 vs. Utah
More Bullet Points From Saturday
- Dontre Wilson led the Buckeyes with a career-best six receptions and for a career-best 71 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown to give Ohio State a 43-28 lead.
- The 380-yards rushing for the Buckeyes was only the fifth-highest rushing total for an Urban Meyer-coached Ohio State team, after the 441, 408, 393 and 388-yard rushing games last year vs. Illinois, Penn State, Michigan and Florida A&M, respectively.
- Meyer’s Buckeyes have now rushed for 300 or more yards 11 times in his 30 games as coach.
- Three UC pass completions netted 221 yards – all by Chris Moore – and the 18 other pass completions by the Bearcat QBs netted 131 yards.
- Cincinnati’s last four series of the game resulted in four consecutive punts, 17 plays and only 27 yards.
Offensive Options
With receiver Evan Spencer and H-back Dontre Wilson getting into the touchdown scoring column vs. Cincinnati, Ohio State now has 10 different players who have scored touchdowns through four games. Last year, 14 Buckeyes finished the season with a touchdown scored and in 2012 11 Buckeyes scored touchdowns.
29 Plays of 10-or-More Yards
Thirteen different Ohio State players combined for 29 offensive plays of 10-or-more yards vs. Cincinnati, on its way to the third-most prolific day in school history with 710 offensive yards. Ezekiel Elliott led the way with 11 such plays with Dontre Wilson next with three and three players – J.T. Barrett, Rod Smith and Devin Smith – netting two apiece.
Nice Game for Nuernberger
Sean Nuernberger’s 14-point game vs. the Bearcats included a critical, 42-yard field goal in the third quarter to put the Buckeyes up by a touchdown, 36-28, over a Bearcats team that was rallying against the home team behind a 21-3 run. Nuernberger had earlier connected on a 25-yard field goal. For the season, he is 3 of 4 from outside of 40 yards and 5 of 7 overall.
Record crowd makes Ohio State No. 1
A record crowd of 108,362 fans were in Ohio Stadium for the Ohio State/Cincinnati game. The crowd is the largest of this young season in college football and positions Ohio State No. 1 in average home attendance through the first five weeks of the season.
2014 Home attendance – Average
| 1. | 106,761 – Ohio State (Ohio Stadium) |
| 2. | 104,298 – Texas A&M (Kyle Field) |
| 3. | 104,113 – Michigan (Michigan Stadium) |
| 4. | 101,460 – LSU (Tiger Stadium) |
| 5. | 101,316 – Alabama (Bryant-Denny Stadium) |
Top 5 Ohio Stadium crowds
| 1. | 108,362 vs. Cincinnati; Sept. 27, 2014 |
| 2. | 107,517 vs. Virginia Tech; Sept. 6, 2014 |
| 3. | 106,102 vs. Nebraska; Oct. 6, 2012 |
| 4. | 106,033 vs. USC; Sept. 12, 2009 |
| 5. | 105,899 vs. Penn State; Oct. 26, 2013 |
| 105,899 vs. Michigan; Nov. 24, 2012 |
Buckeye Offense Goes the Distance
The Buckeye offense had to earn their points Saturday, never having the luxury of starting with a short field. Ohio State’s 13 offensive drives Saturday all started on its half of the field, with the average starting field position being its own 29-yard line on OSU’s eight scoring drives. The Buckeyes scored touchdowns the first four times they had the ball, with the first and second starting at their own 25- and 9-yard lines. The third (42) and fourth (48) started closer to midfield. In the third quarter, the Buckeyes started their first two drives at their own 25, resulting in field goals. On their next two possessions, Ohio State went 62 yards in seven plays and 73 yards in 11 plays — both resulting in TDs — to seal the win.
Ohio State Scoring Drives vs. Cincinnati
| Qtr | Drive Start | Result | Plays-Yards | TOP |
| 1 | O-25 | TD | 8-75 yards | 2:12 |
| 1 | O-9 | TD | 8-91 yards | 3:15 |
| 1 | O-42 | TD | 9-58 yards | 3:15 |
| 1 | O-48 | TD | 7-52 yards | 3:05 |
| 3 | O-25 | FG | 14-67 yards | 4:57 |
| 3 | O-25 | FG | 8-50 yards | 3:21 |
| 3 | O-38 | TD | 7-62 yards | 2:39 |
| 3 | O-27 | TD | 11-73 yards | 5:04 |
Scouting Maryland
Maryland is 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten play entering Saturday’s game. The Terrapins opened the season with wins vs. James Madison (52-7) and at USF (24-17) before dropping its only game of the season at home vs. West Virginia, 40-37, Sept. 13. Since the loss Maryland has picked up two road wins at Syracuse (34-20) and Indiana (37-15) to open Big Ten play.
The Terps are led offensively by senior QB C.J. Brown, who is 73 of 128 passing with three INTs and seven TD passes. He also leads the team in rushing with 266 yards and five TDs. Stefon Diggs is UMD’s leading receiver with 29 catches for 398 yards and two TDs.
Maryland’s defense ranks second in the Big Ten with six INTs, one of which was returned for a TD.
Randy Edsall is in his fourth season as Maryland’s head coach with a 17-25 record. He is 91-95 overall in his career after spending the previous 12 seasons at UConn, where he compiled 74-70 mark with five bowl appearances.
Barrett Hits 11 Different Receivers in Kent State Win
Redshirt freshman QB J.T. Barrett was spreading the ball all over the field in the 66-0 win over the Golden Flashes Sept. 13, hitting 11 different receivers and tying a school record with six TD passes in the win. It marked the first time in 25 years an Ohio State QB hit 11 different receivers in a game.
Barrett on Pace for 3,000?
J.T. Barrett has 1,087 passing yards through the first four games for an average of 271.7 yards per game through the air. At his current pace, Barrett would top 3,200 yards passing by the end of the regular season, which would be the most by an Ohio State QB since Joe Germaine threw for a school-record 3,330 yards in 1998 in 12 games. Germaine and Bobby Hoying (3,269 yards in 1995) are the only two Ohio State QBs to throw for 3,000 yards in a season.
Samuel Hits 100 Yards
True freshman Curtis Samuel became the first Ohio State running back to reach the 100-yard rushing mark with 100 yards and two TDs in the win over Kent State. He also added four catches for 40 yards. Samuel busted off a 26-yard run and hauled in a 30-yard catch and run in the victory before his TD runs of 3 and 1 yards in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Regular Season Win Streak Snapped
The loss to Virginia Tech snapped two impressive Ohio State winning streaks: a 25-game regular season winning streak and a 15-game home winning streak.
A Top 5 Big Ten Win Streak
Ohio State’s 24 consecutive wins in 2012 and 2013 rank among the Top 5 longest winning streaks in Big Ten Conference history. It was the longest winning streak in the Big Ten in 64 years, or since Michigan won 25 consecutive games between 1946-49.
Longest Big Ten Winning Streaks
- 29 – Michigan, 1901-03
26 – Michigan, 1903-05
25 – Michigan, 1946-49
24 – Ohio State, 2012-13
24 – Minnesota, 1903-05
22 – Ohio State, 1967-69
21 – Minnesota, 1933-36
20 – Iowa, 1920-23
Three 20-Game Win Streaks For Meyer
Last season Urban Meyer became the first head coach at the highest level of the collegiate coaching ranks (major college, Division I, FBS, etc.) to have three winning streaks of at least 20 games. A total of 40 head coaches at this level have lead a team to a winning streak of at least 20 games. Nine of those coaches have had two winning streaks of at least 20 wins. Meyer is the first to add a third such winning streak to his name.
And Only One Three-Game Losing Streak
The win over Navy snapped a two-game losing streak for coach Urban Meyer’s team. Meyer has had just one losing streak reach three games in his 155-game head coaching career: in 2010 at Florida. He has had only four multi-game losing streaks in all, with all of them two-game streaks except for the 2010 trio while at Florida. The others: in 2002 at Bowling Green; 2007 at Florida; and 2013 at OSU.
Frosh & Sophs have 14 of 22 TDs
Young players have accounted for 14 of Ohio State’s 22 touchdowns this season, led by redshirt sophomore Michael Thomas’ four scores. Overall, 121 of Ohio State’s 171 points (.707) have been scored by freshmen and sophomores (true and redshirt). Below is a breakdown of Ohio State’s scoring:
| Player | TDs | FGs | PAT | Pts |
| Sean Nuernberger – Fr. | – | 5-7 | 22-22 | 37 |
| Devin Smith – Sr. | 4 | – | – | 24 |
| Michael Thomas – So. | 4 | – | – | 24 |
| Ezekiel Elliott – So. | 3 | – | – | 18 |
| Rod Smith – Sr. | 3 | – | – | 18 |
| Curtis Samuel – Fr. | 2 | – | – | 12 |
| Evan Spencer – Sr. | 1 | – | – | 6 |
| Darron Lee – Fr. | 1 | – | – | 6 |
| Jalin Marshall – Fr. | 1 | – | – | 6 |
| Marcus Baugh – Fr. | 1 | – | – | 6 |
| Dontre Wilson – So. | 1 | – | – | 6 |
| J.T. Barrett – Fr. | 1 | – | – | 6 |
| Totals | 22 | 5-7 | 22-22 | 171 |
Thomas Emerging as Top WR Threat
Sophomore Michael Thomas is emerging as one of Ohio State’s top wide receiver threats. So far this season the Los Angeles native leads the Buckeyes with 13 catches for 247 yards and four TDs. He caught a career-high six passes for 98 yards, including a 53-yard TD catch and run, in the loss to Virginia Tech and had two TD grabs in the win over Kent State. He is averaging 34.7 yards per TD reception and 61.8 yards per game.
Bosa Leads Nation in Forced Fumbles
Joey Bosa has a forced fumble in three of four games and all three have led to huge Ohio State touchdowns, including one directly to a safety. His forced fumble on Navy QB Keenan Reynolds was scooped up by Darron Lee and returned 61 yards for a third-quarter touchdown. Against VT his sack of Hokie quarterback Michael Brewer and ensuing fumble was recovered by Rashad Frazier at the VT 15. Two plays later Ezekiel Elliott scored to tie the game at 21-all. Then in the win over UC, Bosa delivered a devastating strip-sack to UC QB Gunner Kiel that led directly to a safety and TD on Ohio State’s ensuing possession. Bosa’s 0.75 FF per game rank 4th nationally, but his three FF rank first overall.
Devin Smith: 22 Career TDs
Devin Smith has caught 22 career touchdown passes at an average distance of 40.6 yards per score. Smith, who has 97 career receptions for 1,850 yards, is fifth all-time at Ohio State with his 22 TD receptions. He recently passed Joey Galloway and Dane Sanzenbacher who each have 19. Furthermore, his 19.1 yards per catch average currently ranks fourth all-time on Ohio State’s career list. The Ohio State record is 21.3 yards per catch by Cedric Anderson, who played for the Buckeyes from 1980-83.
Devin Smith TD Receptions
2011 – 14 from B. Miller vs. Akron
2011 – 32 from B. Miller vs. Colorado
2011 – 17 from B. Miller vs. Colorado
2011 – 40 from B. Miller vs. Wisconsin
2012 – 23 from B. Miller vs. Miami
2012 – 25 from B. Miller vs. Cal
2012 – 72 from B. Miller vs. Cal
2012 – 63 from B. Miller vs. Michigan State
2012 – 60 from B. Miller vs. Indiana
2012 – 46 from B. Miller vs. Indiana
2013 – 47 from B. Miller vs. Buffalo
2013 – 90 from K. Guiton vs. Cal
2013 – 47 from K. Guiton vs. Cal
2013 – 5 from K. Guiton vs. FAMU
2013 – 26 from B. Miller vs. Wisconsin
2013 – 14 from B. Miller vs. Iowa
2013 – 39 from B. Miller vs. Indiana
2013 – 53 from B. Miller vs. Michigan
2014 – 80 from J.T. Barrett vs. Navy
2014 – 50 from J.T. Barrett vs. Kent State
2014 – 19 from J.T. Barrett vs. Cincinnati
2014 – 34 from J.T. Barrett vs. Cincinnati
Ohio State Career Touchdown Receptions
| 1. | 34 | David Boston | 1996-98 |
| 2. | 27 | Cris Carer | 1984-86 |
| 3. | 25 | Santonio Holmes | 2003-05 |
| 4. | 24 | Brian Robiskie | 2005-08 |
| 5. | 22 | Devin Smith | 2011-14 |
Buckeyes in the Polls
Ohio State is ranked No. 20 in this week’s Associated Press and No. 18 USA Today/Coaches Top 25 polls. Since the start of the 2002 season, Ohio State has been ranked in the AP Top 10 more times than any other school (148). Oklahoma (126) and LSU (124) are second and third, respectively.
The Buckeyes, who have been ranked by the AP Top 25 more times (827) than any other school, appeared in the AP preseason poll for the 26th consecutive season this year, the longest streak in the nation. It also marks the 47th consecutive season Ohio State has appeared in the AP poll, tying Alabama for the longest active streak.
A Lot of Yards to Replace
With the preseason injury to senior QB Braxton Miller, Ohio State entered the 2014 season without more than 3,100 yards of total offense from its 2013 squad, on top of losing top playmakers Carlos Hyde (1,521 yards rushing) and Corey “Philly” Brown (771 yards receiving). But as the Buckeyes have shown this season, they will replace those yards by committee with several talented players to spread the ball around to.
The Buckeyes returned just 11 percent of its total offense from a year ago heading into this season, the leading men being sophomore RB Ezekiel Elliott (262 yards rushing) and sophomore H-B Dontre Wilson (250 yards rushing; 210 yards receiving). The Buckeyes did, however, return two senior wide receivers in Devin Smith and Evan Spencer and senior tight end Jeff Heuerman.
Four New Starters Along O-Line
The Buckeyes have unveiled a new-look offensive line the first four games with four new starters in RG Billy Price, C Jacoby Boren, LG Pat Elflein and RT Darryl Baldwin. LT Taylor Decker is the only veteran with 18 career starts; 14 at right tackle last year and is the leader of the pack at left tackle this season.
Ohio State’s offensive linemen have just 40 career starts combined — the fewest in the Big Ten and the second-fewest in the nation behind Tennessee.
New on the Sidelines
Coach Urban Meyer’s staff features two new assistant coaches: Chris Ash is the team’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach and Larry Johnson is assistant head coach and defensive line coach. Ash spent the past year at Arkansas and the previous three years at Wisconsin. Johnson has coached collegiately for the past 18 years at Penn State.
Five Seniors Named Captains for 2014
Five seniors were chosen by vote of their teammates, included injured and out-for-the-year quarterback Braxton Miller, cornerback Doran Grant, linebacker Curtis Grant, defensive tackle Michael Bennett and tight end Jeff Heuerman.
The Early Arrivals
Seven prospects from the 2014 recruiting class (of 23) enrolled in January. Those seven were:
- QB Stephen Collier, from Leesburg, Ga., and Lee County High School;
- WR Johnnie Dixon, from West Palm Beach, Fla., and Dwyer High School;
- OL Marcelys Jones, from Cleveland’s Glenville High School;
- LB Raekwon McMillan, from Hinesville, Ga., and Liberty Co. High School;
- Kicker Sean Nuernberger, from Buckner, Ky., and Oldham County High School;
- Hybrid RB/WR Curtis Samuel, from Brooklyn, N.Y., and Erasmus Hall High School; and
- OL Kyle Trout, from Lancaster (Ohio) High School.
The Early Trend
The seven early arriving Buckeyes continue a trend of high school seniors electing to graduate early/complete requirements to graduate and enroll at Ohio State for a winter or spring academic session. Ohio State has a total of 21 players who have left high school early. Those players, in addition to the class of 2014 enrollees, include:
- 2013: CB
Eli Apple, QB J.T. Barrett, CB Cam Burrows and DL Tyquan Lewis;
2012: OL Jacoby Boren, OL Taylor Decker, RB Bri’onte Dunn, QB Cardale Jones, LB Joshua Perry, DB Tyvis Powell and WR Michael Thomas; and
2011: OL Joel Hale, TE Jeff Heuerman, QB Braxton Miller.
22-0 Since 2005 With Punt Block
Urban Meyer’s teams are 22-0 since the 2005 season when blocking a punt. Last season Ohio State blocked three punts: Bradley Roby (2) vs. Indiana and at Northwestern and Doran Grant vs. FAMU. This season, Ohio State has one (Jeff Greene vs. KSU).
60 Blocked Kicks
Urban Meyer-coached teams, from 2001 to the present, have blocked 61 kicks. Meyer’s Buckeyes have blocked 10 kicks over the past two-plus seasons. (Source for the first 51 blocks: University of Florida stats)
Buckeyes Building Blocks:
2012
1. Adolphus Washington (PAT vs. UCF)
2. Orhian Johnson (PAT vs. UAB)
3. Bradley Roby (Punt vs. Michigan State)
4. Travis Howard (Punt vs. Indiana)
5. Garrett Goebel (PAT vs. Purdue)
6. Johnathan Hankins (FG vs. Purdue)
2013
7. Doran Grant (Punt vs. FAMU)
8. Bradley Roby (Punt vs. Northwestern)
9. radley Roby (Punt vs. Indiana)
2014
10. Jeff Greene (Punt vs. KSU)
Future Opponents
Ohio State Notre Dame have agreed to a home-and-home series on the gridiron for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Ohio State’s impressive slate of future non-conference home-and-home series now features games with:
- Virginia Tech: last weekend and in 2015;
- Oklahoma: 2016 in Norman and 2017 in Columbus;
- TCU: 2018 in Fort Worth and 2019 in Columbus;
- Oregon: 2020 in Eugene and 2021 in Columbus;
- Notre Dame: 2022 in Columbus and 2023 in South Bend;
- Texas: 2022 in Austin and 2023 in Columbus; and
- Boston College: 2023 in Columbus and 2024 in Chestnut Hill.
The Big Ten Conference
Maryland and Rutgers are now members of the Big Ten Conference and a new East/West divisional format replaces the Legends and Leaders divisions. New division alignments will feature Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers in the East Division and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin in the West Division. Each school will play the other six schools in its division plus two teams from the other division in 2014 and 2015 before moving to nine-game conference slates in 2016.
Bennett a Senior CLASS Candidate
Senior co-captain Michael Bennett has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award in college football. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Bennett, a Centerville, Ohio, native, is a force as an interior defensive lineman and a team-leader off the field and is the son of parents who each graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Bennett has played in 37 games with 17 starts. He has recorded 75 career tackles, including 19.5 TFL and also has a team-high 11 quarterback sacks.
Off the field, Bennett goes above and beyond in the community, participating in a variety of community service projects. In the past year, Bennett and his teammates have volunteered their time at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank and paid a visit to campers at King Arts Complex in Columbus, reading, playing and interacting with local kids. Bennett also has attended the Columbus Special Olympics, taking part in the opening ceremonies and cheering kids on during competition and has been involved with the 2nd and 7 Foundation, which promotes reading by providing free books and positive role models to kids in need. Last summer, Bennett and his teammates helped rebuild the playgrounds at Graham Expeditionary Middle School in Columbus and also visited sick kids at Columbus Children’s Hospital.
A Bigger, Better, Brighter Ohio Stadium
Capacity at Ohio Stadium has risen to 104,944 from 102,329, meaning attendance figures can expect to reach 107,000-plus this season after a record crowd of 107,517 vs. Virginia Tech. An $8.9 million project at Ohio Stadium added 2,615 seats near the south stands’ stadium tunnels. The project included a new players’ tunnel and it also added rows of permanent MUSCO sports lighting atop the stadium’s east wall and above the press box. Upon completion, the south stands will hold just over 19,300 students (an additional 9,000 students will continue to have seats in the north end of the stadium).
92nd Year in Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium, grand and venerable and registered on the National Register of Historic Places, is hosting its 92nd football season in 2014. Ohio Stadium is endearingly nicknamed the “Horseshoe” or the “Shoe” because of its open south end. It is also referred to as the “House that Harley Built” after Chic Harley, Ohio State’s first three-time All-American who fans flocked to see at Ohio Field in 1916-17-19. Just one year after Harley’s career at Ohio State was over, things were in motion for a new stadium for the Buckeyes.
88 Consecutive Crowds of 100,000-plus
Ohio State has had 88 consecutive crowds in excess of 100,000. The last time Ohio State did not have at least 100,000 at a home game in Ohio Stadium: the 2002 season vs. Kent when 98,689 were on hand for the second game of what would become a national championship-winning season.
More Than 29,000 Students Buy Tickets
The Ohio State Department of Athletics sold more than its allotment of student season tickets this year and as a result more than 29,000 students will be in the stands for home games this season. Students were allotted 28,333 season ticket packages (full season and Big Ten games-only) but demand prompted the ticket office to keep selling and an additional 1,281 season ticket packages sold for a total of 29,614.
Ohio State Student Ticket Packages Sold
- 2014 Season – 29,614 ticket packages sold
2013 Season – 26,304 sold
2012 Season – 25,798 sold
2011 Season* – 22,797 sold
2010 Season* – 29,701 sold
2009 Season* – 27,960 sold
*Packages these years, when Ohio State was on the quarter system and classes didn’t start until mid-September, consisted only of last four or five games of the season.
