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Buckeyes Down Iowa 31-6 In Big Ten Opener
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Troy Smith
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Steve Helwagen Managing Editor
Date: Sep 24, 2005
Troy Smith and Antonio Pittman each had 100 yards rushing and Anthony Gonzalez caught a pair of touchdown passes as the eighth-ranked Buckeyes avenged a loss at Iowa last year with a 31-6 win in Saturday's Big Ten opener. Click here for more.
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Ohio State turned the tables on Iowa in a big way Saturday.
The eighth-ranked Buckeyes avenged a 33-7 loss at Iowa a year ago and blasted the 21st-ranked Hawkeyes 31-6 in the Big Ten opener for both teams before 105,225 Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
After a lackluster 27-6 win over San Diego State last week, the Buckeyes (3-1, 1-0) outgained Iowa unofficially 527-135 and had 25 first downs to the Hawkeyes' 12. The rout could have been much worse, though, as the Buckeyes twice fumbled inside the 10 and had a 54-yard Ted Ginn Jr. punt return for a touchdown negated by a block in the back penalty.
Quarterback Troy Smith had one of those two fumbles inside the 10, but otherwise had a stellar game. He completed 13 of 19 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 18 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
He was joined over the century mark by tailback Antonio Pittman, who ended up with a career-high 171 yards on 28 carries. This marked the first time in 29 years that an OSU quarterback and running back eclipsed the 100-yard mark in the same game.
Santonio Holmes had five catches for 95 yards, while Anthony Gonzalez had six grabs for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
Iowa quarterback Drew Tate, who victimized OSU for 331 yards passing and three touchdowns a year ago, was 22 of 39 for 146 yards with an interception for the Hawkeyes (2-2, 0-1).
The Buckeyes outgained Iowa 331-13 in the first half, but held just a 17-0 lead because of the various mistakes.
OSU forced an Iowa punt on the game's possession, then drove 81 yards in a workmanlike 12 plays to the game's first touchdown. Pittman carried seven times for 45 yards on that drive. Smith also found Holmes for a 20-yard gain and also called his own number on a 14-yard keeper. Finally, on third-and-goal from the 8, OSU lined up with two receivers left and three split wide right. Smith took a shotgun snap and threw a perfect slant pass to the diving Gonzalez for the 8-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 7:43 left in the first.
The Buckeyes pushed the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter with a strong six-play, 79-yard scoring march. The key play was Smith's 46-yard completion to a dazzling Holmes. He hit Holmes in the left flat with a square-in route. Holmes made Iowa's Antwan Allen miss, then moved down the sideline behind blocks by Gonzalez and Roy Hall and rolled down to the Iowa 31. Runs by Smith of 8 yards and Pittman for 7 gave the Buckeyes a first down at the 16. On first down there, Smith went right on the option keeper. OSU tackle Kirk Barton walled off linebacker Abdul Hodge, allowing Smith to weave through traffic and complete the 16-yard touchdown that put the Buckeyes up 14-0 with 14:30 left in the first half.
OSU missed a pair of golden scoring chances on each of its next two possessions. A 28-yard run by Smith gave OSU a first down at the Iowa 7. But on first down there, Brandon Schnittker was wriggling for extra yardage inside the 5. Hodge knocked the ball loose and Iowa's Marcus Paschal recovered with 10:14 left in the half. Then, OSU again moved into scoring possession, but lost possession when Smith had a first down at the 4 but the ball was knocked out by Iowa's Mitch King. Jovon Johnson recovered the fumble at the 4 with 2:53 left in the half.
The OSU defense then forced its fourth straight three-and-out. This is where Ginn appeared to get loose on the punt return for a 54-yard touchdown, but Jamario O'Neal was flagged for shoving Charles Godfrey in the back just as Ginn received the punt. OSU instead got the ball on its own 39-yard line with 1:47 left in the half. Smith found Ginn for a 17-yard gain down to the Iowa 31. Three plays later, Schnittker gave the Buckeyes a first down at the Iowa 30 with 20 seconds left. OSU wound the clock down to 4 seconds before calling timeout. Josh Huston's 47-yard field as time expired gave the Buckeyes a 17-0 halftime lead.
OSU then got the ball to open the second half and moved 78 yards in 10 plays. Pittman started it with runs of 12 and 29 yards. He added a 20-yard gain down to the Iowa 26 on a Statue of Liberty play where he got a handoff after Smith faked a pass. Finally, on second-and-goal from the 4, Smith kept the ball on the option right and scored standing up to give the Buckeyes a 24-0 lead with 9:59 left in the third quarter.
Iowa crept back into the game with a pair of field goals by Kyle Schlicher. The Hawkeyes drove down to the OSU 16 late in the third quarter, but a sack by Bobby Carpenter on Tate ended the touchdown threat. Schlicher's 52-yard field goal cut the OSU lead to 24-3 with 2:48 left in the third.
Then, after OSU punter A.J. Trapasso dropped a snap, Iowa got possession at the OSU 31. A pass interference penalty on OSU's Malcolm Jenkins moved the ball down to the 11. But OSU's Mike Kudla made a huge sack on second down and the Hawkeyes had to settle for Schlicher's 37-yard field goal to cut it to 24-6 with 11:48 left in the game.
Tate then saw a pass go off receiver Calvin Davis' hands for an interception by OSU safety Donte Whitner at the Iowa 40-yard line with 8:40 left. The Buckeyes cashed that mistake in with a four-play scoring drive, capped by Smith's 29-yard touchdown pass on another slant to Gonzalez. That put OSU up 31-6 with 6:36 left.
Also Notable
* The last time OSU had a quarterback and tailback reach the 100-yard mark in rushing was on Sept. 11, 1976, in a game against Michigan State when quarterback Rod Gerald had 104 yards and halfback Jeff Logan had 112.
* The game opened OSU’s 93rd Big Ten football season.
* Tressel’s OSU teams are now 17-6 against top-25 teams, including 5-2 against top-10 teams.
* OSU is now 4-1 in Big Ten openers under Tressel. The loss came last year at Northwestern, when the Buckeyes opened conference play 0-3.
* The Buckeyes are 61-29-3 all-time in Big Ten openers.
* OSU has won 24 of its last 26 home games. Tressel’s teams are a combined 28-4 in the Horseshoe.
* With Tressel at the helm, OSU is 32-3 with a halftime lead and 34-3 with a lead after three quarters.
* OSU has scored a touchdown in 105 consecutive games. The last time they didn’t? The 13-9 loss to Michigan in 1996.
* OSU holds a 43-14-3 all-time lead in the Iowa series, including a lofty 30-4-1 edge in the last 34 games in the series.
* Iowa's seven-game Big Ten winning streak was snapped. Iowa is now 2-5 in Big Ten openers under Ferentz. It should be noted, though, that this is the sixth time in seven years that a Ferentz Iowa team had to open conference play on the road.
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