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No. 1 Buckeyes are cruising
Michigan in season finale is lone major obstacle on the horizon
By Luke Meredith
Associated Press
Associated Press
Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith passed for 186 yards and four touchdowns in the Buckeyes? 38-17 win over Iowa on Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa.
IOWA CITY, Iowa ? Ohio State clicked on all cylinders Saturday night. And given what the top-ranked Buckeyes? schedule looks like over the next six weeks, it?s tough to envision them falling before their annual battle with Michigan in the season finale.
Troy Smith threw for 186 yards and four touchdowns and No. 1 Ohio State thumped No. 13 Iowa 38-17 Saturday night, extending the nation?s longest winning streak to 12 games.
Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) faced three ranked teams in September ? Texas, Penn State and the Hawkeyes ? and beat them all by at least 17 points.
Now it seems the Buckeyes are in for an easier schedule. Over the next six weeks, they won?t face another team currently ranked in the Top 25.
?One of the great challenges we talked about a lot was how brutal that September schedule was,? Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ?We?ve played some tough teams who brought all they could bring at us. And all that does is make October more important.?
But not nearly as difficult as September.
This month the Buckeyes host Bowling Green, Indiana and Minnesota, and travel to face a Michigan State squad that has come apart at the seams.
The first part of November might even be easier. Ohio State plays at Illinois and Northwestern, two programs in the midst of long-term rebuilding efforts, before hosting the Wolverines in a game that may have major BCS implications.
?How we handle being successful with that 5-0 start is the question,? Tressel said. ?We?re very capable.?
Against Iowa, the Buckeyes used its running game to control the line of scrimmage and neutralize a raucous crowd. Ohio State ran the ball 50 times ? twice as much as it passed ? for 214 yards. Antonio Pittman picked 117 yards and a touchdown, and Chris Wells added 78 as the Buckeyes held possession for more than 40 minutes.
?The run is what killed us,? Iowa cornerback Charles Godfrey said. ?They ran the ball down our throats.?
Iowa (4-1, 1-1) fell to 0-10-1 against top-ranked teams. The Hawkeyes couldn?t muster much of a fight in the most anticipated game at Kinnick Stadium in more than 20 years.
The Buckeyes were just the fifth top-ranked team to visit Kinnick, the last being Miami, which beat Iowa 24-7 in 1992. And the last game to generate this much buzz in Iowa came in 1985, when the top-ranked Hawkeyes beat No. 2 Michigan 12-10.
?By my vantage point, this is the best they?ve played all year,? Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of the Buckeyes. ?This wasn?t an easy one to walk into as a visitor.?
Ohio State broke open a 21-10 game with long scoring drives on its first two possessions of the second half. Anthony Gonzalez, who caught two touchdown passes, deflated the Kinnick crowd with a spectacular 30-yard TD catch that put the Buckeyes ahead 28-10 early in the second half.
Gonzalez caught the ball on the left hash mark, cut toward the right sideline using his hand to keep from falling down, and fought through a tackle to reach the pylon.
Ohio State?s next drive only netted an Aaron Pettrey field goal, but it drained almost eight minutes off the clock and gave the Buckeyes a 21-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Hawkeyes pulled within 31-17 on a 4-yard TD pass from Tate on fourth down. But Ohio State forced a fumble and two interceptions on Iowa?s next three possessions. Smith put Iowa?s comeback hopes to rest with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brian Robiskie.
Pittman and Wells combined for 55 yards rushing on a 12-play, 89-yard scoring drive late in the second quarter. Smith capped it with a 6-yard strike to seldom-used senior Roy Hall.
Iowa got as close as 14-10 in the first half on a 15-yard touchdown run by Albert Young.
The Buckeyes moved ahead 14-3 by capitalizing on an interception by Brandon Mitchell, who returned it to the Iowa 30. Pittman followed a 23-yard rush with a 4-yard TD run.
Ohio State scored on the game?s opening possession. Smith, who finished 16-of-25 passing, found Gonzalez for a 12-yard TD pass to give the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead.
No. 1 Buckeyes are cruising
Michigan in season finale is lone major obstacle on the horizon
By Luke Meredith
Associated Press
Associated Press
Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith passed for 186 yards and four touchdowns in the Buckeyes? 38-17 win over Iowa on Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa.
IOWA CITY, Iowa ? Ohio State clicked on all cylinders Saturday night. And given what the top-ranked Buckeyes? schedule looks like over the next six weeks, it?s tough to envision them falling before their annual battle with Michigan in the season finale.
Troy Smith threw for 186 yards and four touchdowns and No. 1 Ohio State thumped No. 13 Iowa 38-17 Saturday night, extending the nation?s longest winning streak to 12 games.
Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) faced three ranked teams in September ? Texas, Penn State and the Hawkeyes ? and beat them all by at least 17 points.
Now it seems the Buckeyes are in for an easier schedule. Over the next six weeks, they won?t face another team currently ranked in the Top 25.
?One of the great challenges we talked about a lot was how brutal that September schedule was,? Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ?We?ve played some tough teams who brought all they could bring at us. And all that does is make October more important.?
But not nearly as difficult as September.
This month the Buckeyes host Bowling Green, Indiana and Minnesota, and travel to face a Michigan State squad that has come apart at the seams.
The first part of November might even be easier. Ohio State plays at Illinois and Northwestern, two programs in the midst of long-term rebuilding efforts, before hosting the Wolverines in a game that may have major BCS implications.
?How we handle being successful with that 5-0 start is the question,? Tressel said. ?We?re very capable.?
Against Iowa, the Buckeyes used its running game to control the line of scrimmage and neutralize a raucous crowd. Ohio State ran the ball 50 times ? twice as much as it passed ? for 214 yards. Antonio Pittman picked 117 yards and a touchdown, and Chris Wells added 78 as the Buckeyes held possession for more than 40 minutes.
?The run is what killed us,? Iowa cornerback Charles Godfrey said. ?They ran the ball down our throats.?
Iowa (4-1, 1-1) fell to 0-10-1 against top-ranked teams. The Hawkeyes couldn?t muster much of a fight in the most anticipated game at Kinnick Stadium in more than 20 years.
The Buckeyes were just the fifth top-ranked team to visit Kinnick, the last being Miami, which beat Iowa 24-7 in 1992. And the last game to generate this much buzz in Iowa came in 1985, when the top-ranked Hawkeyes beat No. 2 Michigan 12-10.
?By my vantage point, this is the best they?ve played all year,? Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of the Buckeyes. ?This wasn?t an easy one to walk into as a visitor.?
Ohio State broke open a 21-10 game with long scoring drives on its first two possessions of the second half. Anthony Gonzalez, who caught two touchdown passes, deflated the Kinnick crowd with a spectacular 30-yard TD catch that put the Buckeyes ahead 28-10 early in the second half.
Gonzalez caught the ball on the left hash mark, cut toward the right sideline using his hand to keep from falling down, and fought through a tackle to reach the pylon.
Ohio State?s next drive only netted an Aaron Pettrey field goal, but it drained almost eight minutes off the clock and gave the Buckeyes a 21-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Hawkeyes pulled within 31-17 on a 4-yard TD pass from Tate on fourth down. But Ohio State forced a fumble and two interceptions on Iowa?s next three possessions. Smith put Iowa?s comeback hopes to rest with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brian Robiskie.
Pittman and Wells combined for 55 yards rushing on a 12-play, 89-yard scoring drive late in the second quarter. Smith capped it with a 6-yard strike to seldom-used senior Roy Hall.
Iowa got as close as 14-10 in the first half on a 15-yard touchdown run by Albert Young.
The Buckeyes moved ahead 14-3 by capitalizing on an interception by Brandon Mitchell, who returned it to the Iowa 30. Pittman followed a 23-yard rush with a 4-yard TD run.
Ohio State scored on the game?s opening possession. Smith, who finished 16-of-25 passing, found Gonzalez for a 12-yard TD pass to give the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead.
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). Normally when he does this he'll at least get a couple of people to call him and disagree, and then he'll spend a minute or two making fun of them.
