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No. 1 Ohio State and Illinois to Meet in Champaign
Oct. 30, 2006
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THIS WEEK
Top-ranked and unbeaten Ohio State travels to Illinois this week for the first leg of a two-game road trip that concludes the following week at Northwestern. Saturday's game against the Illini will kickoff at 3:36 p.m., EST in Memorial Stadium (capacity: 69,249) and will be televised by ESPN2 and broadcast by WBNS Radio, the flagship station for the statewide Ohio State radio network.
The Buckeyes head into November with a spotless 9-0 record for all games and are 5-0 in Big Ten play. Ohio State sits atop all three major polls as well as the Bowl Championship Series rankings. Coach
Jim Tressel's squad is coming off a 44-0 whitewashing of Minnesota this past weekend, a win that extended the nation's longest winning streak to 16 straight, including 12 consecutive wins in conference action.
Illinois, under the second-year direction of former Ohio State assistant coach Ron Zook (1988-90), is 2-7 for all games and 1-4 in conference action. Zook's squad dropped a 30-24 decision at Wisconsin last Saturday.
BUCKEYES UNANIMOUS NO. 1
Ohio State continues to hold down the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press, USA Today-Coaches and Harris Interactive polls. The Buckeyes received all 63 first-place votes from the coaches, 63 of 65 from the writers and 113 of 114 in the Harris poll.
The Buckeyes have been in the Top 25 for 23-consecutive weeks, including 11 straight appearances in the Top 10 and 10 straight at No. 1.
Ohio State also is No. 1 in the Bowl Championship Series ranking with an average of 9.864. Michigan is second at 9.697 and West Virginia third at 7.862.
SIX NOMINATED FOR ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Seven Ohio State football players have been nominated for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors:
Doug Datish,
Anthony Gonzalez,
James Laurinaitis,
Joel Penton,
Brian Robiskie and
Stan White Jr. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a 4.00 scale, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings and be nominated by his sports information director.
OHIO STATE AWARDS CANDIDATES
Heisman Trophy candidate
Troy Smith has been named as a semi-finalist for the Maxwell Award as college football's player of the year. Additionally, defensive tackle
Quinn Pitcock has been named as a semi-finalist for both the Lombardi Award and the Lott Trophy and linebacker
James Laurinaitis is a semi-finalist for the Butkus and the Bednarik Awards; while flanker
Ted Ginn Jr. is a semi-finalist for the Biletnikoff Award.
Center
Doug Datish (Rimington Award) and tailback
Antonio Pittman (Doak Walker Award) were both on preseason watch lists and are still in contention for those awards.
SMITH KEEPS STREAK GOING
With his 18-yard touchdown pass against Minnesota, Ohio State senior signal caller
Troy Smith has thrown at least one TD pass in 11 consecutive games. Smith now has 22 touchdown passes on the year, six more than he had all of last season, and seven shy of Bobby Hoying's school record 29 in 1995. He has 14 touchdown passes in the last five games and has thrown two or more touchdowns in seven of the Buckeyes' first nine games.
Smith, who completed 14 of 21 passes against Minnesota, has not thrown an interception in his last 120 passes. Earlier in the season he had a string of 152 passes without an interception.
Smith has the lowest career interception rate in the nation among active quarterbacks with a fanciful 1.57 figure. Just nine of his 573 passes have been picked off.
Additionally, Smith leads the Big Ten and is fourth nationally in passing efficiency with a mark of 174.3.
THE HIGHLIGHT REEL
Ohio State quarterback
Troy Smith seems to make a play every week that winds up on SportsCenter and Fox News later that evening.
Up until Saturday's win over Minnesota, all of those plays have been passing plays, usually involving a scramble on his part and then a pinpoint pass into the hands of a waiting receiver. Against the Gophers, however, it was a 21-yard run by Smith that made the highlight reel.
On that play, Smith dropped back to pass, but then saw an opening and tucked the ball away, splitting two defenders just beyond the line of scrimmage and then juking another into submission and racing into the end zone untouched. His touchdown gave the Buckeyes a commanding 24-0 lead on what was "Close-call Saturday" around the nation.
Smith, who is now 22-2 as a starter, ran for 43 yards against Minnesota. He also completed 14 of 21 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown.
SOME CAREER NUMBERS FOR SMITH
Quarterback
Troy Smith is the all-time completion percentage leader in Ohio State history, connecting on 63.1 percent of his passes (362-573). He also ranks eighth in career passing yardage (5,076 yards) and needs just 14 yards to move ahead of Jim Karsatos (5,089 from 1984 to 1986) into seventh place.
Smith has jumped up to fourth place in career total offense with 6,209 yards, leapfrogging Mike Tomczak, Joe Germaine and Greg Frey this past weekend. Art Schlicher (8,850), Bobby Hoying (7,151) and
Steve Bellisari (6,496) hold down the three spots ahead of him.
Smith now has 46 career touchdown passes to his credit, the fourth highest total in Ohio State annals. The school record of 57 belongs to Bobby Hoying (1992-95).
PITTMAN NEARS 1,000-YARD MARK
Ohio State tailback
Antonio Pittman rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries against Minnesota and now has 894 yards on the year. The 5-foot-11-inch junior, who rushed for 1,331 yards a year ago is bidding to become the first OSU running back since
Eddie George (1994-95) to put together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.
Pittman has six 100-yard games this year and 14 for his career. He is fourth in the Big Ten in rushing at 99.3 yards per game and is averaging 5.5 yards per carry on 163 attempts. All three runners ahead of him in the Big Ten rushing derby have significantly more carries.
Pittman also leads the Buckeyes in scoring with 10 touchdowns, three more than he had all of last year. He has at least one TD run in eight of the Buckeyes' nine games (he did not score against Indiana).
Only George,
Archie Griffin (1973-74-75),
Tim Spencer (1981-82) and Keith Byars (1983-84) have rushed for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons at Ohio State.
THE "FUN BUNCH"
The Buckeye "Fun Bunch" of quarterback
Troy Smith, wide receivers
Ted Ginn Jr. and
Anthony Gonzalez and tailback
Antonio Pittman continues to excel.
Smith has completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 1,898 yards and 22 touchdowns. The 6-foot-1-inch senior also scored his first rushing touchdown of the season against Minnesota on a nifty 21-yard broken-field run.
Ginn has a team-high seven touchdown grabs on 44 receptions and is averaging 13.9 yards per catch, while Gonzalez has 41 receptions, is averaging a team-high 15.1 yards per catch and has six TD receptions.
Pittman is the Buckeyes' leading ground gainer with 894 yards on 163 carries and has a team-leading 10 touchdowns to his credit. The hard-running junior has six 100-yard games this year and is averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
THE OLD ONE-TWO
The Ohio State wide-receiver tandem of
Anthony Gonzalez and
Ted Ginn Jr. rank first and second, respectively, in the Big Ten in receiving yards per game. Gonzalez is averaging 69 yards a game and Ginn 67.9. The former is averaging 15.1 yards per reception and the latter 13.9 yards per catch.
Ginn has 44 receptions on the year and ranks second in the Big Ten in receptions per game with an average of 4.89 per outing. Gonzalez is fourth in the conference with an average of 4.56 catches per contest.
GINN STREAKS CONTINUE
Ohio State receiver
Ted Ginn Jr. has caught at least one pass in 28-consecutive games (beginning with Iowa in 2004) and has multiple catches in 26-consecutive games. His 10 receptions against Bowling Green earlier this year represents a career best, bettering his previous high of nine set last year at Michigan
The Buckeye junior is eighth on the all-time OSU receiving list with 120 receptions. He also ranks 11th in career receiving yards with 1,773 yards - an average of 14.7 yards per reception. He needs two receptions to move around John Frank (121) into seventh place on the all-time receptions list and 37 yards to take over 10th place in career receiving yards, surpassing Jeff Graham (1,809).
MR. CLUTCH
Junior split end
Anthony Gonzalez had three receptions for 30 yards in the first half against Minnesota. All three of those receptions resulted in first downs for the Buckeyes. Gonzalez has 41 receptions on the year and 36 of those, including his last seven, have moved the chains. Gonzalez, who has six touchdown catches and leads the team in receiving yards with 621, is averaging 15.1 yards per catch.
SOME STREAKS OF NOTE
Ohio State's current 16-game winning streak is the longest in the nation and the third longest in the modern era for the Buckeyes. Between 1967 and 1969, the Buckeyes reeled off 22-consecutive victories, including 17 straight Big Ten wins, for the longest streak in OSU annals. In 2002 and 2003,
Jim Tressel's Buckeyes rolled to 19-consecutive victories, including a perfect 14-0 record and the national championship in 2002. The current streak began last year against Michigan State.
ELITE COMPANY
The 2006 Buckeyes are one of just 10 Ohio State squads to go unbeaten through their first nine games. Only five Buckeye squads have gone 10-0 and just four (1975, 1979, 1995 and 2002) have notched 11 straight victories to start the season. Three of those four - the 1975, '79 and '95 teams - lost their 12th game. The 2002 team went on to finish the season at 14-0.
A LOOK AT THE BUCKEYES
The Ohio State offense is averaging 35.9 points and 418.3 yards per game, while the defense is allowing 7.3 points and 261.0 yards each time out. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in scoring offense and lead the nation in scoring defense. They also are second in the Big Ten in both total offense and scoring defense and third in total defense.
Ohio State has scored 24 or more points every game this year and has recorded season point highs each of the past two weeks with 44 points against both Indiana and Minnesota. The Ohio State defense, meanwhile, has limited its last four opponents to a total of 17 points and has not given up a touchdown in the last eight quarters. Only two opponents (Northern Illinois and Iowa) have scored in double figures and only one (Iowa) has scored two touchdowns. The Buckeyes are outscoring their first nine opponents by an average of 28.5 points a game.
Led by senior quarterback
Troy Smith, Ohio State is passing for 237.6 yards per game. Smith has completed 67.8 percent of his passes and has thrown for 22 of the Buckeyes' 23 passing touchdowns.
Ted Ginn Jr. and
Anthony Gonzalez have combined for 85 receptions, 1,232 yards and 13 touchdown catches. Tailback
Antonio Pittman has rushed for 894 yards and 10 of the Buckeyes' 17 rushing touchdowns. OSU is averaging 180.8 yards per game on the ground.
On the other side of the ball,
James Laurinaitis leads the Buckeyes in tackles with 75, while
Vernon Gholston has 10.5 tackles-for-loss and
Quinn Pitcock 7.0 sacks. The OSU defense has forced 20 turnovers, including 18 interceptions and the Buckeye offense has responded by scoring 80 points off those takeaways.
The Ohio State offense has turned the ball over nine times (two interceptions and seven fumbles), but the defense has stiffened every time and has yet to surrender a point off an opponent turnover.
BUCKEYES SHUTOUT GOPHERS
Ohio State recorded its first shutout of the year and first since the 2003 season with a 44-0 win over Minnesota. The Buckeye defense, which extended its streak of not allowing a touchdown to eight consecutive quarters, limited the Gophers to 182 total yards, including just 47 yards rushing. The OSU offense equaled its season high in points and rolled up 484 yards. The Buckeyes converted 7-of-10 first-down opportunities and were 5-of-6 in the red zone, all touchdowns.
Troy Smith completed 14 of 21 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown and also ran for his first score of the season on a 21-yard run.
Antonio Pittman rushed for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns and freshman
Beanie Wells added 90 yards on the ground.
Linebacker
James Laurinaitis once again paced the team in tackles with 11. The Buckeye played the game without defensive tackle and co-captain
Quinn Pitcock who suffered a concussion the week before against Indiana.
OSU PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Following last week's win over Minnesota, the Ohio State coaching staff selected
Antonio Pittman as the offensive player of the game and
Antonio Smith as the defensive player of the game. Offensive guard
T.J. Downing is the Jim Parker offensive lineman of the week and
Marcus Freeman was selected as the attack force player of the game. The scout team players are
Walter Dublin on defense,
Ryan Franzinger on offense and Will Krall with the special teams.
OHIO STATE IN BIG TEN PLAY
Over the years, Ohio State has either won outright or shared 30 Big Ten titles. The co-championship last year was OSU's second under
Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes also shared the title in 2002, notching a perfect 8-0 record. With a 5-0 league record this year, Ohio State owns an all-time Big Ten record of 433-187-28 in 94 seasons of league competition.
Ohio State vs.WLT Chicago1022 Illinois59294 Indiana65125 Iowa44143 Michigan39576 Michigan St.25120 Minnesota3970 Northwestern 56141 Penn State11110 Purdue35122 Wisconsin50175 TOTAL43318728
THE OHIO STATE-ILLINOIS SERIES
Until being interrupted in 2003, Ohio State and Illinois had played continuously since 1902. The Buckeyes have a 59-29-4 lead in the series, including a 31-12 edge in Champaign. Ohio State has won the last two games in the series - 40-2 last year in Columbus and 23-16 in overtime in 2002 in Champaign. Between 1968 and 1982, Ohio State reeled off 15 consecutive victories against the Illini. Illinois won five straight and six of seven against OSU between 1988 and 1994.
RECAPPING LAST YEAR
Ohio State led just 3-0 at the end of the first quarter but added 10 points in the second period and 20 more in the third on the way to a 40-2 win.
Troy Smith threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns and
Antonio Pittman ran for 96 yards and a pair of scores as the Buckeyes amassed 526 yards in total offense. Two of Smith's TD tosses went to
Santonio Holmes; the third to
Ted Ginn Jr. covered 73 yards. The Illini were held to 92 yards passing and 68 yards rushing as the OSU defense, led by All-American A. J. Hawk, recorded five sacks. Illinois scored on a fumbled extra point try by the Buckeyes.
OHIO STATE COACH Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel is in his sixth season as head coach at Ohio State. His record with the Buckeyes is 59-13 (.819), including a 35-10 (.777) slate in the Big Ten, and his career ledger now stands at 194-70-2 (.733) in his 21st season as a head coach.
Tressel took over the Buckeyes in 2001, directing them to a 7-5 record that year. In 2002, he led Ohio State to a 14-0 record and the school's first consensus national championship since 1968.
In 2003, the Buckeyes won their first five games to extend their winning streak to 19 and finished with an 11-2 record. The 2004 squad, which had to replace 14 NFL drafted players, won five of its last six games en route to an 8-4 finish.
A season ago, Tressel guided the Buckeyes to a 10-2 overall record with seven-consecutive victories down the stretch, which included a 34-20 victory over Notre Dame in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in January. The current 16-game win streak is second only to the 19-consecutive wins under Tressel in 2002 (14-0) and 2003 (5-0 to start season).
Tressel's teams have appeared in five bowl games and are 4-1 in those contests, including three BCS wins in the Fiesta Bowl over the last four seasons. They also are 4-1 against Michigan in one of the most intense and storied rivalries in all of sports.
Eleven of Tressel's players have won first-team All-America honors and four have won major awards, including linebacker
A.J. Hawk, the recipient of the 2005 Lombardi Award.
Tressel is a master in close games. Since coming to Ohio State, he is 17-9 in games decided by a touchdown or less and 4-1 in overtime games.
He is at his best against the best with a 24-7 record against teams ranked in the Top 25 and a 7-2 mark against teams ranked in the Top 10.
The 53-year-old Tressel is a 1975 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College.
MORE ON TRESSEL
Ohio State's 38-17 victory over Iowa this year was
Jim Tressel's 55th win with the Buckeyes. No Ohio State coach has reached that mark as quickly. By way of comparison, Earle Bruce recorded his 55th win in 70 games, Woody Hayes notched No. 55 in game 74 and John Wilce did so in game 77. Both Bruce and Hayes were in their eighth years at Ohio State. Wilce was in his 11th season.
GINN BIG TEN RECORD HOLDER
Ted Ginn Jr. set the Big Ten record for career touchdowns on punt returns with a 60-yard runback at Michigan State on Oct. 14. The Ohio State junior now has six touchdowns on punt returns. The NCAA career record of eight is shared by Wes Welker of Texas Tech (2000-03) and Antonio Perkins of Oklahoma (2001-04). Ginn had four punt returns for scores in 2004 and one last year.
ALL-PURPOSE THREAT
By throwing a 38-yard touchdown pass against Indiana,
Ted Ginn Jr. now has thrown for a touchdown, run for a touchdown (two), returned a punt for a touchdown (six), returned a kickoff for a touchdown (one) and caught 13 passes for touchdowns as a Buckeye.
DEFENSIVE DANDIES
Ohio State coach
Jim Tressel likes what he has seen from defensive tackles
Quinn Pitcock and
David Patterson, the Buckeyes' lone two returning starters from the 10-2 team in 2005.
"As far as I am concerned they are the best two defensive tackles in the country," noted Tressel. "And in addition to being terrific players, they are both excellent leaders. Our front four is the strength of our defense and Quinn and David set the tone."
Pitcock has 9.0 tackles-for-loss, including a team-high seven sacks, and 29 tackles on the season. In 12 games last year, he finished with 28 tackles, 3.0 tackles-for-loss and one sack. Patterson, who missed two games with an injury, has 16 tackles on the year, including three tackles-for-loss. He was credited with a career-high seven tackles against Penn State this year.
PITCOCK HAS CAREER DAY
Defensive tackle
Quinn Pitcock came within a shoestring of tying and perhaps setting the Ohio State single-game record for sacks against Cincinnati. The 6-foot-3-inch, 295-pound senior bull rushed his way through the Bearcats' offensive line en route to a career-high three sacks for minus 24 yards. Pitcock narrowly missed two other sacks, UC quarterback Dustin Grutza somehow slipping out of his grasp. The OSU single-game sack record of four is shared by
Bobby Carpenter (Michigan State, 2005) and Jason Simmons (Washington State, 1991). Pitcock, who had one sack all of last year, has a team-leading 7.0 this year.
LAURINAITIS PACES BUCKEYES
Sophomore linebacker
James Laurinaitis continues to lead the Buckeyes in tackles with 75 and is tied with
Malcolm Jenkins for the lead in interceptions with four. He also has 8.0 tackles-for-loss and 4.0 sacks and has forced two fumbles. The four picks by Laurinaitis are the most by an Ohio State linebacker since Andy Katzenmoyer's four in 1996. The OSU single-season record for interceptions by a linebacker is six, set in 1986 by Chris Spielman. Laurinaitis had picks in four-consecutive games (Texas, Cincinnati, Penn State and Iowa) before having that streak ended against Bowling Green.
BUCKEYE NOTES
Senior quarterback
Justin Zwick scored his first career rushing touchdown against Minnesota, tallying on a 1-yard sneak in the fourth quarter ...
Brian Robiskie caught an 18-yard TD pass from
Troy Smith in the second quarter of the Minnesota game and now has caught a pass in every game this year ...
Brian Hartline had his best day as a receiver against Minnesota, snagging four catches for 69 yards ... Freshman tailback
Beanie Wells had a career-high 90 yards on 15 carries against the Gophers. In his last three games, Wells has 208 yards and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry ...
Malcolm Jenkins picked off his fourth interception of the year last week and is tied with
James Laurinaitis for the team lead. Jenkins has picks in each of the last two games. As a team, the Buckeyes have 18 interceptions and have had at least one pick in every game this year. The school single-season record of 31 was set in 1949 ...
Aaron Pettrey has made seven of his last eight field goal attempts, including a 42-yard effort against Minnesota.
BUCKEYE SACK PACK
Ohio State ranks second in the Big Ten in sacks with 30. The Buckeyes are led by defensive tackle
Quinn Pitcock with 7.0, followed by
Vernon Gholston with 5.5.
James Laurinaitis has 4.0 and defensive end
Jay Richardson 3.0
THE GLENVILLE CONNECTION
Quarterback
Troy Smith and flanker
Ted Ginn Jr., both of whom prepped at Glenville High School, continue to form one of college football's most dangerous duos. When the two hooked up on a 57-yard scoring strike against Bowling Green on Oct. 7, it marked their eighth play of more than 50 yards.
OHIO STATE AT HOME
The Buckeyes boast an all-time record of 372-104-20 (.770) in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State has won 11 straight, and 15 of the last 16, games played in the Horseshoe. Ohio State's all-time record in Columbus is 515-151-35 in 701 games.
OSU IMPROVES RECORD AS NO. 1
Ohio State is 60-8-1 when ranked as the nation's No. 1 team. Overall, the Buckeyes are 292-68-9 when carrying a Top 10 ranking and 399-123-14 as a Top 25 team. Ohio State has opened the season No. 1 seven times, second only to Oklahoma (nine). The Buckeyes own the record for most appearances (53) in the first 57 years of the Associated Press Poll.
BUCKEYES STAY PERFECT IN NO. 1 VS. NO. 2 SHOWDOWNS
The Sept. 9 showdown in Austin between top-ranked Ohio State and second-ranked Texas was the earliest regular-season match-up in college football annals between a No. 1 and a No. 2 team. Ohio State has been involved in two such games previously, the first in the 1969 Rose Bowl and the second in the 2002 national championship game at the 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. OSU won both, downing the University of Southern California, 27-16, in the former and Miami of Florida, 31-24 in two overtimes, in the latter. On both occasions, the Buckeyes were the No. 2 ranked team.
BUCKEYES RECORD IMPRESSIVE WINS
During their 16-game winning streak,
Jim Tressel's Buckeyes have recorded wins over five of college football's most successful programs - Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, Penn State and Iowa. Michigan tops the all-time victories list with 858 wins (858-280-36), Notre Dame is second at 818-267-42 and Texas ranks third at 808-311-33. The Buckeyes are fifth all-time with 784 wins, followed by No. 6 Alabama (780 wins) and No. 7 Penn State (776-341-42). Iowa ranks No. 41 on the all-time wins list (552-494-39).
BUCKEYES GET HIGH GRADES
A league-best 18 Ohio State football players were named to the Big Ten's All-Academic team last fall, marking the fourth year in a row the Buckeyes have led the conference in that area. Additionally, a record 46 Ohio State football players qualified for last spring's annual OSU Scholar-Athlete Dinner, which requires a grade-point average of 3.00 or better for the past academic year. As a team, the Buckeyes have an overall GPA of 2.83. A total of 52 football student-athletes earned a 3.00 or better during Ohio State's spring quarter and 46 had a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 after spring grades were calculated.
BUCKEYE GRADUATES
Quarterback
Troy Smith (communication), center
Doug Datish (history), strong safety
Brandon Mitchell (political science) and fullback
Stan White Jr. (finance) all are working toward graduate degrees while playing football for the Buckeyes this season. Two most recent student-athletes to earn their degrees are All-America linebacker
A.J. Hawk and Richard Schafrath, who lettered from 1956-58. Both were awarded degrees following the 2006 summer quarter. Other 2005-06 graduates include
Bobby Carpenter,
Angelo Chattams,
R.J. Coleman,
John Conroy,
Ryan Hamby,
Rob Harley,
Mike Roberts,
Anthony Schlegel,
Brandon Schnittker,
Rob Sims,
Steve Winner and
Ashton Youboty.
THE BUCKEYES ALL-TIME
Ohio State enters this week's game with an all-time record of 784-300-53 in 116 seasons of competition. That includes a Big Ten record of 433-187-28 since 1913, an Ohio Stadium slate of 372-104-20 since 1922 and a bowl mark of 18-19.
OSU COACHES IN THE PRESS BOX
Offensive coordinator
Jim Bollman and quarterbacks coach
Joe Daniels will be in the press box for the Buckeyes during the game as will cornerbacks coach
Tim Beckman and co-defensive coordinator
Luke Fickell.
BUCKEYE CAPTAINS
Seniors
Troy Smith,
Doug Datish,
Quinn Pitcock and
David Patterson were voted by their teammates as captains of the 2006 Ohio State football team. Smith (QB) and Datish (C) will lead from the offensive side while Pitcock and Patterson represent the defense from the defensive tackle spot. The four entered the season with 128 games of combined experience as Buckeyes.
OHIO STATE 35, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 12
No. 1/1 Ohio State scored on its first four possessions of the game while
Troy Smith threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns and
Ted Ginn Jr. hauled in four catches for 123 yards and two scores in leading the Buckeyes to a 35-12 victory against Northern Illinois in front of 103,896 fans Sept. 2 at Ohio Stadium.
Smith completed 18-of-25 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns without an interception or a sack. Ginn reeled in a 58-yard TD pass in the first quarter and a 56-yard reception in the fourth quarter. He also had 69 return yards with 44 yards on two punt returns and two kick returns for 25 yards,
Antonio Pittman carried the ball 19 times for 111 yards and one touchdown, while
Anthony Gonzalez caught four passes for 53 yards and one TD. True freshman
Chris Wells, in his Buckeye debut, rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries.
The Buckeyes outgained the Huskies in total yardage, 488-343, and amassed 173 yards rushing on 36 carries while they posted 315 yards on 20-of-27 passing. The Huskies totaled 153 yards rushing and 192 yards passing. A lot of that yardage came from Garrett Wolfe, the nation's leading returning rusher. He totaled 171 yards on the ground and had five catches for 114 yards.
The Buckeyes turned the ball over twice, both inside the NIU 10-yard line, and missed two field goals.
Brandon Mitchell finished the game with 10 tackles, including one tackle for loss, to lead Ohio State.
Marcus Freeman added nine tackles. The defense saw five first-time starters, including
Vernon Gholston,
Antonio Smith,
Marcus Freeman,
Nick Patterson and
John Kerr. Two offensive players - Hartline and
Brian Robiskie - made their first starts as Buckeyes.
The win was the 28th straight win for the Buckeyes' in their home opener.
OHIO STATE 24, TEXAS 7
Led by
Troy Smith,
Ted Ginn Jr.,
Anthony Gonzalez and
Antonio Pittman on offense and bolstered by a young but quickly coming-of-age defense, top-ranked Ohio State solidified its place in the polls with its 17-point victory over the defending national champion Longhorns.
Smith enhanced his early season Heisman Trophy status by completing 17 of 26 passes for 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns against a veteran Texas defense, giving him five touchdown passes and 566 passing yards in his first two games.
Ginn, the Buckeyes' other Heisman hopeful, was on the receiving end of five passes for 97 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown grab just before halftime that put Ohio State in front 14-7 going into the locker room. Ginn's grab capped off a business-like five-play, 66-yard drive that began with 1:55 remaining in the second quarter. The speedy flanker set the tone early with a 46-yard catch-and-run on the Buckeyes' second play from scrimmage.
The Buckeyes also received a career-best performance from Gonzalez, who hauled in eight catches for 142 yards. The junior split end and honor student got Ohio State on the board with 1:04 to play in the first quarter by latching on to a 14-yard pass from Smith that put the icing on a 50-yard drive.
Pittman led the Buckeyes in rushing for the second consecutive week, finishing with 74 yards on 16 carries, an average of 4.6 yards per attempt. His 2-yard touchdown run with 6:31 to play capped off the scoring and put the game out of reach. The Buckeyes, who took over the ball at their own 28-yard line after a missed Texas field goal, marched 72 yards in 10 plays for the score.
The Buckeye defense limited the Texas offense to 326 total yards and just the one touchdown and set up two OSU scores with timely takeaways.
Sophomore linebacker
James Laurinaitis was involved in both turnovers. First, he forced a first-quarter fumble at the OSU 1-yard line that cornerback
Donald Washington scooped up and returned 49 yards to set up the Smith-to-Ginn touchdown pass. Then, on the first play of the third quarter, he intercepted a Colt McCoy pass and ran it back 25 yards to the Texas 31-yard line. Kicker
Aaron Pettrey gave the Buckeyes a 10-point cushion with a 31-yard field goal.
With the aggressive defensive front keeping the pressure on throughout the evening, Laurinaitis finished with a game-best and career-high 13 tackles to go along with two forced fumbles, his first career interception and a pass broken up. Safety
Brandon Mitchell was credited with nine stops, while Washington, who was making his first start at corner, had five. Cover corner
Malcolm Jenkins and nickel back
Antonio Smith each had five stops as Ohio State kept Texas under 40 points for the first time in 13 games.
Sophomore punter A. J. Trapasso kept the Longhorns corralled in their own territory by averaging 50.8 yards per punt on six kicks - the third best single-game performance in Ohio State history. That average includes a 39-yard punt at the end of the game that rolled out-of-bounds on the Texas 6-yard line. The Longhorns' average field position after a Trapasso thumper was their own 21-yard line.
The victory squared the series at 1-1 and gave Ohio State an all-time record of 4-0 in the Lone Star state.
OHIO STATE 37, CINCINNATI 7
Ohio State ran its record to 3-0 with a 37-7 victory over visiting Cincinnati. The win was the Buckeyes' 10th in a row.
After falling behind 7-3 at the end of the first quarter (the first time all year that OSU had trailed), the Buckeyes scored 34 unanswered points en route to their seventh-consecutive win in Ohio Stadium.
Quarterback
Troy Smith again led the Buckeyes to victory, completing 21 of 30 passes for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns. OSU rolled up 444 yards in total offense and scoring drives of 85, 80 and 72 yards - three of their longest drives of the year.
Smith connected with
Ted Ginn Jr. on a pair of scoring strikes in the second and third quarters to give Ohio State a comfortable 20-7 lead. But it was
Antonio Pittman who put the game out of reach with a 48-yard scoring jaunt with just over nine minutes to go in the fourth period. Pittman finished his afternoon with 155 yards on 16 carries, an impressive 9.7 yards per attempt. Backup tailback
Maurice Wells scored the other OSU touchdown on a nine-yard run.
Aaron Pettrey added field goals of 47 and 43 yards and
Ryan Pretorius hit from 52-yards away to complete the scoring.
Gonzalez and Ginn each had five receptions to pace the receiving corps as four different quarterbacks hooked up with 11 different receivers.
The Ohio State defense limited the Bearcats to 212 yards of total offense, including a scant 64 in the second half. Senior tackle
Quinn Pitcock had a career-high three sacks and narrowly missed two more. He finished the day with five tackles. With Pitcock leading the way, the Buckeyes recorded eight sacks, 10 tackles for loss and had three interceptions.
Sophomore linebacker
James Laurinaitis led the Buckeyes with nine tackles, including a sack, and picked off his second interception of the year.
OHIO STATE 28, PENN STATE 6
Ohio State opened its Big Ten season with a 28-6 win over visiting Penn State. In winning their third straight conference home opener, the Buckeyes needed a pair of fourth-quarter interception returns for touchdowns to salt the game away.
Holding on to a less-than-comfortable 14-6 lead, the Buckeyes got a lift from cornerback
Malcolm Jenkins whose 61-yard return gave them a 21-6 lead with 2:31 to play. Moments later cornerback
Antonio Smith picked off his first career interception and returned it 55 yards to the north end zone and the game was officially over.
The Buckeyes also had an interception earlier in the game by linebacker
James Laurinaitis, giving them eight on the year to that point, three more than all of last year. The OSU defense limited Penn State to 248 yards and allowed the Nittany Lions to convert just three of 14 third-down opportunities.
Ohio State's other two touchdowns came on a 12-yard run by
Antonio Pittman, who finished the game with 110 yards, and a 37-yard pass from
Troy Smith to
Brian Robiskie. The former gave the Buckeyes their first lead at 7-3 after the Nittany Lions had taken a 3-0 lead into the locker room at intermission. On the latter, Smith rolled to his right, reversed his field and somehow threw a perfect strike to Robiskie, giving the Buckeyes a 14-3 lead.
The two teams combined for just 501 yards in total offense on a rainy, windy afternoon in Ohio Stadium.
OHIO STATE 38, IOWA 17
Led by senior quarterback
Troy Smith's career-high four touchdown passes and a spirited defense that came up with four takeaways, top-ranked Ohio State downed No. 13 Iowa, 38-17, in Iowa City, knocking the Hawkeyes from the unbeaten ranks in front of a highly-partisan Kinnick Stadium crowd of 70,585.
With the win, Ohio State improved to 5-0 on the year and 2-0 in Big Ten play. It was the Buckeyes third win of the year over a Top 25 team (No. 2 Texas and No. 24 Penn State were the other two) and their second win in prime time on the road and on national TV.
Smith, who ran his record as a starter to 18-2, put the Buckeyes ahead to stay with a 12-yard pass to split end
Anthony Gonzalez with 11:34 to play in the first quarter.
The senior signal caller added a 6-yard strike to
Roy Hall in the second quarter, teamed up again with Gonzalez from 30 yards out in the third period and capped off the scoring with a 12-yard toss to
Brian Robiskie with 4:23 to play in the fourth. In addition to completing 16 of 25 passes for 186 yards and the four TD tosses, Smith also rushed for 20 yards in another near flawless performance at the OSU helm.
Gonzalez was on the receiving end of five of those passes, all going for first downs. On his 30-yard touchdown grab, Gonzalez had the first down, but then reversed his field and circled around right end and somehow tight roped down the sideline and into the end zone on one of the more spectacular plays of the season.
Ted Ginn Jr. led all receivers with seven receptions for 69 yards.
Tailback
Antonio Pittman rushed 25 times for 117 yards and a touchdown, while freshman Chris "Beanie" Wells added 78 yards for the Buckeyes who rolled up a season-high 214 yards on the ground.
The OSU defense, meanwhile, recorded three interceptions and a fumble recovery to keep the Iowa offense in check.
Safety
Brandon Mitchell played a role in two of those takeaways, snagging a second quarter interception that led to Pittman's touchdown and recovering a fourth-quarter fumble that halted an Iowa drive.
Linebackers
Marcus Freeman and
James Laurinaitis also had interceptions, both of those coming in the fourth quarter as Iowa turned the ball over on its final three possessions of the night.
The OSU defense also recorded five tackles-for-loss, including sacks by Freeman and Laurinaitis, and limited Iowa to 87 yards on the ground.
OHIO STATE 35, BOWLING GREEN 7
Troy Smith threw for three touchdowns,
Antonio Pittman ran for two and
Ted Ginn Jr. caught a career-high 10 passes as Ohio State downed visiting Bowling Green, 35-7, Oct. 7 in Ohio Stadium.
The Ohio State defense recorded its 13th takeaway of the year and held its opponent to seven points or less for the fourth time in six outings.
In addition to 13-consecutive wins,
Jim Tressel's team also has won nine straight in Ohio Stadium.
Smith completed 17 of 20 passes for 191 yards, including touchdown strikes to
Rory Nicol,
Ted Ginn Jr. and
Ray Small. It was Nicol's first touchdown catch of the year and Small's first as a collegian. Ginn's score covered 57 yards and was the longest play of the day.
Pittman carried the ball just 13 times, but scored on a pair of 8-yard runs to equal his entire touchdown output of a year ago (seven).
Defensive tackle
Vernon Gholston picked off his first career interception and had two tackles-for-loss and a sack. He is the team leader in tackles-for-loss with nine. His interception and 8-yard return gives the Buckeyes an interception in every game this year.
Malcolm Jenkins and
James Laurinaitis paced the Buckeyes in tackles with nine. Jenkins had six solos to lead both teams. Laurinaitis now has a team-high 50 tackles on the year.
OHIO STATE 38, MICHIGAN STATE 7
The Buckeyes ran their road record to 3-0 with their methodical 38-7 dismantling of Michigan State.
Jim Tressel's Buckeyes have won their last six road games, five of which have been Big Ten contests. In their three road games this year, the Buckeyes have outscored Texas, Iowa and Michigan State by a combined total of 100 to 31 and have never trailed.
At Michigan State, the Buckeyes marched 80 yards in 12 plays on their second possession of the game for a quick 7-0 lead and never looked back. Tailback
Antonio Pittman put Ohio State ahead to stay with a 2-yard run, giving him at least one rushing touchdown in 12 consecutive games.
Troy Smith's 37-yard completion to
Ted Ginn Jr. set up the score.
The Buckeyes added 17 points in the second quarter on a 32-yard field goal by
Aaron Pettrey, a 60-yard punt return by Ginn and a 12-yard Smith-to-Anthony Gonzalez pass. The latter was set up by a
Marcus Freeman interception that gave Ohio State the ball on the MSU 29 with 2:27 to play in the first half.
Smith also connected with
Brian Robiskie from seven yards out in the third quarter. Freshman Chris "Beanie" Wells wrapped up the scoring on a five-yard run at the start of the fourth quarter giving the Buckeyes a commanding 38-0 lead.
The Buckeyes rolled up 421 yards in total offense against the Spartans. Michigan State, conversely, managed just 198 yards against the Buckeyes' defense, including just 63 yards on the ground.
Led by senior tackle
Quinn Pitcock, the Buckeyes recorded 10 tackles-for-loss and seven sacks against the Spartans. Pitcock had two sacks, while defensive end
Jay Richardson and linebacker
James Laurinaitis each had two tackles-for-loss. Laurinaitis led the Buckeyes in tackles with nine, the sixth time this year that he has paced the team.
Freeman's interception was the Buckeyes' 13th of the year, giving Ohio State at least one interception in every game this year.
OHIO STATE 44, INDIANA 3
Ohio State staked Indiana to an early 3-0 lead then rolled up 44 unanswered points on the way to their 14th-consecutive victory over the Hoosiers. The 44 points were the most scored by the Buckeyes this season and the most since a 48-point effort against Northwestern in Game 10 last year. The three points by the Hoosiers were the fewest this year by an opponent and marked the sixth time this season the defense has held an opponent to seven points or less.
Led by quarterback
Troy Smith and running back
Antonio Pittman, the Buckeyes rolled up a season-high 540 yards in total offense - 270 rushing and the same number passing against the IU defense.
Smith completed 15 of 23 passes, including 15 of his last 19, for 220 yards and four touchdown passes. Pittman ran for 105 yards on 16 carries and received ample support from backups
Chris Wells and
Maurice Wells, each of whom rushed for 62 yards.
Chris Wells scored the Buckeyes' lone rushing touchdown of the day on a 12-yard run.
Ted Ginn Jr. led the OSU receiving corps with five catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Ginn also threw a 38-yard touchdown pass, the first completion of his career. Tight end
Rory Nicol had his first two-touchdown day, catching a 23-yard score from Smith and a 38-yard bullet from Ginn. Freshman tight end
Jake Ballard also got in on the act with a 1-yard TD reception from Smith.
"When a senior quarterback throws it to a freshman you better catch it," Ballard who made a diving grab of Smith's perfectly thrown toss, said.
Aaron Pettrey added a career-long 51-yard field goal to the OSU cause.
The Ohio State defense recorded 10 tackles-for-loss, including four sacks, and held Indiana to just 7 yards rushing. Senior cornerback
Antonio Smith had a career-high 12 tackles, including four tackles-for-loss and a sack. Senior defensive end
Jay Richardson had a pair of sacks and cornerback
Malcolm Jenkins and safety
Andre Amos each had interceptions, giving the Buckeyes at least one interception in every game this year.
ABOUT THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Illinois fell to 2-7 on the year after losing its fourth straight game last Saturday at Wisconsin. The Fighting Illini opened the year with a 42-17 victory vs. Eastern Illinois before losing games to Rutgers, Syracuse and Iowa before winning a road game at Michigan State. Since then, Illinois has lost to Indiana, Ohio and Penn State before the setback last week in Madison.
The Fighting Illini are averaging 19.8 points and 357.9 yards of total offense. The team is averaging 181.9 yards rushing and 176 yards passing. Isiah "Juice" Williams has completed 83-of-195 passes for 1,252 yards and nine touchdowns. Kyle Hudson leads the team with 25 receptions for 357 yards, while Jacob Willis has 14 grabs for 287 yards. Each has caught three touchdown passes. Five other receivers also have TD grabs. Pierre Thomas is the leading ground gainer with 104 rushes for 545 yards and four scores. Rashard Mendenhall and Tim Brasic each have run for two TDs, while E.B. Halsey has scored another.
Defensively, Illinois is allowing 26.1 points and 300.2 yards per game. Opponents have thrown for 175.7 yards per game and have 124.6 per game rushing. The team has recorded 16 sacks, has eight interceptions and has recovered six fumbles. J. Leman is the leading tackler with 98 total tackles, split evenly between solo and assists. He has 11.5 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble. Kevin Mitchell is second on the team with 63 tackles with four tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and one forced fumble. Antonio Steele has 58 tackles, including three behind the line of scrimmage. Derek Walker leads the team with 5.5 sacks to go with eight tackles for loss.
Jason Reda has made 11-of-14 field goals, including a long of 41 against Penn State, and is perfect on 19 PATs.
ILLINOIS' LAST GAME
The Fighting Illini jumped out to a 21-3 second-quarter lead, but 17th-ranked Wisconsin fought back for a 30-24 victory last Saturday in Madison. The Illini forced two first-half Badger turnovers that led to Illinois touchdowns. Wisconsin trailed by four points early in fourth quarter when tight end Andy Crooks fell on his fumble in the end zone for a touchdown that put the Badgers ahead, 27-24, with 14:50 remaining. The Badgers drove for a 33-yard field goal by Mehlhaff to take a 30-24 lead with 4:27 to play. Isiah "Juice" Williams completed 13 of 29 passes for 171 and one touchdown. He was intercepted once and ran 19 times for 53 yards.
COACH RON ZOOK
Ron Zook (Miami, Ohio, 1976) is 4-16 in his second season at Illinois. Now in his fifth season as a college coach, he has a career record of 27-30. He went to Illinois after three years at the University of Florida, where his teams went 23-14 and appeared in two Outback and one Peach bowls. His 2002 and 2003 teams each were 8-5 and his 2004 team went 7-4. The Loudonville, Ohio, native won three letters as a defensive back on a Miami (Ohio) team that boasted a record of 32-1-1 during that time and won three MAC titles. Zook has 30 years of coaching experience at the high school, professional and collegiate ranks, including stops at Ohio State (1988-90), Florida, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Kansas, Cincinnati and Murray State.
NEXT WEEK
The Buckeyes play their final road game of the season at Northwestern. Game time is 3:30 p.m., EST, in Memorial Stadium. Ohio State returns home the following week to host Michigan at 3:36 p.m. on ABC.