Not a lot of things went according to plan with regards to the jersey scrimmage.
As was reported here yesterday, the jersey scrimmage was scheduled for 11:30 PM on Saturday in Ohio Stadium, but a last-minute email went out from the OSU Department of Athletics saying that due to the threat of inclement weather on Saturday, OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel had elected to move the scrimmage up a day, and oh by the way, it's going to start in about 90 minutes.
That left the cadre of reporters who cover OSU football rearranging their schedules, canceling appointments, and scurrying over to cover the event. Let the record show that we don't know if it will rain on Saturday, but the rain Tressel was trying to avoid got him anyway as it poured huge drops of water from the sky for about half the scrimmage making the ball slippery and the footing a little less than could be desired.
The scheduling didn't go according to plan, the inclement weather avoidance didn't go according to plan, and to some extent, neither did the final score. The OSU offense, which is seen by most as the strength of this team, was defeated by the defense by a score of 66-65 when Brandon Mitchell tipped away a Troy Smith pass intended for Roy Hall on the last play of the scrimmage.
You may be cringing at the sight of 65 points given up by the defense, but remember, this is the jersey scrimmage, not the scarlet and gray game. There were not two teams competing, but rather the OSU offense competed against the OSU defense in a contest with unorthodox scoring rules.
Both the offense and the defense could score touchdowns and safeties, but both units had special ways to score in the jersey scrimmage as well. The offense was awarded one point for a first down and three points for plays over 20 yards. The defense was awarded one point for holding on third down and was awarded five points for creating a turnover. An 80 yard drive resulting in a touchdown and extra point that registers one play over 20 yards and five first downs would be worth 15 points to the offense. On the defense, an interception returned for a touchdown would result in the six points for the TD plus five for the turnover for a total of 11. You can see how the scores add up quickly.
The defense held the advantage most of the game, mostly on the strength of three interceptions and two fumble recoveries that resulted in 25 points. Interceptions were registered by Andre Amos, Brandon Mitchell and Curt Coleman, while Thaddeus Gibson and Dexter Larimore each came up with fumble recoveries.
The offense was awarded the football at various starting positions of the football field, from their own four-yard line coming out to the 12-yard line going in. While the first and second team defenses were able to bottle up the first and second team offenses fairly well, the third team offense was able to move the ball well against the third team defense and accounted for a good portion of the offense's scoring.
No official statistics were kept. Reporters basically scribbled notes as the game progressed, then went home and tried to decipher them to determine the game stats. While reports will vary from source to source, most will give you a ballpark idea of how players did in the game. Our stats appear below.
Jersey Scrimmage Notes:
Defense
* The starting defensive backfield included Antonio Smith and Malcolm Jenkins at the corners and Brandon Mitchell and Nick Patterson at the safeties.
* Second team cornerback Andre Amos had a very good day with an interception and seemed to play sideline to sideline. He was also very active in run support.
* Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis was also very active and had several pass breakup while in coverage and was also a very capable run stoppers.
* The other starting linebackers, Marcus Freeman and John Kerr, were also very active and seemed to be a very effective runs stoppers. Both also appeared to be effective blitzers.
* Several defensive players did not participate due to injury. They included Mike D'Andrea and Lawrence Wilson.
* At defensive end, both Jay Richardson and Robert Rose seemed to be very effective pass rushers.
* Second team linebackers Larry Grant and Tyler Moeller each made several impressive plays and both looked like very physical players. Curtis Terry also made plays and looked like an effective blitzer.
* The defense gave up just two plays over 20 yards, one a 25 yard reception by Ted Ginn and the other a 41 yard touchdown reception by Kyle Ruhl.
* Both the first and second team defenses were tough against the run. On the day, the OSU offense rushed for about 336 yards on 78 rushing attempts, or about 4.3 yards per carry. A lot of those yards, however, came against the third team defense.
* The defense seemed very opportunistic. Five turnovers was impressive and there were several pass breakups and big hits.
* Quarterback Troy Smith played the jersey scrimmage in a black, no contact jersey which took away his ability to scramble and run with the football.
Offense
* The OSU offense seemed varied, with the passing game involving the tight end, wideouts and backs. The running game was at times effective, and at other times not. OSU showed a variety of formations and personnel groupings.
* Quarterback Robbie Schoenhoft showed good feet in the backfield and threw an absolute frozen rope for a 41 yard touchdown pass. The pass was made even more impressive by the fact that Schoenhoft was under pressure and rolling to his right when he fired the ball.
* Quarterback Todd Boeckman showed good feet in the quarterback option and scored a rushing touchdown in the game.
* Wide receiver Brian Hartline did not play due to a minor injury.
* Quarterback Justin Zwick alternated with Troy Smith with the first unit. Zwick left the game with what appeared to be an arm or shoulder injury to his left arm when he was sacked by John Kerr on a play that involved a muffed snap in the shotgun formation. According to Jim Tressel, the injury is not serious, but Zwick did not return to action after the injury.
* Running back Chris Wells showed his power on several occasion, and on one notable occasion simply ran over freshman Thaddeus Gibson for an eight yard gain.
Special Teams
* There were no punts or kickoffs in the the jersey scrimmage, but prior to the scrimmage the team did some punt drills. In those drills Ray Small and Brian Robiske lined up as single safeties as punt return men, and Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez lined up as twin safeties when the Buckeyes deployed two return men.
* The place kicking left something to be desired. The Buckeyes missed one extra point when a celebration call moved the ball back 15 yards for a 27 yard PAT attempt. Aaron Petry missed a 47 yard field goal wide right, but later connected on a 36 yarder. Ryan Pretorius, who missed the PAT, connected on a 24 yard field goal.
Game Stats: (VERY Unofficial)
Passing:
Troy Smith 9 of 19 for 95 yards and one interception.
Justin Zwick was three-of-eight for 26 yards.
Todd Boeckman 12 of 23 for 91 yards and two interceptions. He also rushed for one TD. Robby Schoenhoft 7 of 19 for 91 yards and one touchdown.
Rushing
Todd Beckman five rushes for 40 yards. One TD from five yards out. Long of 12 yards.
Antonio Henton two rushes for 8 yards.
Joe Gantz two rushes for 7 yards.
Antonio Pittman 12 rushes for 42 yards and a touchdown from 10 yards out. Long of 12 yards.
M. Wells 61 yards on 15 carries, long of 19 yards.
C. Wells 95 yards on 23 carries, long of 19 yards.
Marcus Williams 56 yards on 13 carries, long of 13.
Robby Schoenhoft 27 yards on six carries, long of 12.
Receiving
Rory Nicol three catches for 21 yards, long of 15.
Stan White one catch for six yards.
Brian Robiske five catches for 69 yards, long of 18.
Ted Ginn three catches for 42 yards, long of 25.
Anthony Gonzalez two catches for 23 yards, long of 17.
Brent Ullury three catches for 23 yards, long of 12.
Kyle Ruhl one catch for 41 yards, one touchdown.
Derek Harden six catches for 47 yards, long of 13.
Dionte Johnson one catch for one yard.
Chris Wells one catch for six yards.
Antonio Pittman one catch for four yards.
Jake Ballard two catches for nine yards, long of six.
Roy Hall one catch for four yards.
Brandon Smith one catch for four yards Maurice Wells one catch for seven yards.
