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Game Thread Game One: #1 Ohio State 35, Northern Illinois 12 (9/2/06)

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USAToday

No. 1 Ohio State makes quick work of Northern Illinois



swapContent('firstHeader','applyHeader'); COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr. were looking out for No. 1.
Smith tossed touchdown passes of 5 and 58 yards to Ginn on top-ranked Ohio State's first two possessions to fuel the Buckeyes' 35-12 victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday.
Tailbacks Antonio Pittman and acclaimed freshman Chris Wells also ran for scores as the Buckeyes set the stage for next week's showdown with No. 2 Texas in Austin. The Longhorns did their part, beating North Texas 56-7.
Former Cleveland high school teammates Smith and Ginn appeared to be in tune for the rematch of last year's dramatic game at Ohio Stadium in which Vince Young led Texas to the winning touchdown in the final minutes of a 25-22 victory. The Longhorns went on to win their first national championship since 1969.
Smith completed 18-of-25 passes for 297 yards for the Buckeyes, also tossing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Gonzalez on Ohio State's third possession for a quick 21-0 lead.
Ginn had four catches for 123 yards and returned two punts for 44 yards and two kickoffs for 25 more yards.
Pittman totaled 111 yards on 19 carries and scored on a 1-yard plunge on the first play of the fourth quarter, with Wells chipping in with 50 on 10 attempts.
The Buckeyes offense rang up 488 yards but also lost fumbles twice inside the Northern Illinois 10 and missed two field goals.
The Buckeyes won their 28th consecutive home opener.
On the second play after the opening kickoff, Northern Illinois got Ohio State's attention when Phil Horvath hit Garrett Wolfe for a 31-yard gain. But that drive died when Horvath was sacked by Vernon Gholston.
Wolfe had a huge day, rushing for 171 yards on 26 carries and catching five passes for 114 yards and a score. The nation's leading returning rusher, dragged cornerback Malcolm Jenkins over the goal line on his 4-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter.
Smith hit Brian Hartline for a 32-yard gain on the first offensive play of the season before the Buckeyes marched to a first-and-goal at the 7. On third down, Smith found Ginn on a hook pattern in the right corner of the end zone for a 5-yard score.
On Ohio State's next possession, Ginn, flanked left, was held up at the line by cornerback Adriel Hansbro but broke free and Smith lofted a perfect spiral down the sideline that Ginn caught in stride for a long TD.
Andy Dittbenner's 11-yard punt gave Ohio State the ball at the Huskies' 20 and it only took three plays for Smith to turn that into a touchdown pass over the middle to Gonzalez.
Smith started 5-for-5 for 119 yards.
The Buckeyes left a lot of room for improvement after building a 28-0 lead on Wells' TD.
Justin Zwick — the starter last year against Texas — replaced Smith midway through the fourth quarter after Smith hit Ginn for a 56-yard gain. Zwick came in and promptly slipped while handing off to Wells, Tim McCarthy recovering for NIU.
Two other drives ended with missed field goals, a 51-yarder by 27-year-old walk-on Ryan Pretorius and a 45-yarder by former walk-on Aaron Pettrey, who converted five extra-point kicks for his first collegiate points.
Chris Nendrick added field goals of 35 and 37 yards for Northern Illinois.
 
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(1) Ohio St. 35, Northern Illinois 12 Preview - Box Score - Recap
By RUSTY MILLER, AP Sports Writer
September 2, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr. were looking out for No. 1.
Smith tossed touchdown passes of 5 and 58 yards to Ginn on top-ranked Ohio State's first two possessions to fuel the Buckeyes' 35-12 victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday.

Tailbacks Antonio Pittman and acclaimed freshman Chris Wells also ran for scores as the Buckeyes set the stage for next week's showdown with No. 3 Texas in Austin. The No. 3 Longhorns did their part, beating North Texas 56-7.
Former Cleveland high school teammates Smith and Ginn appeared to be in tune for the rematch of last year's dramatic game at Ohio Stadium in which Vince Young led Texas to the winning touchdown in the final minutes of a 25-22 victory. The Longhorns went on to win their first national championship since 1969.
Smith completed 18-of-25 passes for 297 yards for the Buckeyes, also tossing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Gonzalez on Ohio State's third possession for a quick 21-0 lead.
Ginn had four catches for 123 yards and returned two punts for 44 yards and two kickoffs for 25 more yards.
Pittman totaled 111 yards on 19 carries and scored on a 1-yard plunge on the first play of the fourth quarter, with Wells chipping in with 50 on 10 attempts.
The Buckeyes offense rang up 488 yards but also lost fumbles twice inside the Northern Illinois 10 and missed two field goals.
The Buckeyes won their 28th consecutive home opener.
On the second play after the opening kickoff, Northern Illinois got Ohio State's attention when Phil Horvath hit Garrett Wolfe for a 31-yard gain. But that drive died when Horvath was sacked by Vernon Gholston.
Wolfe had a huge day, rushing for 171 yards on 26 carries and catching five passes for 114 yards and a score. The nation's leading returning rusher, dragged cornerback Malcolm Jenkins over the goal line on his 4-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter.
Smith hit Brian Hartline for a 32-yard gain on the first offensive play of the season before the Buckeyes marched to a first-and-goal at the 7. On third down, Smith found Ginn on a hook pattern in the right corner of the end zone for a 5-yard score.
On Ohio State's next possession, Ginn, flanked left, was held up at the line by cornerback Adriel Hansbro but broke free and Smith lofted a perfect spiral down the sideline that Ginn caught in stride for a long TD.
Andy Dittbenner's 11-yard punt gave Ohio State the ball at the Huskies' 20 and it only took three plays for Smith to turn that into a touchdown pass over the middle to Gonzalez.
Smith started 5-for-5 for 119 yards.
The Buckeyes left a lot of room for improvement after building a 28-0 lead on Wells' TD.
Justin Zwick -- the starter last year against Texas -- replaced Smith midway through the fourth quarter after Smith hit Ginn for a 56-yard gain. Zwick came in and promptly slipped while handing off to Wells, Tim McCarthy recovering for NIU.
Two other drives ended with missed field goals, a 51-yarder by 27-year-old walk-on Ryan Pretorius and a 45-yarder by former walk-on Aaron Pettrey, who converted five extra-point kicks for his first collegiate points.
Chris Nendrick added field goals of 35 and 37 yards for Northern Illinois.
 
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Likes: The true frosh (homan + c.wells esp.) impressed. The playmakers on O were as advertised. Tressel closed the "special appendix" to the playbook after the first quarter. Didn't expect much more O after that. That first quarter, though, gave me a fuzzy warm feeling inside, I must admit.

Not much to dislike for a first game. Lots of combinations of many different playters. We shouldn't nitpick too much. Be thankful we have that much talent to throw at a team. Kerr and J.L. need to step it up next week or I'm going to develop some ulcers.
 
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I took some pictures of at the game. I'll post them sometime this weekend.

First off, I'm pissed. When you see from where my pictures were taken, you'll understand. You all know I'm an "in the action" kind of guy at these games. I feel violated by how the University has rewarded me for 10 years of service.

I'll give a run down of the day later this weekend. I'm exhausted.
 
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my take.

troy had an average day. underthows on both bombs to ginn. alot of passes behind receivers. but no "bad" passes. he seemed to be making good decisions, checking off, and finding the open receiver. i think ts is going to have a huge season.

the d was pretty much exactly what i expected. we're very fast and very talented, but very young. alot of arm tackles and anything to the outside was open all day long.

none of the lb's had outstanding games imo. i think homan and freeman played the best of the lb's. though freeman hasn't lived up to his billing in what i have seen of him yet. kerr and grant both played ok. i think the starting lineup of kerr, lil animal and freeman will be solid. but it will probably take a lot more time than i would like for them to gell. i think its possible that there might be some shuffling by season end.

the dine was pretty good. alot of pressure and alot of plays behind the line. i saw themeat a lot of second blockers, but i also saw a lot of blockers on lb's as well as contain problems. though im not sure whose fault that is yet. they played probably a little better than i expected.

the cb's and s' all played ok. about as well as the lb's imo. there were play's where they were exceptional and there were plays that left you wondering wtf?

i was happy with the special teams play even with the missed fg's. the kickoffs were really good. coverage teams seemed to be in their lanes and played well. best of all, ginn seemed patient and took what was available. he seems like he has matured as a player in a big way. gonzo did pretty good in the return game as well.

pitt was pitt, mo wells will be solid, beanie is much better than i ever could have hoped, the line played solid, gonzo was gonzo, and the brian twins play impressed me.

if the defense plays next week the way they did today that there game in austin will a whole lot scarier than i orginally thought it would be. texas is bigger, stronger, faster and much better blockers. we need to tackle better in the open field and get much better in pursuit. thats not to say i think we will loose. but if we don't get a whole lot better right fast, we're going to make that game a lot tougher on ourselves than needed.

all in all, it was a good win. i wasn't shocked by anything, i was impressed by several players, but we definitely have a long way to go before id consider us a nc caliber team. though all the necissary ingredients are there. that and im being far to harsh with this being the first game of the year.

***disclaimer*** im halfway through watching the game for the second time so all the statements above are VERY subject to change :p.

p.s. these camera guys SUCK!! if the niu d bit on half as many fakes as the camera guys we would have won by 90+ lol.
 
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Mitchel and O'Neil missed too many tackles.
I didn't notice Patterson do anything.
My man A. Russ was all over the field making plays.
Kerr disappeared.
Homan looked like a starting LB.
Freeman was tentative, but solid.
Lil Animal was just OK, tentative?
Gholston is a monster!
J. Rich had a good game overall.
Wilson looked good.
D. Patterson was solid.
Pitcock was double teamed all game.
The NIU O-line was pretty darn good!
Wolfe, fantastic. The best running back in the country.
NIU as a team is pretty solid and a MAC championship like team.
A very good test for our young guys!
 
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