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O-fer for Gophers
Buckeyes take pride in first shutout of year
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Brian Hartline of Ohio State grabs a pass against Duran Cooley. Hartline led the Buckeyes with four catches for 69 yards.
Defensive end Lawrence Wilson jumps over Minnesota quarterback Bryan Cupito after a sack by linebacker James Laurinaitis, not pictured.
Their work appeared to be finished, the hay safely in the barn with Ohio State leading 37-0 early in the fourth quarter.
OSU?s defensive starters went to the sideline and the backups came in to play out the string.
But then the Buckeyes fumbled a punt back to Minnesota, giving the Gophers the ball at the Ohio State 36-yard line.
The Buckeyes had come close to posting a shutout several times this season, and they wanted one badly. The starters prevailed upon defensive coordinator Jim Heacock to go back in.
He complied.
"Did we (put the starters back in). Yeah, we probably did." Heacock said, a bit sheepishly. "(The shutout) was a goal of these kids, and I mean, give them an opportunity. It?s what you shoot for."
The defense responded. Minnesota reached the 15 and faced a fourth-and-1. Quarterback Bryan Cupito was stuffed for no gain, and the Buckeyes defenders ran off the field jumping for joy.
They got their shutout, 44-0, the first since a 20-0 whitewashing of Northwestern in 2003.
"That?s always a big motivating factor," defensive end Jay Richardson said of the shutout. "Everybody has a good time knowing we put a goose egg up there."
The shutout was the one statistic that made yesterday?s game stand out from a string of mind-numbingly similar Ohio State victories this season.
The Buckeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten) extended their win streak to 16, longest in the nation. Their average score this season has been 36-7.
Yesterday?s win was preceded by a 44-3 trouncing of Indiana and a 37-7 win at Michigan State in which the backups gave up a touchdown in the final two minutes.
OSU outgained Minnesota 484-182, including a 266-47 edge in rushing yards. Four different Buckeyes players rushed for touchdowns, led by Antonio Pittman (116 yards, two TDs).
On a windy, cold day, quarterback Troy Smith didn?t post huge numbers (14 of 21 passing, 183 yards), but he threw for one TD and rushed for 43 yards and another score.
Eight different receivers caught passes.
The Buckeyes lost three fumbles, a shocking total considering they had just six turnovers all season coming in. But three interceptions of Cupito (15 of 23, 120 yards) balanced the ledger.
The Gophers (3-6, 0-5) have lost five of their past six games.
"Today we faced an incredible football team," Minnesota coach Glen Mason said. "We have had many problems, and we continue to have problems."
OSU?s defense was tested early with the score 10-0. Smith lost a fumble and Minnesota faced fourth-and-1 at the Ohio State 19. Richardson penetrated and tripped up Amir Pinnix, and safety Jamario O?Neal finished him off for no gain.
"Emotionally, any time you stop someone on short yardage, there?s an effect," OSU coach Jim Tressel said. "I?m sure that took a little emotion from the Golden Gophers."
The Buckeyes responded with a 10-play, 71-yard drive capped by a Smith scoring toss on a perfect fade pattern to Brian Robiskie. The lead was 17-0 at the half.
Any doubts about the outcome were erased when OSU converted third-quarter interceptions by Antonio Smith and O?Neal into touchdowns for a 30-0 lead.
The Buckeyes now have forced 20 turnovers this season and scored 86 points off them. Their opponents have forced nine turnovers and not yet converted them to any points.
"We?re getting better," Tressel said. "We understand we have more tests to go, but you have to feel good about the progress."
OSU?s defense missed tackle Quinn Pitcock because of a concussion suffered last week, but welcomed back tackle David Patterson, who had missed two games after arthroscopic knee surgery. But its performance was redemption for last year?s Minnesota game, in which the Buckeyes surrendered 396 passing yards and 587 overall, second most in school history.
"They put up so many yards on us last year, to come out here and shut them down like we did, it?s kind of a pride thing," said cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, who recorded his fourth interception of the season. He also pointed out the obvious, that posting a shutout "almost guarantees a win. ?We?re very excited and happy about it, and we?ll keep trying to get some more."
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MINNESOTA NOTEBOOK
Brookhaven?s Jones hits OSU head-on
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Scott Priestle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Brookhaven product Dominic Jones brings down Ted Ginn Jr. with an open-field tackle. Jones led the Gophers with six solo tackles.
On Ohio State?s third play yesterday, Ted Ginn Jr. took the ball on a reverse and had mostly open field in front of him.
Minnesota cornerback Dominic Jones was the only player in view, and he has seen enough of Ginn to know how that movie often ends.
Jones, a Columbus native and Brookhaven graduate, wrestled Ginn to the ground after a 7-yard gain. It set a tone of sorts: Minnesota might not be able to stop Ohio State, but Jones was not going to stop trying.
"It doesn?t necessarily have to be a pretty tackle, you know," he said with a smile. "One move here, one move there, he can take it the distance. I don?t think there is anybody who can catch him if he gets in the open field. I don?t know many people in the nation who can catch him."
Though Ohio State cruised to a 44-0 win, Ginn finished with only 29 yards from scrimmage. Jones recorded a team-high six solo tackles, including one for loss when he flattened OSU receiver Roy Small late in the first half, knocking Small out of the game with a concussion.
That hit figures to earn Jones some time on the highlight reels, but Minnesota coach Glen Mason was more impressed with the rest of Jones? game.
"I wouldn?t trade D.J. for anybody," Mason said. "He gives you everything. He?s a football player.
"He might be the best football player on our team. ... He?s as tough as they come."
Change on the line
Brookhaven graduate Alex Daniels moved from running back to defensive end last week in practice and saw considerable time there yesterday. Minnesota also moved seldomused offensive linemen John Jakel and Otis Hudson to the defensive line.
"We talked about it and I said, ?Let?s move ?em all,? " Mason said. "Let?s move them all and see what happens, because we?ve had trouble holding up."
It did not help yesterday. Ohio State ran for 266 yards and gained 484 in all.
Turf burns
Mason rattled off a number of things Ohio State does well, covering offense, defense and special teams.
Then he laughed and said, "If they have a weakness, they have a lousy field."
The turf was replaced in late September, and in recent weeks players on both sides have complained about poor footing. Numerous players slipped yesterday.
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OHIO STATE
Minnesota can?t dent OSU defense
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ohio State's Ross Homan (51) and Jamario O?Neal tackle Minnesota receiver Jack Simmons.
Last season, Minnesota torched Ohio State for 578 yards, but at two key moments in Ohio Stadium yesterday, the Golden Gophers couldn?t gain one. Talk about turnabout.
"Even though we won last year, defensively our stats were so terrible; after giving up the secondmost yards in Ohio State history, for us on defense that was kind of a loss," defensive end Jay Richardson said. "So we used that as motivation for this year, that we?ve got to come back and really get them back for what they did."
So on the way to a 44-0 win, the Buckeyes beat the Gophers back yesterday, especially on three plays that could have changed the game. OSU lost three fumbles, two in a row by Chris Wells and Troy Smith in the first half, but all three times the defense stopped the Gophers.
That?s nine times opponents have gained turnovers this year, and nine times the Buckeyes have kept them from scoring off them.
"Our coaches always stress sudden change, to go out there with confidence and just make the play," safety Jamario O?Neal said. "They always stress the next play is the most important play."
Nothing stood out more, though, than those fourth-and-1 plays, because each followed a turnover in OSU territory.
On the first, at the OSU 29-yard line, O?Neal, blitzing off the edge, and Richardson, ripping in from the end, clamped running back Amir Pinnix for no gain. It came with 7:56 left in the second quarter and the Buckeyes leading 10-0.
"You?ve got to go be a playmaker," O?Neal said. "That?s what my coach (Paul Haynes) stresses to me and the whole secondary. Be a playmaker, and make the plays you?re not supposed to make, and I think that was one of those plays."
The second one followed Malcolm Jenkins? fumble on a punt return that Minnesota grabbed at the OSU 36 midway through the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-1 at the 15, Gophers quarterback Bryan Cupito was stood up for no gain by freshman linebacker Ross Homan. "It?s hard to stop somebody fourth-and-1," much less do it twice, defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said. "Yeah, I?m excited about what they?re doing, but realistically I also know we?ve got to go to Illinois, we?ve got to go to Northwestern ? we went up there a couple of years ago, and you know ? " Northwestern upset OSU in 2004 in Ryan Field. "I remember all those things, so I don?t get too carried away with things right now," Heacock said. Yet the OSU defense limited Minnesota to 182 total yards, almost 400 short of what the Gophers gained the year before. "Our guys played hard, and the best thing about them is they?re a team," Heacock said. [email protected]
