Game Thread Game Five: #1 Ohio State 38, #13 Iowa 17 (9/30/06)

[osugrad21]

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Kinnick catastrophe

By Steve Batterson | Sunday, October 01, 2006 | (0) Comments | Rate this article Photos by John Schultz / QUAD-CITY TIMES Iowa quarterback Drew Tate, right, shows his frustration Saturday in the fourth quarter against Ohio State.

John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES Ohio State?s Roy Hall (8) grabs in a 6-yard touchdown pass in front of Iowa defensive back Adam Shada late in the second half of the top-ranked Buckeyes? win over the Hawkeyes.


IOWA CITY ? Kirk Ferentz expected it to take a near-perfect game for his Iowa football team to truly make this a September to remember.
Top-ranked Ohio State stood between the Hawkeyes and their first 5-0 start since 1995, but Iowa was far-from-perfect in a humbling 38-17 loss Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 70,585 at Kinnick Stadium.

?I liked the way we prepared, I like the way we competed, but we didn?t play well enough to beat a very good football team,?? Ferentz said. ?We?ll lick our wounds and get back to work.??

The Hawkeyes turned the ball over four times and gave up 400 yards to the Buckeyes, who added 13th-ranked Iowa to an early season collection of victories against rated opponents which already included No. 2 Texas and 24th-rated Penn State.

?I feel like I hurt our offense more than Ohio State?s defense did,?? frustrated Iowa quarterback Drew Tate said, pointing to his three interceptions and a 19-of-41 passing performance.

Iowa also had no answer for Ohio State?s Heisman hopeful quarterback, Troy Smith.

The senior masterfully led the Buckeyes on three long, methodical, clock-consuming scoring drives to distance Ohio State from the upset-minded Hawkeyes, breaking open a 14-10 game.

?I felt like he was in control the entire game,?? OSU coach Jim Tressel said. ?If he keeps getting better, we have a chance.??

Iowa owned the football for only 3 minutes, 27 seconds during a 22?-minute stretch beginning midway through the second quarter and ending with an Aaron Pettrey field goal nine seconds into the fourth quarter.

In between, Smith made use of the Buckeyes sizeable arsenal of talent as he orchestrated drives of 89, 80 and 68 yards to help Ohio State enjoy a 40-20 edge in possession time.

All included at least 11 plays and all ate more than 5 minutes of time off of the clock to leave Iowa in a 31-10 hole in the opening seconds of the final quarter.

Iowa linebacker Mike Humpal said Ohio State?s combination of speed and finesse proved to be more than the Hawkeyes could handle.

?It seemed like if we would have contained inside, they?d spin and take it to the outside,?? Humpal said. ?All of their guys were too much for us to handle.??

If Smith wasn?t handing the ball off to Antonio Pittman, who rushed for 117 yards on 25 carries, he was hitting Ted Ginn Jr. or Antonio Gonzalez with passes.

The pair combined for 12 receptions, with Gonzalez grabbing two of Smith?s four touchdown passes including a 30-yard catch which provided the only points of the third quarter and opened an 18-point Ohio State lead.

Tate, hitting just 9-of-25 passes through three quarters, shook off his shaky start to lead the Hawkeyes on a quick scoring drive early in the fourth quarter.

Tate needed less than two minutes to finish off a 12-play, 86-yard march which ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Andy Brodell which cut the Buckeyes? lead to 31-17 with 13:08 to play.

Turnovers on Iowa?s final three possessions ? a fumble following a pass reception by Scott Chandler and the second and third interceptions of the game thrown by Tate ? extinguished any Hawkeye hopes of a late comeback against an OSU team which has now won 12 consecutive games.

?We gave them too many chances and we didn?t take advantage of our own chances,?? Iowa defensive end Kenny Iwebema said. ?It wasn?t any one thing. We couldn?t get off the field when we needed to on defense, too. It all is a factor.??

Tate?s struggles started early, and it was his first interception of the game that allowed the Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) to build on the 7-3 lead they opened in the first quarter.

On the first snap of the second quarter, Brandon Mitchell stepped in front of a Tate pass intended for Herb Grigsby. He returned Ohio State?s Big Ten-best ninth interception of the season 13 yards to the Iowa 30-yard line.

Three plays later, Pittman followed his own 23-yard rush with a 4-yard touchdown run which left the Hawkeyes in a 14-3 hole.

Iowa (4-1, 1-1) answered with a 7-play, 80-yard march of its own and Albert Young broke free for a 15-yard score with 11:10 to play in the half, the first rushing touchdown allowed by the Buckeyes this season.

Smith, who completed 16-of-25 passes, then went to work, using the clock and a powerful ground game to his advantage as Ohio State opened a 21-10 halftime lead.

The 12-play, 89-yard drive ended with Smith?s second scoring pass of the game, a 6-yard strike to Roy Hall with 5:09 to play.

OSU?s senior quarterback hit a slashing Gonzalez with a 12-yard touchdown pass on the Buckeyes? first possession of the game, opening a 7-0 lead less than 3? minutes into the game that Ohio State would not relinquish.

Iowa starting free safety Marcus Paschal suffered a hamstring injury on the play and did not return.

Kyle Schlicher provided the Hawkeyes with their only points of the opening quarter, hitting a 32-yard field goal at the 5:19 mark after a 14-play drive stalled.

 

[osugrad21]

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Fans soak up ESPN spotlight

By Steve Batterson | Sunday, October 01, 2006 | (0) Comments | Rate this article Photo by John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES ESPN College GameDay hosts Chris Fowler, from left, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit broadcast from Kinnick Stadium before Saturday night?s game between Iowa and Ohio State.


IOWA CITY ? Chris Fowler might have gotten it backwards Saturday.
The host of ESPN?s GameDay began his broadcast by proclaiming ?College GameDay is taking Iowa City by storm.?

In reality, Iowa City might have taken College GameDay by storm.

An eclectic mix of more than 5,000 fans filled Hubbard Park on the Iowa campus early Saturday morning to welcome the nationally televised college football preview show to Iowa for the first time since 1996.

?This is what it?s about. Go Hawks!? said fan Jon Kowalczyk of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, his face already smeared with gold and black paint hours before Iowa kicked off its evening football game against top-ranked Ohio State.

Kowalczyk said he showed up at 7:30 a.m. for the 9 a.m. broadcast, hoping to show the nation what being an Iowa football fan is all about.

He wasn?t alone.

Hundreds of fans were in line when the gates opened at 7 a.m., a repeat of what took place for a broadcast late Friday afternoon that attracted a crowd of 3,000 to the same spot.

Fans who brought signs with vulgarity on them were asked to dispose of them, although there was a spot inside the fences where fans could paint their own messages to wave as the cameras passed during the two-hour broadcast.

Creativity wasn?t in short supply.

One read, ?Sept. 30, 2006, Columbus discovers defeat.?

Another, in a reference to the Iowa quarterback Drew Tate, encouraged the Hawkeyes to ?Just Drew it? while others simply poked fun at the Buckeyes.

Among the people soaking up the atmosphere were Iowa basketball players Adam Haluska and Seth Gorney and former Hawkeye football player Matt Melloy.

?This is crazy, but I wouldn?t have expected anything else ? not when our fans are involved,? Melloy said. ?They know how to have a good time.?

The crowd roared any time Fowler or analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard mentioned Iowa.

Jeers echoed through the crisp morning air on the banks of the Iowa River anytime Ohio State was mentioned.

And, of course, whenever the hint of a Michigan highlight surfaced on two giant screens erected to give the gathering a glimpse of what was going out on the air, the Hawkeye and small handful of Buckeye fans on hand found something to agree on as a loud ?Booooo!? echoed through park.

The loudest roar was saved for the final minute, when Corso slipped into the head of Iowa?s Herky the Hawkeye mascot, signifying his choice to win the game.

The volume reached a thunderous level as Corso turned from the camera and waved to the crowd, the culmination of the broadcast.

?The Iowa people are great, but from my time coaching at Indiana, I expected that,? Corso said. ?The people here have always been so supportive of the Hawkeyes. This weekend, I knew, would be a lot of fun.?

Corso has been a part of GameDay for its entire 20-year run. But he said he misses being on the sidelines, he enjoys his job as one of the faces of college football.

?We?re a traveling circus. Everywhere we go, the tents go up, the fans come out and we have a good time,? Corso said. ?That?s not all bad, either.?

 

[osugrad21]

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For Buckeyes, hard part of season in past

By Eric Page | Sunday, October 01, 2006 | (0) Comments | Rate this article John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES Ohio State?s Chris Wells escapes a tackle Saturday against Iowa.


IOWA CITY ? The hard part is over for top-ranked Ohio State.
But don?t expect Jim Tressel or the Buckeyes to admit it.

With a 38-17 win against No. 13 Iowa on Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium, the Buckeyes cleared the last significant hurdle between them and a Nov. 18 matchup with No. 6 Michigan that likely will decide the Big Ten championship and could send its winner to the BCS title game.

Ohio State (5-0, 2-0) survived a brutal September schedule, which also included a convincing 24-7 win at defending national champion Texas, to validate its preseason No. 1 ranking.

?We?ve played against some tough teams, and people have brought all they could bring at us,? Tressel said. ?But all that does in my opinion is make the month of October all that more important.?

The Buckeyes have road dates at Michigan State, Illinois and Northwestern and host Bowling Green, Indiana and Minnesota before Michigan comes to Columbus for the season finale.

Tressel said his team has yet to play its best game.

?We have to handle the success,? he said. ?We have to get better.?

If there is room for improvement, it was hard to spot Saturday night. The Buckeyes controlled the game from the onset, silencing a hostile Iowa crowd with a scoring drive on their first possession. And the defense, which replaced nine starters in the offseason, forced four turnovers and made the stops it had to down the stretch to squelch a Hawkeyes comeback.

Brandon Mitchell, Marcus Freeman and James Laurinaitis ? all first-year starters on defense ? had interceptions, and Mitchell recovered a fumble as the Buckeyes upped their turnover differential to plus-nine on the season.

?The defense did a great job forcing turnovers,? said quarterback Troy Smith, whose four touchdown passes were a career high.

?That was a thing we were trying to capitalize on last year, and we?re doing a great job of that this year.?

?We always say you can?t turn it over at all on the road if you want to win, and that?s exactly what the story was,? Tressel added. ?When you win the turnover margin 4-0 and play as hard as our kids played, things are going to turn out in your favor.

Saturday?s win wasn?t flashy. It was ? like Ohio State?s four previous victories ?methodical.

Smith threw for 186 yards, and his four scores went to three different receivers, while Antonio Pittman ran for 117 yards and a touchdown.

That kind of balance will make the Buckeyes tough for anyone to beat. But Tressel has his team focused on next Saturday?s game with Bowling Green.

?We just know we have to take it one game at a time,? defensive lineman David Patterson said. ?Like we say on the field, ?The next play is the most important,? so we know the next game is always the most important. We know we?re going to get every team?s best shot. We have to prepare as well as we?ve always done and give every game our best effort.?

 

[osugrad21]

CFN


Instant Analysis: Ohio State-Iowa

By Matt Zemek
Staff Columnist
Posted Sep 30, 2006

Big, bad Ohio State knows how to throw its weight around in big games. Iowa can't handle the weight of a larger-than-life occasion. Those two statements tell you all you need to know about the Buckeyes' triumph over the Hawkeyes before a Kinnick Stadium crowd that created one of the best single-game spectacles college football has ever seen.


Iowa had all the fan support a talented underdog could possibly hope for against the No. 1 team in college football. However, legendary upsets and program-defining moments are fashioned not by the incredible emotions of the fans in the stands, but in the transformed minds of the players on the field. To win this game, Iowa needed to carry itself--in body language, decision making, and actions--like a team that could withstand the suffocating pressure of this special moment in the history of Hawkeye football. Ohio State's prodigious talents were unquestioned; Iowa's mental toughness was widely doubted.

This game did nothing to change perceptions about either program.

The Buckeyes--yawn--simply overwhelmed Iowa and took the life out of Kinnick (which, after this game, can no longer claim to be the toughest Big Ten stadium for a visiting team) with their dominant and imposing athleticism. Ohio State had some periodic hiccups, but never experienced a prolonged scoring drought or teamwide lapse. Any slip-ups from the Buckeye end were aberrations, interruptions and illusions, because those small and comparatively trivial flaws were consistently followed by big-play daggers that destroyed the Hawkeyes in short order. The tone was set when Troy Smith led his mates downfield for a touchdown on Ohio State's first drive of the game, and Iowa could never fully halt the Scarlet and Grey momentum that smothered them throughout the rest of the evening.

Whether it was Smith's effortless footwork, his pinpoint passing, Antonio Pittman's slashing running, or the shifty explosiveness of multiple wide receivers, Ohio State offered dynamic athleticism at all the skill positions, supported by an offensive front that was more than adequate. This unbeatable combination of starpower and gruntwork enabled OSU's offense to frequently move through defensive coordinator Norm Parker's Iowa defense like a hot knife through butter. It truly was that easy when the Buckeyes clicked; when they didn't, it only seemed like a matter of time before they once again would.

Up against the juggernaut led by Troy Smith, Drew Tate and the Iowa offense needed to have a career-best performance to even have a chance. Safe to say, they didn't. Nervous throws from Tate, accompanied by shaky decision making, repeated occasions of mental paralysis (locking onto receivers to a shockingly consistent degree, which set up Buckeye interceptions), and little help from drop-prone Hawkeye receivers, spelled disaster in a game where near-perfection was an absolute necessity for Tate and his teammates.

The atmosphere was so electric before kickoff in Iowa City that some members of the college football community smelled an upset. In the end, though, atmosphere doesn't create an upset; the mindset of the underdog does. Iowa lacked a winning mentality, and a mature Ohio State squad--whose minds got out of the way of their talent--made sure the Hawkeyes never acquired one. That's why this game was so decisive... and why the Buckeyes are the undisputed king of college football until proven otherwise.

 

[elliemae]

I~IDIOTS
O~OUT
W~WONDERING
A~AROUND!

 

[sandgk]

CFN


Instant Analysis: Ohio State-Iowa

By Matt Zemek
Staff Columnist
Posted Sep 30, 2006

Big, bad Ohio State knows how to throw its weight around in big games. Iowa can't handle the weight of a larger-than-life occasion. Those two statements tell you all you need to know about the Buckeyes' triumph over the Hawkeyes before a Kinnick Stadium crowd that created one of the best single-game spectacles college football has ever seen.


Iowa had all the fan support a talented underdog could possibly hope for against the No. 1 team in college football. However, legendary upsets and program-defining moments are fashioned not by the incredible emotions of the fans in the stands, but in the transformed minds of the players on the field. To win this game, Iowa needed to carry itself--in body language, decision making, and actions--like a team that could withstand the suffocating pressure of this special moment in the history of Hawkeye football. Ohio State's prodigious talents were unquestioned; Iowa's mental toughness was widely doubted.

This game did nothing to change perceptions about either program.

The Buckeyes--yawn--simply overwhelmed Iowa and took the life out of Kinnick (which, after this game, can no longer claim to be the toughest Big Ten stadium for a visiting team) with their dominant and imposing athleticism. Ohio State had some periodic hiccups, but never experienced a prolonged scoring drought or teamwide lapse. Any slip-ups from the Buckeye end were aberrations, interruptions and illusions, because those small and comparatively trivial flaws were consistently followed by big-play daggers that destroyed the Hawkeyes in short order. The tone was set when Troy Smith led his mates downfield for a touchdown on Ohio State's first drive of the game, and Iowa could never fully halt the Scarlet and Grey momentum that smothered them throughout the rest of the evening.

Whether it was Smith's effortless footwork, his pinpoint passing, Antonio Pittman's slashing running, or the shifty explosiveness of multiple wide receivers, Ohio State offered dynamic athleticism at all the skill positions, supported by an offensive front that was more than adequate. This unbeatable combination of starpower and gruntwork enabled OSU's offense to frequently move through defensive coordinator Norm Parker's Iowa defense like a hot knife through butter. It truly was that easy when the Buckeyes clicked; when they didn't, it only seemed like a matter of time before they once again would.

Up against the juggernaut led by Troy Smith, Drew Tate and the Iowa offense needed to have a career-best performance to even have a chance. Safe to say, they didn't. Nervous throws from Tate, accompanied by shaky decision making, repeated occasions of mental paralysis (locking onto receivers to a shockingly consistent degree, which set up Buckeye interceptions), and little help from drop-prone Hawkeye receivers, spelled disaster in a game where near-perfection was an absolute necessity for Tate and his teammates.

The atmosphere was so electric before kickoff in Iowa City that some members of the college football community smelled an upset. In the end, though, atmosphere doesn't create an upset; the mindset of the underdog does. Iowa lacked a winning mentality, and a mature Ohio State squad--whose minds got out of the way of their talent--made sure the Hawkeyes never acquired one. That's why this game was so decisive... and why the Buckeyes are the undisputed king of college football until proven otherwise.

I feel this whole article bears repeating.

How rare is it for Zemek to totally cow-tow to a team like he does in this piece?

(Clue for onlookers - very, very rare).

 

[gregorylee]

Damn Grad, do ya sleep?? :tongue2:

 

[sandgk]

The only bummer tonight - my DVR ditched this game when recording another.

 

[buckeye247]

Haha - Kinnick Catastrophe

 

[gregorylee]

The only bummer tonight - my DVR ditched this game when recording another.

I would throw it out the window, there's obviously a conspiricy...

 

[Popper252]

Seriously whats with all these evil DVR stories...

Let me guess they're made in m*ch*gan or something.

 

[Oneshot]

Freaking officiating...

Was I the only one screaming at the screen every time a f***ing Iowa DB put his knee into Pitt's head or spat some s**t into his ear after every tackle?

Ridiculous.

Not to mention the phantom PI on Washington, and the DROPPED PASS BY TEDDY. Are you KIDDING?? And then he got jumped on after his knee was CLEARLY on the ground [not to mention the other freakin Iowa DB kicking him motioning for 'no catch.'] Really really pisses me off, man.

I think Tressel needs to give a call to the AD and send him a little game tape.

And I want to see heads roll.

 

[Brutus1]

I never complain about calls, but the pi and Ginns no-catch seemed horrible to me.

Did they ever show the replay that show the ref's "indisputable evidence" tha Ginn did not catch the ball? I can understand bad calls happening, but on a challenge, every reply I saw, lookked like a clear catch by Ginn. Did I miss a different angle?

 

[briegg]

I can accept the "no catch" call on Ted's catch - it was close and a bit of a judgement call. The freaking PI call on Washington was terrible, and the lack of control that the officials had controlling a few over-zealous Hawkeyes (i.e. knee to Pitt's head) was also discouraging.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Turnovers help OSU rout Iowa

By Marla Ridenour

Beacon Journal sportswriter

IOWA CITY, IOWA - If Ohio State finds glory in Glendale, it might have been set up by a September to remember.
The top-ranked Buckeyes capped the toughest month of their season with their second decisive road victory, a 38-17 romp over No. 13 Iowa on Saturday night before a disappointed crowd of 70,585 in Kinnick Stadium and a national television audience.
OSU continued to thrive off turnovers by snagging four and turning two of them into touchdowns. Senior strong safety Brandon Mitchell recovered a fumble to halt a late Hawkeyes drive and intercepted a Drew Tate pass in the second quarter to set up an Antonio Pittman scoring run. Linebacker Marcus Freeman grabbed another Tate throw in the fourth quarter and Brian Robiskie caught a 12-yard touchdown from Troy Smith with 4:23 to go. Linebacker James Laurinaitis snagged another interception in the final minutes, just the 14th of senior Tate's career at home.
The Buckeyes have 11 interceptions after finishing with six last season.
``They made mistakes and we didn't and that's why we're the happy locker room,'' OSU coach Jim Tressel said.
Smith threw for four touchdowns, two to Anthony Gonzalez, and the Buckeyes didn't lose a turnover. OSU hadn't had four touchdown since Craig Krenzel threw four against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship after the 2002 season.
With the Buckeyes seeking their second national title in five years, Tressel won't let them shift into cruise control, even though they might not face another ranked team until their Nov. 18 home showdown with arch-rival and current No. 6 Michigan. But Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 in the Big Ten) appears to be in top form. It defeated then-No. 2 Texas 24-7 in Austin on Sept. 9 and also topped Penn State, Northern Illinois and Cincinnati. The BCS championship game is Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
``One of the great challenges was how brutal that September schedule was,'' Tressel said. ``We've played some tough teams. All that does is make October more important.
``We handled the adversity tonight of a back-and-forth ebb and flow. Now can we handle the success of being 5-0? We're capable. I said that from the get-go.''
It was billed as the biggest game in Kinnick Stadium since 1985. And some gave Iowa (4-1, 1-1) the edge because of the intimidating venue and because the Buckeyes had lost their past three Big Ten road openers.
``You know how tough these folks from Iowa are,'' Tressel said. ``I can't say enough about our defense getting takeaways and our offense getting the ball in the end zone.''
Ohio State scored a touchdown on its first possession to help neutralize a crowd that started filling the parking lots when they opened at 7 a.m. After Iowa closed the gap to 14-10 with 11:10 left in the second quarter, Ohio State's defense began to regroup. It lost starting free safety Anderson Russell to a right knee injury on the second kickoff; he was replaced by Jamario O'Neal.
Smith found Gonzalez for his second touchdown, a 30-yarder with 9:35 left in the third quarter, for the decisive score. After a short pass, Gonzalez reversed field and made three Iowa defenders miss. Redshirt freshman receiver Brian Hartline took out two Hawkeyes near the 10 to clear a path to the end zone. That put OSU ahead 28-10.
After Aaron Pettrey kicked a 36-yard field goal for a 31-10 lead, Iowa stormed back. Tate found sophomore receiver Andy Brodell for a 4-yard touchdown with 13:08 to play to cut the deficit to 31-17. But with the Hawkeyes threatening, cornerback Antonio Smith forced tight end Scott Chandler's fumble after a catch and Mitchell recovered at the OSU 47.
The Buckeyes used the Akron 1-2 punch of Antonio Pittman of Buchtel and Chris Wells of Garfield on a 12-play, 89-yard drive to take a 21-10 lead at halftime. Wells carried three times for 33 yards, including a career-long 19-yarder and caught a 6-yard swing pass one-handed. Pittman contributed four carries for 21 yards.
Smith also connected with Ted Ginn Jr. on two passes for 22 yards and Smith capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown toss to senior split end Roy Hall. Hall, who sat out the first two games with an ankle injury, was mobbed by his teammates after scoring his second career touchdown.