Game Thread Game Ten: #1 tOSU 17, Illinois 10 (11/4/06)

[osugrad21]

OZone
Scoring Summary (Final)
Ohio State (10-0,6-0) vs. Illinois (2-8,1-5)
Date: Nov 04, 2006 Site: Champaign, Ill. Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 53351
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Ohio State.......... 7 10 0 0 - 17
Illinois............ 0 0 0 10 - 10

Scoring Summary:
1st 08:16 OSU - Wells, Chris 2 yd run (Pettrey, Aaron kick)
14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 6:44, OSU 7 - ILL 0
2nd 12:39 OSU - Pittman, A 1 yd run (Pettrey, Aaron kick)
8 plays, 38 yards, TOP 4:24, OSU 14 - ILL 0
00:56 OSU - Pettrey, Aaron 50 yd field goal
11 plays, 40 yards, TOP 5:16, OSU 17 - ILL 0
4th 08:54 ILL - Reda 27 yd field goal
7 plays, 37 yards, TOP 2:29, OSU 17 - ILL 3
01:40 ILL - R Mendenhall 3 yd run (Reda kick)
10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:03, OSU 17 - ILL 10

Kickoff time: 2:36 pm End of Game: 5:36 pm Total elapsed time: 3:00
Officials: Referee: Dennis Lipski; Umpire: Carl Britt; Linesman: Bob Bassett;
Line judge: Tom Krispinsky; Back judge: Michael Brown; Field judge: Jer. Zaborniak;
Side judge: Steve Hassel;
Temperature: 49 deg. Wind: S 15 MPH Weather: Cloudy
ID-413259

 

[osugrad21]

OZone Gallery

 

[smartone]

[quote='BusNative;65328;7]IL kept everyone in the box because it was clear that JT was going to run the ball every time. The one-receiver sets allowed them to apply tons of pressure up front leading to the poor running/sacks. It it is worrysome except that our offense will not be running 2002 Tressel ball against better opponents. I'm more bothered by the TD we gave up.[/quote]

You point is valid and I buy it. You definitely know more about Football than me. But when game got tight, you would think that that strategy would change? However, I cannot believe that JT told the offensive not to play their strong game and allow TS to get crushed 3 times, at the risk of injury, before the big game. Please do tell me why that might happen. It's more of a question than a solidified belief.

 

[Taosman]

The wind in that stadium, this time of year is always a factor.
It, the wind, cuts the game in half!
Making it a "play with the wind direction" game.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]OSU survives scare[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BY JIM NAVEAU - Nov. 5, 2006[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? When Illinois ran onto the field before its football game against Ohio State accompanied by a blast of fireworks on Saturday, most people figured that was the last noise the Illini would make.
But by the final minute of No. 1 Ohio State?s 17-10 win, noise still filled Memorial Stadium. It wasn?t fireworks, it was the hopeful cheers of Illinois fans that their team could pull off an improbable comeback, an unimaginable upset.
For most of the first three quarters, as Ohio State built a 17-0 lead, it looked like just another week of the Buckeyes teaching a lesson to a second-division Big Ten team, not learning one.
But after Illinois (2-8, 1-5 Big Ten) scored two touchdowns in a seven-minute span late in the fourth quarter, Ohio State couldn?t breathe easily until Brian Robiskie jumped on an Illinois on-side kick with a minute and a half to play.
?I almost jumped out there,? Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said, when asked what he was thinking as the onside kick went through the hands of one player and bounced off another before Robiskie grabbed it.
Even before the fourth quarter, though, Ohio State (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) couldn?t jump on Illinois like it had done to Minnesota, Indiana and Michigan State and most of the teams it has played this season.
Ohio State?s 204 yards of total offense was its lowest total of the season. The Buckeyes netted only 29 yards in the last two quarters. And they turned the ball over twice in Illinois territory.
The Illini held quarterback Troy Smith to 108 yards, sacked him three times and didn?t let him throw a touchdown pass. Tailback Antonio Pittman carried a career-high 32 times but got only 58 yards.
?That was probably one of my toughest games in college football. I earned every yard I got,? Pittman said.
If Tressel didn?t already have the attention of his team, he probably earned it with this game.
Before Saturday, Ohio State?s closest victory this season was by 17 points. And at least one Buckeye thought an attitude that every game was going to be that easy might have gotten into the heads of some players.
?I think it?s a good game for us. It?s humbling. Now we?ve come off Cloud 9 and have come back to reality,? sophomore cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said. ?We know we can be beaten. We just need to go every week hard.?
Illinois produced more yardage, 233, than Ohio State, but got 161 of those yards in the second half. The Illini didn?t get into OSU territory for the first time until 11:23 was left in the game.
?In the first half, we played tight, like we were playing the No. 1 team,? Illlinois coach Ron Zook said. ?But we told them to go out there and have fun.?
Ohio State drove 80 yards in 14 plays after taking the opening kickoff to go up 7-0 on a 2-yard run by Chris Wells.
After recovering an Illinois fumble late in the first quarter, the Buckeyes went up 14-0 on a 1-yard run by Pittman. A 50-yard field goal by Aaron Pettrey with 56 seconds left in the first half made it 17-0.
It stayed that way until Illinois? Jason Reda kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8:54 left in the game. An 80-yard drive, that ended with Rashard Mendenhall?s 3-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 17-10.
Ohio State?s 17th consecutive win was a close call. Or at least a closer call than anyone expected. But Tressel said he didn?t leave the stadium with a heightened level of concern.
?We leave with concerns when it?s 44-3. It?s just our nature (as coaches). Every time you?re tested and bruised and battered, I think it?s always good for you. In football, as in life, you learn more from your suffering than from your wonderful moments,? he said.
His players followed his lead, saying that they would learn some lessons from this game, that they needed to be tested.
?We needed a game sometime to really test us, where we could learn from our mistakes,? defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock said.
Offensive tackle Doug Datish struck the same them, saying, ?It was a valuable lesson for us. We needed a battle and today was definitely it.?
[/FONT]

 

[osugrad21]

Link

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Was OSU overdue for test?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BY JIM NAVEAU - Nov. 5, 2006[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? Maybe it was something about November.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]No, really, maybe it was something about November.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Saturday afternoon, a few hours apart, the No. 1 college football team in the country, Ohio State, and the No. 2 team, Michigan, found themselves in a race to the finish line to hold off a late charge by an opponent no one expected to give them much trouble.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Michigan went first, hanging on to beat Ball State 34-26 in Ann Arbor. Then Ohio State got out of Illinois? Memorial Stadium with a 17-10 victory over the Illini.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The teams they were playing didn?t seem likely to offer much of a challenge. But even the best teams find themselves battling the tests of the wear and tear of a long football season.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ohio State defensive end Jay Richardson wasn?t searching for excuses, but he did offer November as one possible reason No. 1 and No.2 might have found them in a close race with teams they were expected to lap by halftime.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?It?s a little bit of it?s late in the season. Guys are beaten up and tired and maybe looking ahead and not worrying about the task in front of them,? Richardson said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?That?s going to happen. As long as you get out with a win, just like we did, just like Michigan did, then you live through it.?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So, the showdown on Nov. 18 between Ohio State and Michigan in Ohio Stadium is still on schedule. The winner of that game is still guaranteed a spot in the BCS national championship game if it finishes unbeaten.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ohio State goes to Northwestern next Saturday and Michigan will play at Indiana and then it?s the big showdown if all goes as expected.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As OSU coach Jim Tressel watched his captains talk about Saturday?s game, there seemed to be something of November in his expression too.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]He looked a little like a politician who had won re-election by a smaller margin than he expected and was determined not to let it happen the next time. He seemed to be sizing up the players as they spoke.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]One theme he will be sure to return to this week is that it doesn?t matter what Northwestern?s record is, that it doesn?t matter how many points Ohio State is favored by.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?I don?t know what being called an overwhelming favorite does for us. It doesn?t spot us any points or give us any first downs,? Tressel said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Most of Ohio State?s players called the less-than-overwhelming margin of victory a test that was overdue.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?You just need those tests. It wouldn?t be a good season unless you had tests like that,? tailback Antonio Pittman said. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Quarterback Troy Smith said, ?We have to work on some things but we got through it. Whether you score 50 points or 17, who cares? We won it.?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Richardson, a red-shirt senior, who was on the 2002 national championship team, said one close game in November wasn?t going to shake him up. After all, the 2002 team won seven games by a touchdown or less.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?Back in 2002, this would have been a big win for us ? 7 points,? he said, with a smile. [/FONT]

 

[osugrad21]

Link


Fumbles slow down Chris Wells and the Buckeyes
By Jon Spencer
News Journal

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The misadventures of Ohio State's star-crossed freshman running back haven't turned into an episode of "Everybody Hates Chris" and a laugh track certainly doesn't accompany his every move.
Suffice to say Chris Wells' fumbling problem is becoming a major concern for the top-ranked Buckeyes.
He lost the ball for the third time in four weeks and fourth time this season with the Buckeyes threatening in the second quarter of Saturday's 17-10 scare from Illinois. It dampened his day, which began with a two-yard TD on the opening drive and led to a seat on the bench for the rest of the afternoon.
"He can't worry about that," starting tailback Antonio Pittman said. "He's a freshman with a long way to go. Everybody fumbles. When I got here, I had a hard time holding on to the ball like everybody else. You need to put it behind you instead of dwelling on it. You've always got to play the next play."Saturday's fumble had Wells slamming his helmet in anger on the sidelines. His bobble came in the open field with nobody touching him.
"He's down on himself," Pittman said. "I think he went to squeeze it and it popped out."
The Buckeyes could have used the bullish 6-foot-1, 225-pound Wells on a day when yards were hard to come by. Troy Smith picked up the slack for Wells, gaining 37 yards. Pittman had his own problems, averaging just 1.8 yards on a career-high 32 carries.
But coach Jim Tressel couldn't risk putting Wells back in a tight game even though he went against better judgment on the opening drive -- near the goal line. It worked out this time, but two of Wells' fumbles have been inside the red zone.
"I don't know what happened (on Saturday's fumble)," Tressel said. "It looked like he made a nice cut and was going to get a bunch of yards. No one is more disappointed than him. All of the players were consoling him. We're going to need him to be the best team we can be."
BIG BOOTS: Punter A.J. Trapasso had an up-and-down game, but turned out to be an unsung hero for the Buckeyes. Tricky gusts might have contributed to kicks of 32 and 31 yards, but with the wind at his back he launched boomers of 60 and 55 yards in the fourth quarter. The last pinned the Illini on their 2 with only four seconds left.
"A.J.'s punts were huge," Tressel said. "The wind was significant. He knocked two inside the 10 during the game. When you can do that, with the defense we have, that's huge."
Trapasso finished with a 40.7 average on his seven kicks, three of which were downed inside the 20.
TAKING HIS LICKS: Smith will probably be more sore today than he's been on any previous Sunday this season. He carried the ball a season-high 11 times, was sacked three times and bounced around like a pinball all afternoon. All he had to show for his efforts was 145 total yards (108 passing).
"Toughness is the key to becoming a great player," Smith said. "I had to dig down deep and play through (adversity)."
Tressel, a former quarterback, felt Smith's pain.
"If he gets hit one time, that's too many times for me," Tressel said. "It seemed like the times he stepped up (in the pocket) were huge. I'd rather not have him get banged up, but when the defense is pinning its ears back, that's the best we can do."
NOTEBOOK: Smith's fourth quarterback interception snapped a streak of 141 pass attempts without a pick.
Smith still ranks behind former quarterback Steve Bellisari in career total offense at OSU. Smith ranks fourth with 6,354 yards. He should pass No. 3 Bellisari (6,496) next Saturday at Northwestern.
The Buckeyes have converted 22 takeaways into 93 points. Opponents have failed to score off 11 Ohio State giveaways.

 

[Best Buckeye]

The wind in that stadium, this time of year is always a factor.
It, the wind, cuts the game in half!
Making it a "play with the wind direction" game.

I also think that Jt played the first string just about all the way. Could that have been because they hadn't before and will have to against tsun. I sure wouldn't put that past JT.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

NOTEBOOK | Ohio State vs. Illinois

Reaching a milestone: Ohio State improved to 10-0 for the first time since the 2002 national championship season and the sixth time since 1968. The Buckeyes were 9-0-1 in 1973 and 1993.
Winning streaks: The Buckeyes now have a 17-game winning streak, the nation's longest in I-A. It's the third-longest in school history. Ohio State won 22 straight fro 1967-69 and 19 in a row from 2002-03. The Buckeyes improved to 61-8-1 all-time as No. 1 and 400-123-14 as a Top 25 club.
No. 60 for Tress: Ohio State coach Jim Tressel improved his record at Ohio State to 60-13. His career record, including 15 seasons at Youngstown State, is 195-70-2.
Taking advantage: Ohio State has forced 22 turnovers this season, which has led to 93 points. The Buckeyes have committed 10 turnovers, but have not allowed any points off those miscues.
Smith's streak snapped: OSU quarterback Troy Smith threw an interception late in Saturday's game, ending a streak of 141 attempts without a pick.
More Smith: Troy Smith ranks fourth all-time in total offense at Ohio State with 6,354 yards. Steve Bellisari (1998-2001) is third with 6,496 yards. Smith improved to 23-2 as a starting quarterback with the Buckeyes.
Receivers: Ted Ginn Jr. caught five passes for 26 yards Saturday, and has caught at least one pass in 29 consecutive games. He has a streak of 27 games with multiple catches. Anthony Gonzalez had two catches for 18 yards; he has 43 receptions this season with 37 of them resulting in first downs.
Series notes: Ohio State leads the series with Illinois, 59-29-4, and has won 32 of the 44 games played in Champaign. The Buckeyes have won eight of their last 10 games against Illinois, and Tressel is 3-1 vs. the Illini.
Next up: Ohio State (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) travels to Northwestern (3-7, 1-5) next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The following week is The Game against Michigan (10-0, 6-0).
? Rob Todor

 

[osugrad21]

Blade


BUCKEYES NOTEBOOK
Ohio State defense continues to sparkle

By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - They are not the main act in this show that has drawn rave reviews. They do the heavy lifting and toil in the background.
But the Ohio State defense keeps upholding its share of the deal. While the Buckeyes have made their march through the first 10 games unbeaten, the defense has been put in some tough spots and come through every time. Yesterday, the top-ranked Buckeyes needed that defense to keep the Big Ten's second-best rushing offense in check, while Ohio State weathered a wobbly offensive outing. In a 17-10 win over Illinois, the Ohio State defense allowed the Illini just 99 rushing yards - half their average output. "Our goal is to hold the opponent to 13 points or less, and we feel like we can win the game if we do that," Ohio State defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock said. "They played hard, but this is the Big Ten, and that's what you get from everybody. Our defense needed a game like this - we can't always expect our offense to put up big numbers." In the last month, the Ohio State defense has allowed three touchdowns and two field goals in five games, but only yesterday was the opponent precariously close on the scoreboard. "Playing in something like this, we actually looked forward to that," defensive tackle David Patterson said. "We like the pressure and guys rallying together when we had to stop them." Sophomore linebacker James Laurinaitis led the Buckeyes with 11 tackles and also had his team-leading fifth interception of the season. Six different Ohio State defenders made tackles for a loss in the game. The Illini got half of their rushing total for the night on their second play of the game when Pierre Thomas took a pitch from his own five and raced 43 yards to near midfield. STALLED OUT: Ohio State, with the second-most productive offense in the Big Ten, had been averaging 418 yards per game but got limited to just 224 yards by Illinois. In their scoreless second half, the Buckeyes had 29 yards of offense. "I think people realize our program is getting to the point where it's supposed to be," Illinois coach Ron Zook said. "It's not going to happen overnight, but we've made great strides." DOGFIGHT: Ohio State receiver/return man Ted Ginn Jr. attracted a crowd of Illinois defenders wherever he went, but the junior speedster said it's something he and the Buckeyes have learned to live with. "Everyone's been saying all year that we shouldn't be up there, we shouldn't be tough, we shouldn't be ranked the No. 1 team," Ginn said, "but we've got to just keep moving forward. You just concentrate on the ball game. We've shown it every week that we can be the No. 1 team. We just came out here and had a dogfight." BUCKEYE BITS: Illinois' defense held Ohio State to its fewest points (17), fewest total yards (224), and fewest passing yards (108) of the season. ... Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman was held to just 58 yards rushing on 32 carries . . . Illinois had 233 yards of offense to Ohio State's 224 - the first time this season the Buckeyes have totaled fewer yards than their opponent.

 

[Jaxbuck]

As always I defer to Tress. However, my only concern with the complete button down of the offense yesterday is that I firmly believe you do not mess with momentum. If its in your favor and you are rolling don't fuck with it.

How many times have you seen a dominant team dial it back getting ready for the playoffs or whatever and not be able to turn it back on again when they needed it? The Colts last year are one example of hundreds that could be given.

All these mind games with tsun's staff could be making things too complicated. How about we just show them a dominant offense beating the living fuck out of NU and see if they can stop it?

In Tressel I trust but just wanted to voice my main concern.

 

[Mike80]

As always I defer to Tress. However, my only concern with the complete button down of the offense yesterday is that I firmly believe you do not mess with momentum. If its in your favor and you are rolling don't fuck with it.

How many times have you seen a dominant team dial it back getting ready for the playoffs or whatever and not be able to turn it back on again when they needed it? The Colts last year are one example of hundreds that could be given.

All these mind games with tsun's staff could be making things too complicated. How about we just show them a dominant offense beating the living fuck out of NU and see if they can stop it?

In Tressel I trust but just wanted to voice my main concern.

I'd think he'll open it back up a bit against Northwestern, just to show Michigan, who just recently played Northwestern and struggled, just how far behind they are....maybe....

 

[lvbuckeye]

You point is valid and I buy it. You definitely know more about Football than me. But when game got tight, you would think that that strategy would change? However, I cannot believe that JT told the offensive not to play their strong game and allow TS to get crushed 3 times, at the risk of injury, before the big game. Please do tell me why that might happen. It's more of a question than a solidified belief.

i don't think he told the guys not to play hard, or to take it easy out there. the goal is still to execute the play that was called at the highest possible level. it was nothing like that... for whatever reason, through formation and playcalling, Tressel put the kids in a position in which it would be VERY difficult for them to get on a roll offensively in the second half. my personal opinion is that Tressel did it to get them ready for UM. hypothetically speaking, if they can't execute the basic off-tackle plays or pick up a 3rd and long against the Illini, then how could they possibly hope to do so in The Game? now, it was blatantly obvious to anyone who has watched Ohio State this season that Tressel only brought the first page of the playbook out from the lockerroom with him after halftime, and it wasn't because Tressel did not want them to succeed, or because he wanted Troy to get creamed. rather, it was because the sledding on 11/18 is going to be VERY TOUGH, and they had better be able to execute the basics and Troy had better get ready to get knocked on his ass if they want to be where they want to be on 11/19. if he couldn't handle the pressure against Illinois, then he won't handle it during The Game... and guess what? he, and they DID handle it! yeah, it might have seemed like it got a little dicey (not really, IMHO), but the D stepped up and played well when they were put on the field for nearly the entire second half, and Troy did a pretty darn good job with what Tressel gave him to work with (which was just about nothing), and Pitt proved that he can carry the load 30+ times... and there are probably a couple other things that i'm forgetting...

BTW, don't think for a second that Troy won't be allowed to audible on 11/18. i don't think he changed one play in the second half against Illinois. surely Troy knows what's going on when Tressel tells him he's not allowed to audible.

the VERY bright side of this 'close call' (i hesitate to use that phrase, because i think the Buckeyes could have gone out and rolled them in the second half if that was what Tressel wanted) is that the kids just got a dose of reality that will have them even more focused, and working even harder, and getting even better. that bodes well for the next 2 weeks...

 

[ToledoBuckeye]

BTW, don't think for a second that Troy won't be allowed to audible on 11/18. i don't think he changed one play in the second half against Illinois. surely Troy knows what's going on when Tressel tells him he's not allowed to audible.

the VERY bright side of this 'close call' (i hesitate to use that phrase, because i think the Buckeyes could have gone out and rolled them in the second half if that was what Tressel wanted) is that the kids just got a dose of reality that will have them even more focused, and working even harder, and getting even better. that bodes well for the next 2 weeks...

You and I (and others) see eye to eye on this one... It's about the W and getting ready for the next 3 W's

 

[Best Buckeye]

I'd think he'll open it back up a bit against Northwestern, just to show Michigan, who just recently played Northwestern and struggled, just how far behind they are....maybe....

He probably will show a sector or highlight a playing position that he hasn't showcased yet. I think he is trying to keep meecch guessing