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Game Thread THE GAME: #1 Ohio State 42, #2 Michigan 39 (11/18/06)

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Buckeyes, Wolverines light up Horseshoe scoreboard


By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com
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COLUMBUS, Ohio. -- The next time someone tells you that defense wins championships, sit him down and tell him about the offensive orgy staged in The Horseshoe on Saturday.
Tell him about how No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan gave their defenses the day off, about how the two most traditional powers in the smashmouth Big Ten Conference did their best impersonations of the old Western Athletic Conference shootouts where no scoreboard was safe.
Tell him how Ohio State earned the chance to play for its second national championship in five seasons. And then tell him again, because he won't believe you the first time.
Ohio State outscored Michigan, 42-39, in a battle of unbeatens who didn't get there playing defense like this. But the Buckeyes will get to the BCS Championship Game on Jan. 8, having played like this. They will take with them a 19-game winning streak and a faith in each other that allowed them to overcome three second-half turnovers.





The Buckeyes clinched their plans for Jan. 8, and quarterback Troy Smith clinched his plans for Dec. 9. That's the night the Heisman Trophy will be awarded in New York to the Ohio State senior. He made sure of that by throwing for 316 yards and four touchdowns Saturday.
"It had the implications of a huge game," Smith said, "but the national championship is something different than this. This is The Ohio State University-University of Michigan game, the biggest game in college football, and today the best team won."
In the first Ohio State-Michigan game played without Bo Schembechler since 1968, the Buckeyes scored the most points they have scored against the Wolverines since ? 1968, when Ohio State won, 50-14.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said he refused to use Bo Schembechler's sudden death Friday for the Wolverines because it would "dishonor him. I simply told them the way we could honor him is to coach and play in a way that would have made him proud."
Michigan pushed its archrival harder than Ohio State had been pushed all season. But the Wolverines didn't play defense the way Schembechler coached in the Ten Year War. The truth is, neither team did.
The two best teams in the country met at Ohio Stadium in a rivalry that invented three yards and a cloud of dust, and they combined for 900 yards of offense and 81 points. The Buckeyes and Wolverines put on a Rocky Balboa-Apollo Creed show before 105,708 fans, the largest crowd in the history of this grand old hulk of concrete.
Six different Buckeyes scored a touchdown, the same number of touchdowns, by the way, that the Wolverines had allowed in seven previous Big Ten games.
"No, I never expected that to happen," Michigan defensive end LaMarr Woodley said.
Ohio State needed every one of those scores, for the lead was not safe until Ted Ginn Jr. cuddled an onside kick with just over two minutes to play. When it was over, Ohio State center Doug Datish, who took responsibility for two errant shotgun snaps that resulted in turnovers, said, "This is the most fun I've ever had playing a football game in my life."
On the other hand, Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, said, "A win is a win. We'll probably be sick to our stomachs watching the film. But we're going to the national championship."







The Michigan defense came into the game allowing only 29.9 rushing yards per game. Ohio State rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns. The Wolverines hadn't allowed a run longer than 25 yards. In the second quarter, freshman Chris Wells ran up the middle for a 52-yard touchdown. In the third quarter, junior Antonio Pittman ran up the middle 56 yards for a score.
Wells took a handoff from Smith and collided with linebacker Prescott Burgess. Wells spun away from him, looked downfield, "and it was daylight," he said with a big grin.
The same thing happened to the Ohio State defense. The Buckeyes had allowed three rushing touchdowns all season, and they allowed three Saturday to Michigan junior Mike Hart. He finished with 142 yards on 23 carries.
"Our defensive coordinator [Jim Heacock] had prepared us," Buckeye senior defensive end Jay Richardson said. "He told us, 'They are going to put up points.' You had a whole lot of playmakers out there, a lot of great talent."
Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said he attempted to spread the field and give Smith as many as five receivers in the belief that he could get rid of the ball faster than even a fast Michigan front four could get to him.
"When you got a guy like Troy, a legitimate Heisman guy, you got to use him," Bollman said. "No one had really run the ball on these guys all year. Half the games they were minus-yards rushing. It wasn't like you were going to come out there and all of a sudden ram it down their throats. That would have been kind of foolish."
The strategy turned Smith into a heavy bag for the Wolverine defense on a lot of plays. He not only survived, he thrived.
"I've said for however many years we've been talking about Troy that his number one quality is his toughness," Tressel said.
"There's no way that I can get into a situation where I feel as if my legs hurt, my knee is hurt, my elbow is hurt and limp up or act like something is wrong with my body," Smith said, "because I've been in stuations where I've seen scout-team players constantly beat their bodies up, play after play, so I could never shortchange any of my teammates."
It was obvious right away that this game wouldn't be low-scoring. Michigan took the opening kickoff and went 80 yards in seven plays for a touchdown. Ohio State responded by going 69 yards in 14 plays to tie the score.



When Michigan closed the deficit to 21-14 on Chad Henne's pass to Adrian Arrington with only 2:33 left in the second quarter, Smith directed a Peytonesque two-minute drive, throwing an eight-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Gonzalez with :20 to spare. Smith completed four passes to Gonzalez, his go-to guy all season, on the drive. That's worth noting because a) he had not attempted a pass to Gonzalez in the first 27 minutes of the game, and b) he didn't complete another one to him in the rest of the game.
"We were winning," Gonzalez said. "Who cares how many balls you catch?"
That mirrored the mentality of the Ohio State defense, which sacked Henne four times but still allowed him to complete 21 of 35 passes for 267 yards. Henne's last two passes, a 16-yard touchdown to Tyler Ecker and a two-point conversion to Steve Breaston, pulled Michigan within a field goal with 2:16 to play.
But Ginn recovered the onside kick, and the Buckeyes ran out the clock.
"It was tough," defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock said. "As a defense -- the offense was doing well -- we thought we could get ahead of them and get some pressure. ? We knew Mike Hart was going to be the best back we faced. If you give him an opening, he's going to take it. They are a great team. He's a great back. He was breaking tackles left and right. What can you say?"
You can say that you're going to the BCS Championship Game, that the seniors earned their third consecutive pair of golden pants, the charm awarded to Ohio State players who beat Michigan. You can say that you clinched their first outright Big Ten championship since 1984.
When Tressel made that point in the news conference after the game, Pitcock elbowed his fellow co-captain Datish, held up one finger and said, "I was one year old."
A lot of Buckeyes weren't alive in 1984. They may live a long time before they see a game like this again.

Ivan Maisel is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Send your questions and comments to Ivan at [email protected].


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Ozone pics.

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Strike a pose

Smith secures Heisman as unbeatable Bucks prevail

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Despite what the lopsided scores week after week may have indicated, Brian Hartline revealed Saturday that his team was never quite as sure of its No. 1 ranking as perhaps many of its fans were. "There was not one game we didn't go into a little nervous," said Ohio State's redshirt freshman receiver. "We always felt a little bit better by halftime once we got out to a lead."
Saturday, in college football's Game of the (21st) Century, the top-ranked Buckeyes and No. 2 Michigan supplied their fans and the rest of the nation with all the suspense and momentum swings they'd withheld from us all season. Not until Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman carried the ball one last time to eat away the final seconds of an unexpectedly fast-paced, back-and-forth 42-39 Buckeyes' victory could Hartline and his teammates take a deep breath and celebrate a regular season's worth of work successfully completed.
Ohio State -- the team that lost five first-round draft picks and had to replace nine defensive starters, the team that had to visit the defending national champion in its second game of the season -- is 12-0 and headed to the BCS Title Game on Jan. 8, 2007. Though as a cloth sign hanging from the end-zone bleachers nearest the Buckeyes' locker room indicated, the true national championship may have been played on "11-18-06."
"Everyone told them beginning that spring that we couldn't be a great team because we lost so many great players," OSU coach Jim Tressel said afterward. "It's really amazing."
The 2006 Buckeyes are indeed a great team -- No. 1 from start to finish this regular season -- in large part because of a particularly great player. In his finest big-game performance yet, soon-to-be Heisman winner Troy Smith helped his team produce an astounding 503 yards of offense against the nation's third-ranked defense. And he did it the way he knows best: By involving his teammates.
Not only did Smith complete 29 of 41 passes Saturday for 316 yards, four touchdowns and one tipped interception, but he completed them to a staggering eight different receivers. Primarily lining up in the shotgun with as many as four or five receivers, Smith did a masterful job of spreading the field and keeping the Wolverines off balance with an array of screens, short passes and downfield throws to the likes of Ted Ginn Jr. (eight catches, 104 yards), Brian Robiskie (seven for 89) and Anthony Gonzalez (four for 50).
Ohio State center Doug Datish was in mid-sentence at the podium when Smith walked into the Buckeyes' post-game news conference sporting a smile as wide as the Olentangy River. Over the next 15 minutes, he would offer his standard fare of selfless, team-first comments, declining to take the bait when asked if he'd just clinched the Heisman (duh) and politely evading the subject of whether OSU's offense is unstoppable -- but the smile never once left his face.
"I was downstairs [in the locker room] with my teammates and the overall feeling is unparalleled," said the quarterback. "You wouldn't be able to understand it unless you ran the gasses that we ran, ran the hills that we've ran, pushed the sleds that we've pushed. When that heat and that sun is beating down your back in the summer ... I love every single one of my teammates with the deepest passion you can probably have for another person."
And they love him right back.
It may sound cheesy, but Smith, a fifth-year senior, is the prototypical leader that makes his teammates better, and never was that more evident than Saturday. The Wolverines may have as many as four future first-round picks on their defense. On another team with another quarterback, a Brian Robiskie or Brian Hartline might not ever get open against a Leon Hall or a David Harris. But with Smith under center, possessing the threat to run at any moment, making the exact right decision on 40 of 41 pass attempts, Robiskie, Hartline, Gonzalez and everyone else on the Buckeyes' offense help form a near-perfect machine.
"We can't win without Troy," said Hartline.
Saturday's game marked the coronation (at least until Jan. 8) of Smith's remarkable transformation over the past 14 months from unsure (and recently suspended) platoon player to impeccable leader of the nation's No. 1 team. Much like Texas' Vince Young did last year following the graduation of stars Cedric Benson and Derrick Johnson, Smith put this team on his shoulders in the offseason and steered it through what should have been a much bumpier transition after the losses of Santonio Holmes, A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and the like.
The unabashed respect he garners among the Buckeyes was never more evident than during the second half Saturday, when Smith (who did the majority of his damage in the first half) and the offense struggled to two three-and-outs and three turnovers on its first six series (a 56-yard Pittman touchdown run was the lone success).
"I was pissed. I felt we weren't playing to our ability," said Smith. "Constantly I was reminded by my teammates that, 'We follow you.' And that meant everything in the world to me. No one on the sideline was going to let me be down for even a second."
Midway through the fourth quarter, the game still hung in the balance. Michigan had cut a one-time 14-point deficit to 35-31 due in part to Smith's interception and OSU's two lost fumbles on the botched snaps as well as some hard running by Michigan's Mike Hart (who ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries) and the admirable composure of Wolverines QB Chad Henne (21-of-35, 267 yards, two TDs, 0 INTS).
That's when Smith rebounded from a shaky quarter-and-a-half to do what he does best, calmly leading his team on an 11-play, 83-yard scoring drive (helped by a costly Shawn Crable personal foul for hitting Smith in the helmet while chasing him to the sideline). The drive was capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass in which Smith waited patiently in the pocket, saw Robiskie change his route to a curl and hit him to the far left of the end zone.
Henne would come back to lead his own last-minute touchdown drive, but when the Wolverines failed to recover the onsides kick with just over two minutes remaining, 105,708 fans in the Horseshoe could officially begin counting down to Glendale. Smith and the Buckeyes, however, downplayed talk of the title game, preferring to reflect on what they'd just accomplished.
"For five years, I sat in our team meeting room, through countless hours of meetings, looking around at the different signs on the walls," said Smith. "You always end up looking at a sign in the right-hand corner that says 'Outright Big Ten Championships,' and the last one was 1984. That's the year I was born!"
As he danced out of the room after the last questions had been answered, Smith again shouted his new favorite expression: "Outright Big Ten champs!"
The mood was obviously decidedly different in the visitor's locker room, where the Wolverines had lost not only the game and the conference championship, but, a little more than 24 hours earlier, their beloved patriarch. Head coach Lloyd Carr choked up when talking about having to deliver the news of his mentor Bo Schembechler's death to the team just before it left Ann Arbor on Friday.
Carr also revealed just how delicate the legendary coach's health had been, saying he tried to talk Schembechler out of addressing the team Thursday because "he was having a hard time breathing." He'd apparently had that problem ever since the procedure he'd undergone following another heart episode on Oct. 20.
"[Schembechler's passing] had nothing to do with what happened today," said Carr. "I mean, it was part of the weekend, but we lost to a better team today."
Hart wasn't in as congratulatory a mood afterward. In an uncharacteristic expression of his frustration, the Wolverines' star running back said, "They [OSU's defense] are not as good as people thought," and that, "I guarantee if we play them again it would be a whole different game."
Whether he'll get that chance still seems unlikely. On the one hand, if the Buckeyes are indeed the nation's best team this season, Michigan certainly made a strong case they're not far behind with the 42-39 score. On the other hand, after watching the Wolverines give up more than 500 yards, it would be nice to see whether somebody else's defense would fare better against OSU.
Then again, it may be that the defense doesn't matter. Michigan had shown no signs all season of being vulnerable to such an outburst. But, with the exception of one sluggish performance against Illinois, Ohio State's offense has shown no signs of weakness, either.
The Buckeyes' balance is scary (in addition to the passing game, Pittman and Chris Wells combined for 195 yards and a pair of long touchdowns on 23 carries) and their weapons are seemingly endless.
But most of all, their quarterback is second to none.
"He's the best player in college football," said Tressel. "Did he clinch the Heisman Trophy? I don't think there'd be any question about that."
Just as there can't be much question anymore as to the nation's No. 1 team. No need waiting until January to figure that one out.
 
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11/19/2006 01:10:00 AM
Ohio State-Michigan: The Aftermath


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Today was without question the most draining experience I?ve had covering a game. There was just so much that transpired and so much to process over the course of that game, there was no way to even start writing about it until after we?d finished with postgame interviews and then, even after I?d filed my story, there was still so much to think about in terms of the ramifications.

Going into the game, I was pretty adamantly opposed to the idea of an Ohio State-Michigan national championship rematch. Needless to say, I?m softening to it. If you know of another team out there that would have played the Buckeyes any tougher than the Wolverines did today, please, I?m all ears. While I will certainly go into the final two weeks of the season with an open mind, at this point, I still believe they?re the two best teams.

USC and/or SEC backers will undoubtedly try to deride Michigan?s defense, but to me that?s ridiculous. If the Wolverines truly had even a mediocre defense, it would have been exposed before its 12th game. While the Wolverines? D certainly could have played better, the Buckeyes? high score and yardage was much more a byproduct of Troy Smith and the rest of OSU?s offensive weapons than any defensive inadequacies by Michigan.

Now, does that mean Michigan should go to Glendale? That?s a different issue altogether. As I said in the Power Rankings last week, the team I think is the best (or in this case second-best) and the team who?s most deserving aren?t necessarily the same. While I do think OSU and Michigan are Nos. 1 and 2, the fact is this: if USC finishes the season 11-1 with wins over SEC West champion Arkansas, Big 12 North champion Nebraska, 10-1 Notre Dame and 8-3 Cal, the Trojans would be more deserving of the title spot than Michigan, which beat Notre Dame, Wisconsin and ?. You could make a similarly reasonable case for either Florida or Arkansas if they were to finish 12-1.

Which is why the pollsters who actually have a say in the BCS (coaches and Harris) have a very tough decision ahead of them. Do they keep Michigan No. 2 if in fact they believe the Wolverines are the second-best team? That would basically mean they?d be manipulating the system in a way that?s never done before (throughout history, when a team loses, no matter to who, they drop). But then again, if they know their vote is helping to determine the national-title matchup, and they?re sure those are the two best teams, then it?s fully within their right.

My point all along ? and it didn?t change with Saturday?s outcome ? is that we don?t really know Ohio State and Michigan are the two best teams. It?s just an opinion. The only way to find out for sure would be to let someone else take a shot at the Buckeyes. Get ready for a long two weeks of debate.

I do have thoughts about Saturday?s other action, but I?ve got to be honest, it?s 1 a.m. and I?m completely fried. I?ll save that for tomorrow.
posted by Stewart Mandel | View comments | Add a comment


11/18/2006 05:34:00 PM
Ohio State-Michigan Halftime Observations



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Troy Smith absolutely tore apart Michigan's secondary in the first half.
AP


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Wow. If you were worried Ohio State-Michigan wouldn?t live up to the hype, you can put that to rest. The first half contained so many twists and turns, big plays and momentum changes, I?ve had to re-write this Blog entry about five times. And while I could have imagined a back-and-forth game, never would have I anticipated such an offensive explosion by both sides.

As it stands now, however, Ohio State is right on the brink of putting this thing away. And that?s a direct result of Troy Smith delivering one of the greatest big-game performances I?ve ever seen.

Smith, who?s completed 21 of 26 throws for 241 yards and three touchdowns, is picking apart one of the nation?s stingiest defenses as easily he did Texas?, Iowa?s or anybody else?s. The defining sequence came on the series that put the Buckeyes up 21-7, with Smith first spinning away from pressure and delivering a downfield strike that Brian Robiskie turned into a 40-yard gain, then executing a brilliant, ball-hide play-fake on his 39-yard touchdown strike to Ted Ginn Jr.

I?ve really liked Ohio State?s play-calling. Showing obvious respect for Michigan?s ability to stuff the run, the Buckeyes have barely tried (though Chris Wells certainly made the most of his one carry), instead lining up Smith in the shotgun, spreading out as many as five receivers and throwing a lot of quick passes and screens. The result: Smith has already thrown for nearly as many yards (241) as any opposing quarterback has against Michigan all season (Drew Stanton?s 252 yards leads the pack).

On the flip side, Chad Henne couldn?t have looked more brilliant on Michigan?s opening series (4-for-4 for 67 yards, including two long passes to Mario Manningham in which he checked off at the line) and on its final offensive play (a 37-yard touchdown to Adrian Arrington), but really struggled in between. He made a huge mistake on Michigan?s second series, overthrowing a wide-open Manningham deep down the sideline on what would have been an easy touchdown.

If he converts that, Michigan goes up 14-7, and maybe this is a different game. As it is, Henne struggled to handle Ohio State?s pressure and, if not for a pass interference call on OSU?s Malcolm Jenkins shortly before the Arrington touchdown, this game might already be over.

As it is, OSU?s 80-yard touchdown just before the half was a dagger, especially considering it gets the ball back to start the second half. Michigan is either going to need to make some major adjustments to slow down Smith or gain some turnovers if it hopes to have a chance of coming back.

One other note: Ohio State installed a new sod field just three weeks before this game (the second time this season it?s had to tear up its entire playing surface), and it shows. Several Michigan players have slipped on key plays (defensive Rondell Biggs while rushing Smith on his 27-yard third-down pass to Roy Hall and Manningham while attempting to catch a first-down throw), and you can already see huge divots in certain portions of the field.
posted by Stewart Mandel | View comments | Add a comment


11/18/2006 01:48:00 PM
Live from Columbus



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There is a different feel in the air today for the Ohio State-Michigan clash.
AP


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It?s game day, baby.

Greetings from the cavernous press box at The Horseshoe. I hope you understand, but I will not be doing my usual all-day Saturday observations on the college football scene today (at least not until the end of the night). My attention is focused almost entirely on one game.

As a journalist, I?m supposed to be jaded toward just about anything, but I definitely woke up with an extra pep in my step today. Perhaps it?s because of growing up in this part of the country that today?s game truly feels bigger to me than if any other two teams were playing a 1 vs. 2, season-ending showdown. It?s not that I grew up an Ohio State or Michigan fan. Quite the contrary: I was a Xavier fan (undefeated in football since 1971). But just as you can?t escape the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry in New York or Boston, you can?t grow up in the Midwest, not to mention attend a Big Ten school, not feel a special affinity toward Ohio State-Michigan.

I?m not old enough to remember too far back, but I will quickly offer my three favorite OSU-Michigan memories.

1) 1995: I was a sophomore at Northwestern and the Wildcats needed a Michigan upset of 11-0 Ohio State to get their improbable Rose Bowl berth. Most of my friends had already accepted that they?d be going to the Citrus Bowl, but I kept telling them: You watch ? John Cooper always loses to Michigan. Sure enough, Tim Biakabatuka ran for 300-plus yards, the Wolverines pulled the upset and I spent the rest of that frantic day making arrangements to get to Pasadena.

2) 1997: In terms of the game itself, this was the most intense I remember. Michigan was 10-0 and needed a win to remain in national championship contention. Ohio State was 9-1. It was a classic, gray day in Ann Arbor. David Boston and Charles Woodson jawed at each other all day long. Just a fantastic game.

3) 2002: This was the first OSU-Michigan game I covered for SI.com, here in Columbus. The Maurice Clarett-led Buckeyes were 12-0 and one win away from the Fiesta Bowl. At the end of the game, with the Buckeyes up 12-7, I was standing behind the end zone Michigan was driving toward and remember seeing everyone around me holding their breath as John Navarre?s last-gasp pass to the end zone fell just short. And then I remember the cops pepper spraying everybody.

Anyway, the weather has turned out to be perfect. It?s a tad cold but clear. From what I could tell on the way over, fans from both sides seemed to be behaving themselves. This is going to be pretty freaking awesome. Let?s just hope it lives up to the hype. You know Bo will be watching.
posted by Stewart Mandel | View comments | Add a comment
 
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Dispatch

OHIO STATE 42 MICHIGAN 39
Still perfect
Emotions high after undefeated OSU beats rival, but few reports of disturbances

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Brenda Jackson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Buckeyes fans pour onto the field ? but stay away from the goalposts ? at the Horseshoe after Ohio State?s victory over the University of Michigan.


As the last 25 seconds ticked off the clock, the Buckeye faithful streamed down the steps of Ohio Stadium.
Fists pumping in the air, the thousands of jubilant fans swarmed the football field, reveling in a perfect regular season that culminated in a 42-39 Ohio State victory yesterday over No. 2-ranked Michigan.
"This game lived up to its billing; it was the best damn game of the year. Forget that, the century," shouted Mark Brown, 45, of the Near East Side, as he danced in a circle on the field.
The win, OSU?s fifth against the Wolverines in Jim Tressel?s six seasons as head coach, sends Ohio State to the Bowl Championship Series national title game, scheduled for Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
The opponent for the Buckeyes (12-0) will be determined over the next two weekends. Among the contenders are Southern California, Florida, Notre Dame and even Michigan. The BCS pairings will be announced on Dec. 3.
Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith collected his third win over Michigan as OSU?s starter. He completed 29 of 41 passes for 316 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception. Running back Antonio Pittman raced for a 56-yard touchdown in the third quarter and totaled 139 yards on 18 carries as OSU rolled up 503 yards against the Wolverines vaunted defense.
But victory was anything but easy for the Buckeyes.
Michigan (12-1) trailed by 14 points at halftime and by 11 points twice in the second half but continued to rally, closing to 42-39 with 2:16 remaining. But Ohio State ran out the clock to finish off one of the most tense games in the history of the series.
Afterward, relieved Buckeyes whooped, hollered and grabbed friends and loved ones to hoist them onto their shoulders. Others cried.
Unlike the game in 2002, when an undefeated Buckeye team beat Michigan, no wouldbe vandals tried to tear down the goal posts. But then, they were well-protected by lawenforcement officers, who formed a triangle around the greased-down posts and allowed fans to celebrate on the rest of the field.
University officials estimate as many as 15,000 people rushed the field. Another 40,000 to 50,000 people without tickets to get inside the stadium watched the game from the stadium parking lot on TVs in RVs and at tailgate parties. OSU officials said it was double the typical crowd for outside the stadium.
Though officers were prepared for the worst, they said most fans who rushed the field were intent on savoring the victory and capturing the moment as they snapped photos on the field.
"I was very happy about that," said Chief Deputy Steve Martin of the Franklin County sheriff?s office.
A few fans captured that memory by ripping up pieces of Ohio Stadium turf. Some flung the grass at friends. Others stuffed the soggy sod into their pockets.
"Proof I was here," said Jim Mathews, 39, of the West Side, patting his bulging pocket.
Nick Davis, an OSU sophomore, also grabbed a chunk of sod from the field, with the intention of planting it in his yard in Dover, Ohio.
"It?s got a little bit of red paint in there," he said. "I think it?s from the ?S.? "
"It?s like shock and awe, baby," said Todd Packer, 48, of Hilliard waving a sign that read "Another Buckeye Championship." "Let the partying begin."
Disappointed by their loss, two Wolverine fans assessed the game while lingering in the stands.
"That wasn?t No. 2 vs. No. 1," one man said. "Did you see how we played? "
"You?re right. To have a game that close, it was No. 1 vs. No. 1."
Perhaps the game was destiny. Last night?s Pick 4 number in the Ohio Lottery was 4239, the exact numbers of the final score.
East of the stadium, fans near campus who weren?t in the Horseshoe for the game but watched it on television in bars and restaurants spilled onto N. High Street as the game ended.
Columbus police officers eventually formed a barricade in one lane to protect pedestrians who were dancing into the bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Some problems around High Street and Lane Avenue, including some fights between Ohio State and Michigan fans, were reported. There was a call for a medic to help a woman who was knocked down and unconscious.
But police and firefighters said most disturbances were quelled quickly.
Hundreds of partiers near the stadium stopped to admire a carved pumpkin with the faces of legendary OSU and Michigan coaches Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, who died Friday.
Under the faces were the carved words: "Respect the best."
In the south-campus area, minor fires and other problems were reported.
Police stopped one car fire before it began at E. 12 th Avenue and Summit Street. Firefighters were called to a few dozen small blazes in trash bins and Dumpsters.
Police also were called to Chittenden Avenue when residents threw a big-screen TV off a balcony.
But for the most part, the biggest issue in the first hours after the game was traffic control, officers said.
Marla Best wasn?t the least bit concerned as she left Eddie George?s Grille 27 with her sons, Marlon, 15, and Malon, 12, and her nephew, Aidan Hudson, 3, to walk down High.
"It was a great experience for them. They got a lot of highfives and a lot of positive attention," said Best, who drove from Cleveland to enjoy the big-game atmosphere on campus.
The trip had an impact on Malon.
"Troy Smith is going to win the Heisman," he said. "I?m going to college at Ohio State."
Rich Hollingsworth, vice president for student affairs at Ohio State, was outside the Ohio Union about 10 p.m. He was joining some OSU colleagues who planned to roam the campus-area neighborhoods on foot throughout the night.
He said he was happy with the way things were going around campus early in the evening.
"It was a great game and people had a great time, and there was a good festive mood afterward," he said.
Hollingsworth said he was optimistic that things would be OK, but also said, "The night?s still young."
As he walked around campus, N. High Street remained clogged with traffic and lines spilled outside restaurants and bars, but for the most part problems were minimal.
The police presence, however, was huge, with officers patrolling in cruisers and on horseback, foot and bike. Columbus police refused to say last night how many officers were working. When the campus erupted into riots after the Ohio State win over Michigan in 2002, at least 250 officers were called out.
Last night, officers remained on duty after 11 and most said they were planning to work until at least 4 a.m.
In 2002, many were sent home at 11 p.m., before most problems occurred.
Police last night set up giant spotlights on Chittenden, Indianola and 13 th avenues, lighting up those areas to discourage troublemakers.
Police also created a mobile command center at 11 th and Worthington avenues to process any arrests and keep an eye on the campus.
As of 12:30 a.m. today, 32 people, handcuffed with flexible plastic cuffs, had been arrested. Most were for misdemeanor charges; two were felonies.
Before the game, Franklin County deputies arrested about 50 underage drinkers along Lane Avenue, Chief Deputy Martin said.
Tow trucks also remained out early this morning to take away any cars that were parked on one of the six streets that were banned to vehicles until early this morning.
Before the game yesterday, Kevin Kerr wore his Michigan shirt proudly as he walked north through a sea of fans clad in scarlet and gray on N. High Street.
Kerr, 22, a University of Michigan senior from Ann Arbor, said he was hit with two full beers and six eggs before reaching the 17 th Avenue intersection.
"I was expecting it," Kerr said.
But he said he never really felt in danger.
"I felt like a celebrity."
Despite also being dressed in full Michigan garb, Dan Miller didn?t take as much abuse. But then again, it was hard to insult Miller; he was ringing a bell for the Salvation Army at High and Lane.
Miller said he heard some cursing and teasing, but it was minimal.
And the friendly competition brought some money for the charity: Miller agreed to sing the Ohio State fight song for anyone who would give him a $10 donation.
The win brought all kinds of business to the campus area.
The Columbus Tattoo Company, at 8 E. 13 th Ave., completed seven OSU-related tattoos in the first two hours after the game, artists Tony Rossetti and Maura Cole said.
"Most of the them were block O?s, but some people wanted something smaller, like buckeyes," Cole said.
The game appeared on seven large theater screens at the Drexel Gateway in south campus, with the two largest rooms filled with fans.
But not everyone was there for the game. In another theater at the Drexel, three people were seated for the 6:45 p.m. start of Casino Royale, and one of them, a young man wearing an OSU baseball cap over his face and a Troy Smith jersey, looked asleep. After the game, only two people were watching the latest James Bond film.
The rave reviews were reserved for the Buckeyes.
Dispatch reporters Matthew Marx, Encarnacion Pyle, Ray Stein, Robert Vitale and Jim Woods contributed to this story.
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They laughed and they cried, and in the end, they celebrated

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Todd Jones
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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The signs and symbols of an OSU win are everywhere along N. High Street after the big game.

The veins in his neck look like ropes. His face burns with rage under a weathered Ohio State cap. "Hey, line judge, that?s holding! Holding!" the man in the front row screams. The Game is all of two minutes old. Michigan has scored. Anger fills the air. Moments later, the Buckeyes tie the score. Another face, this one aglow, lights up. People jump for joy. "Way to go, Buckeyes!" a fan yells into a white plastic megaphone.
They waited six weeks for this football game, the most anticipated of the 103 played between these bitter rivals.
Six minutes into the action, fans in the stands already look wrung-out.
White towels swirl throughout the Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 105,708. Everyone is strapped into a carnival ride of agony and ecstasy.
Ohio State is 11-0 and ranked No. 1. Michigan is 11-0 and ranked No. 2.
They?re smashing into one another on a field of screams. Noise fills the cement canyon, a chaotic scene so different from a few hours earlier, when all was quiet on the Columbus front.
"What do you think about Bo?" an Ohio State assistant equipment manager asks.
A ghost hovers over The Game. Bo Schembechler, an Ohio native and a legendary Michigan coach, died Friday at age 77 of heart failure.
The Ohio State locker room is serene, solemn, empty except for a few student workers scurrying across the scarlet and gray carpet. They?re hanging jerseys in the Buckeyes? red, metal lockers.
On the wall is a clock. "Beat Michigan" it says on the bottom. The red digits count down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to kickoff for the day?s Big Ten finale.
A piece of paper is taped on the hallway wall. It?s a list of OSU players? quotes for "Our Greatest Challenge in 2006."
"Beating Michigan for 3 rd straight year," reads the one from Dionte Johnson.
Kickoff is six hours away. Outside the near-empty stadium, hints of blue crack through the morning clouds. Fans flow across the campus. They have have a bounce in their step, but their faces look tired, as if no one has slept. Tired and excited, too, like kids on Christmas morning.
Noise rises up to row 41 of C deck on the north end of Ohio Stadium.
Down below, at the south end, sits a blue and gold semitruck with Michigan equipment. People walk by, gazing in disgust. They?re carrying signs, smoking cigars, tossing footballs, toting 12-packs of beer.
A man stands on the muddy grass, playing a trombone. The crowd sings along: We Don?t Give a Damn for The Whole State of Michigan.
There are old men with canes, a woman in a wheelchair, a student with a mohawk haircut. Children are on fathers? shoulders, high up, where the smell and smoke of tailgate grills swirl.
People line up outside St. John Arena, awaiting the skull session pep rally.
Music rocks through the old gymnasium. Every seat filled, all ears tuned to the Ohio State band.
Outside, a few thousand fans have lined up near the Blackwell Hotel to see the OSU players emerge, and here they come. They?re decked out in dark suits, heading to the skull session. A grown man has tears in his eyes.
The fans? faces change from joy to horror 20 minutes later. A police escort guides five buses carrying Michigan players, coaches and officials down Woody Hayes Drive through a gantlet of boos, middle fingers and upside-down thumbs.
The boos continue inside Ohio Stadium, nearly full for pre-game warm-ups. The sound drowns out the Michigan band?s rendition of Hail to the Victors.
Now, cheers ring out. The OSU band high-steps onto the field, sweat dripping down the musicians? faces. They sternly march through Script Ohio and then, silence ? throughout the stadium.
A video tribute to Schembechler plays on the scoreboard. For a moment, the rivalry?s inherent respect rules.
Michigan players look confused, upset. They?re staring up at the video board in the second quarter, having just surrendered a 39-yard touchdown pass from Troy Smith to Ted Ginn. OSU leads 21-7.
The visitors? despair evaporates midway through the third quarter. Now, Ohio State fans look stunned. Some are glum. Some nervously wipe their chin. Others shake their heads. A few mutter in disbelief, their Buckeyes? lead cut to 28-24.
A gaggle of former OSU players strolls along the team?s bench. Eddie George, Mike Doss, Mike Wiley and others are now cheerleaders.
The game rolls with waves of momentum. Even the State Highway Patrol troopers on the field are caught up in the action. One takes a photo.
Both bands blare their fight songs. Both teams keep slugging.
It sounds like an airport tarmac on the field. You can?t hear the person next to you speak.
The OSU band director stands on a stepladder, holding a bullhorn.
"Do not rush the field," he yells to his musicians.
Pandemonium reigns throughout the old Horseshoe.
"Three . . . Two . . . One," the crowd chants along with the scoreboard clock.
Game over. Ohio State 42, Michigan 39. A game for the ages.
Fans climb over metal railings and dash onto the chewed-up turf. They?re wildeyed, adrenaline pumping, arms thrust into the air.
The Buckeyes have won their first outright Big Ten championship since 1984, and their third straight game over Michigan. OSU coach Jim Tressel is 5-1 against the Wolverines, one win from a second national championship in five seasons. He?s standing with his team and fans. They sing Carmen Ohio in the chilly night air. "Look at that," says fan Ryan Gale, an OSU senior. He points to the south stands? giant scoreboard. "It doesn?t get more beautiful than that," he says. [email protected]
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To the victors go the spoils

Sunday, November 19, 2006

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Ohio State fans, many of whom took pieces of sod as souvenirs, celebrate on the field after the Buckeyes? win over Michigan at the Horseshoe. The playing surface had been resodded twice this season. The field was replaced in late September, but above-average rainfall in October and damage from frosts and wear and tear took a toll, and the field was resurfaced again this month.
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Dash to the desert
Ohio State wins Game, lands spot in national title game

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Troy Smith fumbles a snap from center that Michigan recovered. The OSU quarterback lost two fumbles on snaps from center Doug Datish.
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Chris "Beanie" Wells breaks loose for a 52-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.


What was a tunnel of pride on the way out yesterday became a tunnel of triumph on the way back.
Before their game with Michigan, Ohio State players ran through the traditional "tunnel of pride," a double line of former players who gather for the last home game of every season.
Moments after their 42-39 victory over Michigan, the Buckeyes fought their way through the frenzy of fans who swirled around the Ohio Stadium field.
As players trotted up the tunnel to the locker room, people pawed at their uniforms, held up cell phones to take pictures and screamed in joy.
Just inside the tunnel, receiver Ted Ginn Jr. did a pull-up on an overhead bar, trying to see above the crowd and find a teammate in the din.
They wanted to be together to enjoy this moment that meant so much:
It was a win over their archrivals, their fifth in six years. An outright Big Ten championship, Ohio State?s first since 1984.
A trip to the national championship game Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz., their second in five years.
A successful defense of their No. 1 ranking against a No. 2 team, the second time this season they did it.
The Buckeyes are 12-0 and finished 8-0 in the Big Ten. They extended their win streak to 19, longest in the country.
Quarterback Troy Smith said he was at a loss for words, but what he said next was as eloquent as anything else he has ever said.
"The feeling is unparalleled," he said, with a silly, dazed grin. "You wouldn?t be able to understand it unless you ran the gassers we ran, ran the hills we ran, pushed the sleds. When that heat and sun is beating down on your back in the summer, the commitment and the focus.
"Words can?t express what I feel right now. I?ll probably be wearing my smile for the rest of this week. I love every single one of my teammates with the deepest passion you can possibly have for another person."
It was a shocking offensive explosion, as both teams shredded heretofore vaunted defenses.
The teams combined for 81 points and 890 yards against units that came in ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring (Ohio State at 7.8 points per game) and No. 1 against the run (Michigan at 29.9).
Ohio State racked up 503 yards, including 187 rushing.
"I never expected that to happen," Wolverines defensive end LaMarr Woodley said.
Smith likely locked up the Heisman Trophy with a 316-yard, four-touchdown performance. It was his third career 300-yard game, two of which have come against the Wolverines. He is 25-2 as a starter (15-0 at home) and broke the school record for TD passes in a season with 30.
"I would think he clinched the Heisman, I don?t think there?d be any question about that," said coach Jim Tressel, who improved to 5-1 against Michigan.
Smith?s four TDs went to four receivers. Ginn Jr. caught eight passes for 104 yards. Running backs Antonio Pittman (139 yards) and Chris "Beanie" Wells each had scoring runs of 50-plus yards.
But the Wolverines (11-1, 7-1) did not go quietly. Though the program was rocked by the death Friday of former coach Bo Schembechler, coach Lloyd Carr said he did not use that as motivation, saying it wouldn?t be fair to Schembechler.
Trailing 28-14 at halftime, though, it certainly looked as if they drew some sort of inspiration in the locker room.
Taking advantage of two of Ohio State?s uncharacteristic three turnovers, Michigan drew to 28-24 midway through the third quarter and then 35-31 early in the fourth.
Running back Mike Hart rushed for 142 yards and three TDs.
"Their defense played good, but they?re not as good as people thought," Hart said. "There?s nothing special about that defense."
The Buckeyes made plays when they had to, though. After the third turnover, a second fumbled snap between center Doug Datish and Smith, they forced a three-and-out.
Taking over on the Ohio State 17-yard line, Smith directed an 11-play, 83-yard drive that all but clinched it. The key moment came on third-and-15 from the Michigan 38, when Smith rolled right and threw incomplete but was hit helmet to helmet by linebacker Shawn Crable.
The personal foul penalty gave the Buckeyes a first down. Three plays later, Smith found Brian Robiskie from 13 yards to make it 42-31.
Michigan drove for a score and a two-point conversion with 2:16 remaining, but the ensuing onside kick landed in Ginn?s arms to seal it.
Next up is the wait to see who OSU will face as it tries for its sixth national title. But that?s then.
For now, the Buckeyes just wanted to bask in their victory in what was billed as the greatest game in the history of the teams? rivalry.
"All you do is throw your hands up and just say ?Thanks, God,? as you walk off the field," Ginn said. "I?m one of the luckiest, happiest men in the world."
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Buckeyes receivers share the wealth

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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NEAL C . LAURON DISPATCH Ted Ginn Jr. tucks in one of Troy Smith?s four TD passes, each to a different receiver. Smith completed passes to eight Buckeyes.
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Quarterback Troy Smith, left, and Ted Ginn Jr. celebrate after hooking up for a 39-yard scoring pass in the second quarter.


Brian Robiskie made a brilliant move to catch what turned out to be the winning touchdown pass in Ohio State?s win over Michigan yesterday. Then he did a not-so-smart thing. He gave the ball to the official.
He should have hung on to it. It could be worth a lot of money some day, perhaps sooner than later, because it was thrown to him by Troy Smith, now the overwhelming favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
But sharing the ball was so much of what the Buckeyes receivers were about in the team?s 42-39 win that giving it up was natural for Robiskie. That he had caught it from the Heisman front-runner he thought was a given.
"Troy has been doing great things all year," Robiskie said. "He?s got a lot of receivers to look at, and we all know if we get open, he is going to find us. He has been making great plays all year, and I can?t say enough about him."
How about Smith for the Heisman? Anthony Gonzalez volunteered.
"He is the best player in the country, and nobody has affected his team more positively than Troy Smith," Gonzalez said. "I said it at the beginning of the year, and I will say it again: greatest quarterback in the history of this school."
He certainly spread the ball around as if he were trying to make even more friends yesterday.
"If you really think about it, the receivers have been involved throughout the season," said Roy Hall, who caught the first of Smith?s four touchdown passes.
But yesterday was different. Smith threw 41 passes, almost twice his average, completing 29. His four touchdown passes matched his career high and gave him a school-record 30 for the season.
What stood out was that eight players caught passes, five of them receivers, and the touchdowns were shared among Robiskie, Hall, Ted Ginn Jr. and Gonzalez.
It would be tough to spread the ball around much more than that against a defense reputed to be one of the best in the nation.
"Today it just so happened everybody got the ball, and that was the goal back in the summer," Hall said. "We kind of used all of our weapons today."
In the end, though, it was Robiskie who made the catch of the day. He took Michigan defender Morgan Trent into the corner of the end zone and then backed up to catch a bullet from Smith with 5:38 left.
"That was more of a read," Robiskie said. "I had a hitch route, and (Trent) came up and pressed me, so I just took it to a fade. Then I saw Troy was holding on to it, so I just stopped and let the defender go by."
The only question was whether Robiskie had stepped on the sideline, but he had no doubt, even as the official in the press box reviewed the play.
"When I looked down, I saw my foot was in," he said. "So unless they were going to take it from me, I pretty much thought I had it."
He should have hung on to that ball, too.
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COMMENTARY
Smith?s toughness plays key role, trumps Michigan

Sunday, November 19, 2006

BOB HUNTER



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The solution to the mystery of Ohio State?s recent mastery of Michigan began with an incomplete pass in the fourth quarter.
On second-and-10 from the Michigan 33-yard line, Troy Smith got leveled from the blind side by a bullet train named LaMarr Woodley. Smith?s pass to Ted Ginn Jr. fell incomplete, and in a 35-31 game, the crowd must have experienced a brief moment of panic.
Up popped Smith like a man made of indestructible elastic, and after a 5-yard penalty, the Ohio State quarterback rolled to his right on third-and-15. As he neared the sideline ? wham! ? a Smith-seeking missile name Shawn Crable rammed the fifth-year senior helmet to helmet, the kind of blow that should have left Smith thinking he was a riding on a fast merry-go-round.
Instead, he bounced up again as if he had merely tripped on that shaky sod, eager to see whether his pass had been completed ? it wasn?t ? but happy to benefit from a 15-yard roughing-thepasser penalty.
By now, you probably know where this is going. No worse for wear, the indestructible one completed an 8-yard pass to Brian Robiskie on the next play, ran 2 yards for the first down on the next play and then hit Robiskie again for a 13-yard touchdown pass that proved to the winner in a 42-39 Ohio State victory.
As a starting quarterback, Smith is 3-0 against Michigan. It is hardly a coincidence.
"For however many years we?ve been talking about Troy, his No. 1 quality is his toughness," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "If you want to be a champion as quarterback, toughness is No. 1, and he is that."
Tressel is 5-1 against Michigan. That will lead to even more questions about what manner of genius this man brought to an Ohio State football program that couldn?t have won this game under John Cooper for most of the ?90s with the 1972 Miami Dolphins disguised as Buckeyes.
With all due respect to Tressel, who has obviously had a lot to do with this, three of his five wins have come with Smith at quarterback. Smith takes no credit for this, which is nice, but it is the kind of stuff that should frankly be left on the campaign trail.
Yesterday, he had a first half that would have defined some Ohio State quarterbacks? careers against Michigan ? 21 of 26 for 241 yards and three touchdowns ? but the momentum turned in part because of his receivers? drops. He was sacked only once, but he was hit repeatedly by an aggressive Michigan defense an instant after he released the ball. He didn?t wince once.
"I come back to the huddle and I stare at 10 guys in the huddle, eyes wide open, alert and ready to dominate the opposing team," Smith said. "I go to the sideline and there?s 105-plus guys, eyes wide open and ready to do any and everything they can in support of our team.
"So there?s no way I can get to a situation where I feel as if my leg is hurt, my knee is hurt, my elbow is hurt and limp up or act like something?s wrong with my body. Because I?ve been in situations where I see scout team players constantly beat their bodies up, play and play and play after play. So I never shortchange any of my teammates."
It is a strange choice of words ? shortchange ? from a man who in all probability is a lock to win the Heisman Trophy, because it seems almost certain that this 12-0 team wouldn?t be heading the national championship game without him. He is the only quarterback in school history to have started and won three games against Michigan.
"I?ve said it time and time again," Smith said. "It?s not me beating Michigan. It?s the team that lined up and took the field every year that I got to start as quarterback that beat Michigan. They?re also 3-0."
Well, maybe.
But think Cooper wouldn?t like to have had a go against Michigan with Smith in his backfield?
Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch.
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Emotions overcome Carr
Coach breaks down while discussing Schembechler

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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NEAL C . LAURON DISPATCH Lloyd Carr, disagreeing with an official, said Bo Schembechler?s death was not a distraction to the Wolverines.


Michigan coach Lloyd Carr had kept his emotions in check during a difficult 32 hours, facing the death of close friend and coaching legend Bo Schembechler on Friday and trying to get the Wolverines ready to play Ohio State, with a spot in the national championship game on the line.
Yesterday, in the moments after Ohio State defeated Michigan, Carr?s emotions pushed to the surface.
Carr spoke about Schembechler?s influence in the dressing room, the way the players admired him and the passion with which Schembechler addressed the team Thursday, even though he was short of breath for the past month after having a pacemaker inserted.
Finally, asked about their relationship, Carr fought back tears and walked away from the microphone.
"All I can say is ? I love that man," he said.
Schembechler, 77, died of heart failure Friday.
A public celebration of his life will take place at 1 p.m. Tuesday in Michigan Stadium. The family will have a private funeral later in the week.
Carr insisted that Schembechler?s death was not a distraction yesterday.
"When I told the team (about his death) on Friday, I tried to tell them that, you know, he would not have wanted to be a distraction," Carr said. "And I told our team, we were not going to use Bo and his passing away as a motivational deal.
"To do that would have been to dishonor him. I simply told them the way we could honor him is to coach and play in a way that would make him proud."
Michigan did that, giving the No. 1 team in the country a major challenge, and setting up a possible rematch in the national championship game.
"It was definitely difficult for us," Michigan quarterback Chad Henne said. "He?s just such a great figure to us, and especially since he built our program and sustained it.
"I mean, coach Carr loves him dearly and so do we. It?s sad to see him go."
Schembechler was a constant presence around the program, interacting with the players on an almost daily basis.
"I?d sit in his office and he?d sit in there with me and coach me up," Michigan linebacker LaMarr Woodley said. "He actually coached me up on Wednesday of this week, telling me the things I need to do, how I need to get the defense going.
"When I found out he died on Friday, it definitely had an effect on me."
The Schembechler family asks that memorial gifts be made to: UM Cardiovascular Center, 300 N. Ingalls, #8B02, Ann Arbor, Mich., 48109.
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