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- Thread starter ScriptOhio
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I was thinking about if Ohio State's deepest, darkest Tressel-ball days ever compared to this offensive output. I remembered OSU beat Iowa, believe it or not, 19-10 without scoring an offensive touchdown. So, I looked it up. The game I'm referring to happened in October 18, 2003.
Quarter Time Team Description...............................................IOWA OSU
1.......9:56.OSU..Mike Nugent 53 yard field goal.............................0..3
........9:22.OSU..Michael Jenkins 54 yard punt return (Mike Nugent kick).....0.10
........2:45.IOWA Nate Kaeding 36 yard field goal............................3.10
3.......7:54 OSU Donte Whitner 0 yard blocked punt return (Mike Nugent kick) 3 17
4.......14:09 IOWA Nate Kaeding 5 yard run (Nate Kaeding kick)..............10 17
.........3:03 OSU TEAM, BUCKEYES safety.....................................10 19
The offense was bad that day. The Buckeyes ran the ball 42 times for a paltry 56 yards and Craig Krenzel completed 50% of his passes (11-22) for 129 yards. 185 yards total offense. Without digging deeper, I dare say this was the absolute bottom of offensive output for probably three decades***. 2008 USC was close, but OSU managed 207 yards. Anyway, back to the task at hand. This offense was dreadful this day. Iowa was, however, ranked 9th to Ohio State's 8th placed rank at the time. (Youngin's might not remember when you could actually win games by preventing the other team from scoring.)
Well, the game after that one featured the signature Lydell Ross beats the shit out of Indiana and the rest of the offense explode for over 600 yards. So, what was the game before Iowa, 2003? Well, that was at Wisconsin, October 11, 2003. I remember that day. It was my birthday and the Buckeyes weren't exactly clicking on all cylinders. I could have sworn we were one Friend away from having a better RB room. I digress.. anyway, prior to Iowa, #3 Ohio State lost to #23 Wisconsin 17-10. The difference that day was a 79 yard catch by Lee Evans after getting Chris Gamble, if I recall correctly, to bite on a double move. Anyway, the Buckeyes ran the ball 26 times for 69 yards. The passing line for Krenzel: 14-26-202-1-1. There's Ohio State's 1 TD in the two game stretch.
Together we have 2003 Ohio State (10-11 thru 10-18)
Rushing: 98 for 95 yards (47.5/game)
Passing: 25-48 331 1INT 1TD (165.5/game)
Total Offense 426 1 INT 1TD (213/game)
Iowa has the following Stats thus far (not going to game by game this cluster fuck, that for sure)
Rushing: 61 for 115 and 1TD (57.5/game)
Passing: 23-52 for 201 no TD and 2 INTs (100.5/game)
Total Offense: 316 yards 2 INT 1TD (158/game)
The 2003 Buckeyes ended up rated #4 (no, I couldn't believe it either) so maybe Iowa has a chance. I'm kidding, of course. Ohio State's dreadful offense those two weeks came against two very good defenses in a day when defenses actually did matter more. Ohio State played and lost to #23 Wisconsin (a team that later stumbled to a 7-6 finish, to be fair) and beat #9 Iowa (Who'd end the season ranked 8th). 2022 Iowa has played South Dakota State and Iowa State.
*** I remembered there may be one worse, and it was. October 1, 2011- Number 15 Sparty over #17 (Stop laughing, I'm serious, they were ranked 17 at the time) Ohio State by a score of 10 - 7. The Buckeyes were very bad this day. Without a 33 yard strike from Bombs-away Bauserman to Evan Spencer with 10 seconds to go the Buckeyes would have had 145 yards of offense. As it was, they ended up with 178.
Quarter Time Team Description...............................................IOWA OSU
1.......9:56.OSU..Mike Nugent 53 yard field goal.............................0..3
........9:22.OSU..Michael Jenkins 54 yard punt return (Mike Nugent kick).....0.10
........2:45.IOWA Nate Kaeding 36 yard field goal............................3.10
3.......7:54 OSU Donte Whitner 0 yard blocked punt return (Mike Nugent kick) 3 17
4.......14:09 IOWA Nate Kaeding 5 yard run (Nate Kaeding kick)..............10 17
.........3:03 OSU TEAM, BUCKEYES safety.....................................10 19
The offense was bad that day. The Buckeyes ran the ball 42 times for a paltry 56 yards and Craig Krenzel completed 50% of his passes (11-22) for 129 yards. 185 yards total offense. Without digging deeper, I dare say this was the absolute bottom of offensive output for probably three decades***. 2008 USC was close, but OSU managed 207 yards. Anyway, back to the task at hand. This offense was dreadful this day. Iowa was, however, ranked 9th to Ohio State's 8th placed rank at the time. (Youngin's might not remember when you could actually win games by preventing the other team from scoring.)
Well, the game after that one featured the signature Lydell Ross beats the shit out of Indiana and the rest of the offense explode for over 600 yards. So, what was the game before Iowa, 2003? Well, that was at Wisconsin, October 11, 2003. I remember that day. It was my birthday and the Buckeyes weren't exactly clicking on all cylinders. I could have sworn we were one Friend away from having a better RB room. I digress.. anyway, prior to Iowa, #3 Ohio State lost to #23 Wisconsin 17-10. The difference that day was a 79 yard catch by Lee Evans after getting Chris Gamble, if I recall correctly, to bite on a double move. Anyway, the Buckeyes ran the ball 26 times for 69 yards. The passing line for Krenzel: 14-26-202-1-1. There's Ohio State's 1 TD in the two game stretch.
Together we have 2003 Ohio State (10-11 thru 10-18)
Rushing: 98 for 95 yards (47.5/game)
Passing: 25-48 331 1INT 1TD (165.5/game)
Total Offense 426 1 INT 1TD (213/game)
Iowa has the following Stats thus far (not going to game by game this cluster fuck, that for sure)
Rushing: 61 for 115 and 1TD (57.5/game)
Passing: 23-52 for 201 no TD and 2 INTs (100.5/game)
Total Offense: 316 yards 2 INT 1TD (158/game)
The 2003 Buckeyes ended up rated #4 (no, I couldn't believe it either) so maybe Iowa has a chance. I'm kidding, of course. Ohio State's dreadful offense those two weeks came against two very good defenses in a day when defenses actually did matter more. Ohio State played and lost to #23 Wisconsin (a team that later stumbled to a 7-6 finish, to be fair) and beat #9 Iowa (Who'd end the season ranked 8th). 2022 Iowa has played South Dakota State and Iowa State.
*** I remembered there may be one worse, and it was. October 1, 2011- Number 15 Sparty over #17 (Stop laughing, I'm serious, they were ranked 17 at the time) Ohio State by a score of 10 - 7. The Buckeyes were very bad this day. Without a 33 yard strike from Bombs-away Bauserman to Evan Spencer with 10 seconds to go the Buckeyes would have had 145 yards of offense. As it was, they ended up with 178.
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Abenaki
Ohio against the world.
Tangentially related, but I had a friend complaining at halftime of Arkansas State about the offense. I said this crazy how things have changed because 15-20 years ago 300 yards of offense and a 24-9 score would have been the final for that game, not the halftime box score. I think this supports that statement.
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You may have blocked out the memory, but on January 8, 2007, Tressel's offense produced a grand total of 82 yards, which was 11 yards less than Ted Ginn's opening KO return.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2007-01-08-florida.html
EDIT: Another one that came to mind was the road trip to NC State in 2004 when we needed Mike Nugent to score 16 points to escape with a W.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2004-09-18-north-carolina-state.html
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You must be mistaken. I'm positive the Buckeyes did not play any game in January of 2007. At least none in my memory.
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LovelandBuckeye
You never lose to those pricks. Ever. Ever. - UFM
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