Boone still listed as 2nd string...
Official Site
No. 1 Ohio State Hosts No. 2 Michigan in Season Finale
Nov. 13, 2006
Depth Chart
Top 25 Polls
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK
Top-ranked and unbeaten Ohio State returns home this week to conclude the regular season against second-ranked and unbeaten Michigan.
This will be the second time this year that Buckeyes have been involved in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash. Ohio State was No. 1 and Texas No. 2 when the two teams met in Austin Sept. 9 in a game won 24-7 by coach
Jim Tressel's Buckeyes.
On the line this week are both undisputed possession of the Big Ten title and a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game on Jan. 8, 2007.
This week's game will be televised by ABC and will kickoff at 3:45 p.m., EST, in sold-out Ohio Stadium. A record crowd of more than 106,000 is expected to be on hand for the 103rd meeting between the two traditional powerhouses.
In addition to ABC, College GameDay will be on campus for the second time this year and the list of national media includes representatives from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix San Diego, St. Louis, St. Petersburg and Manchester, N.H., just to name a few who are on hand to witness what has come to be regarded as the greatest rivalry in sports.
Bowl representatives in town include the BCS Title Game, the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl.
WBNS Radio, the flagship station for the Ohio State radio network will carry the game on the 73-station Ohio State Radio Network. The game can be heard, too on the USA Radio Network and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Both teams are 11-0 on the year and own spotless 7-0 records in the Big Ten. Ohio State is coming off a 54-10 drubbing of Northwestern and owns the nation's longest winning streak with 18 consecutive victories. The Buckeyes have won 13 consecutive Big Ten games and are unbeaten in their last 11 home games.
Michigan, a 34-3 winner over Indiana on Saturday is 4-0 on the road this year.
SENIOR DAY
Ohio State's 19 seniors, 16 of whom are in their fifth year, will be introduced to the Ohio Stadium crowd Saturday and will meet with their families at midfield prior to the game. During the past four year, this class has a combined record of 40-8, will have played in four bowl games, including three BCS games, and has shared one Big Ten title.
TUNNEL OF PRIDE
As has become the tradition in recent years for the Michigan game, former Ohio State football players will form a tunnel of pride for the Buckeyes to run through when they enter the field before the game. The list of returnees includes 94-year-old William H. "Tippy" Dye (1934-36). Tippy, who later served as the Buckeyes head basketball coach and was athletics director at Northwestern, currently lives in Los Angeles.
BUCKEYES REMAIN UNANIMOUS NO. 1
Ohio State continues to hold down the top spot in the Bowl Championship Series with a ranking of .9765. Michigan is second with a .9735 figure and Southern California has moved up to third at .8699.
The Buckeyes also are No. 1 in the Associated Press, USA Today coaches and Harris Interactive polls. Ohio State received 62 of 63 first-place votes from the coaches and 64 of 65 first-place votes from the writers, while it got 112 first-place votes in the Harris poll.
The Buckeyes have been in the Top 25 for 24-consecutive weeks, including 12 straight appearances in the Top 10 and 11 straight at No. 1. Ohio State began the year ranked No. 1 and is bidding to become the first Buckeye team ever to go wire-to-wire at the No. 1 spot.
LAST WEEK
No. 1 Ohio State211214754 Northwestern0100010
All-America and Heisman Trophy candidate
Troy Smith threw four touchdown passes for the third time this year, tailback
Antonio Pittman went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second consecutive season and the Ohio State defense recorded five turnovers leading to 34 points as the Buckeyes rolled over host Northwestern 54-10.
The OSU point total represents a season best and is the most points scored by the Buckeyes since 1996 and the most points in a Big Ten game since 1995. Ohio State recovered three fumbles and intercepted a pair of passes against the Wildcats, giving the Buckeyes at least one interception in every game this year.
Brandon Mitchell returned his interception 46 yards for a touchdown, putting the Buckeyes ahead 21-0 with 3:38 to play in the first quarter. It was the Buckeyes' third defensive TD of the year.
Redshirt freshman
Brian Hartline was on the receiving end of two of Smith's TD tosses.
Ted Ginn Jr. and
Anthony Gonzalez had the other two. Pittman finished with 80 yards and a touchdown to run his season total to 1,032 yard and freshman
Beanie Wells came off the bench to rush for 99 yards and a score. Ohio State finished with 425 yards in total offense and limited Northwestern to 297.
OHIO STATE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Following last week's 54-10 victory at Northwestern, the Ohio State coaching staff selected
Troy Smith as the team's offensive player of the game and
Brandon Mitchell was team's defensive player of the game.
Kirk Barton was the team's offensive lineman of the game while
Larry Grant was the special teams player of the game.
Jay Richardson was named the attack force player of the game. The scout team players of the week were
Walter Dublin on special teams,
Ryan Williams on defense and Dre Riddick on offense.
SIX NOMINATED FOR ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Six 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 and is also a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award.
Additionally, defensive tackle
Quinn Pitcock has been named as a finalist for both the Lombardi Award and the Lott Trophy, linebacker
James Laurinaitis is a finalist for the Butkus and the Bednarik awards and 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.
A LOOK AT THE BUCKEYES
The Ohio State offense is averaging 35.8 points and 401.3 yards per game, while the defense is allowing 7.8 points and 261.7 yards each time out. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in scoring offense (eighth nationally) and lead the nation in scoring defense. They also are second in the Big Ten in total offense and third in total defense (eighth nationally). Ohio State ranks fifth nationally in passing efficiency (166.3) and is third in turnover margin (1.27)
The Ohio State defense has limited its last six opponents to a total of 37 points and has given up just two touchdowns in the last 16 quarters. Only four opponents, Northern Illinois, Iowa, Illinois and Northwestern have scored in double figures and only Iowa has scored two touchdowns. The Buckeyes are outscoring their first 10 opponents by an average of 28 points a game.
Led by senior quarterback
Troy Smith, Ohio State is passing for 221.8 yards per game. Smith has completed 66.4 percent of his passes and has thrown for 26 of the Buckeyes' 27 passing touchdowns.
Ted Ginn Jr. and
Anthony Gonzalez have combined for 96 receptions and 15 touchdown catches. Tailback
Antonio Pittman has rushed for 1,032 yards and 12 of the Buckeyes' 22 rushing touchdowns. Ohio State is averaging 179.5 yards per game on the ground.
On the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes' defense is allowing 90 yards a game rushing and 171.5 yards through the air. Ohio State has given up nine touchdowns on the year - six passing and three on the ground.
The OSU defense has forced 27 turnovers, including 21 interceptions, leading to 134 points by the offense. The Buckeyes have at least one interception in all 11 games this year. Conversely, the defense has not given up a point this year following any of the 13 turnovers by the offense.
Butkus Award finalist
James Laurinaitis leads the Buckeyes in tackles with 91, while
Vernon Gholston has 14 tackles-for-loss and Lombardi Award finalist
Quinn Pitcock has 8.0 sacks.
SMITH IN CONTROL AT THE CONTROLS
With the win at Northwestern last Saturday, Ohio State quarterback
Troy Smith now is 24-2 as the Buckeyes' starting quarterback, including a 9-1 mark against ranked teams, a 2-0 ledger against Michigan and a 1-0 bowl mark.
Smith has completed 170 of his 256 passes this year, good for 2,191 yards and 26 touchdowns. He has been intercepted just four times, and two of those were deflections. The All-America and Heisman Trophy candidate leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency with a 168.69 figure and also leads the league in touchdown passes. He has thrown at least one TD pass in 10 of the Buckeyes' 11 games and has two or more TD tosses in eight of those contests. Smith has the lowest career interception rate in the nation among active quarterbacks with a mark of 1.78 (11 interceptions, 615 attempts). Smith also has rushed for 221 yards and a touchdown.
CAREER NUMBERS FOR SMITH
Quarterback
Troy Smith is the all-time completion percentage leader in Ohio State history, connecting on 62.9 percent of his passes (387 of 615). He has moved up to third in career total offense with 6,554 yards and ranks seventh in career passing yards with 5,369 yards. Smith has thrown 50 career touchdown passes, the third highest total in Ohio State annals. The school record of 57 belongs to Bobby Hoying (1992-95).
PITTMAN TOPS 1,000-YARD MARK
Ohio State tailback
Antonio Pittman rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown at Northwestern and now has 1,032 yards on the year. The 5-foot-11-inch junior, who rushed for 1,331 yards a year ago, becomes 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 93.8 yards per game and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry on 214 attempts. Pittman also leads the Buckeyes in scoring with 12 touchdowns, five more than he had all of last year. He has at least one TD run in 10 of the Buckeyes' 11 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 continue to put up impressive numbers for the Ohio State offense.
Smith has completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 2,191 yards and 26 touchdowns. The 6-foot-1-inch senior also has rushed for 221 yards and a touchdown.
Ginn has a team-high eight touchdown grabs on 51 receptions and is averaging 13.3 yards per catch, while Gonzalez has 45 receptions, is averaging 15.0 yards per catch and has seven TD receptions.
Pittman is the Buckeyes' leading ground gainer with 1,032 yards on 214 carries and has a team-leading 12 touchdowns to his credit. The hard-running junior has six 100-yard games this year.
LETHAL COMBO
Ohio State's wide-receiver tandem of
Ted Ginn Jr. and
Anthony Gonzalez have combined for 96 receptions, 1,350 yards and 15 touchdown catches. Ginn is fourth in the Big Ten in average receptions per game at 4.6 and is tied for second in touchdown receptions with eight. Gonzalez ranks 10th in receptions per game at 4.09 and is seventh in receiving yards per game at 61.2.
GINN STREAKS CONTINUE
Ohio State receiver
Ted Ginn Jr. has caught at least one pass in 30-consecutive games (beginning with Iowa in 2004) and has multiple catches in 28-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, who has equaled his reception total of a year ago, is seventh on the all-time OSU receiving list with 127 receptions. He also ranks 10th in career receiving yards with 1,839 yards - an average of 14.4 yards per reception.
THIRD-AND-GONZO
Junior split end
Anthony Gonzalez had two receptions for 34 yard and a touchdown at Northwestern. Gonzalez has 45 receptions on the year and 39 of those, including 10 of the last 11, have resulted in first downs. Gonzalez has seven touchdown catches.
SOME STREAKS OF NOTE
Ohio State's current 18-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 just the fifth Ohio State team to get out of the starting gate with a perfect 11-0 record. The other four 11-0 starts came in 1975, 1979, 1995 and 2002. Only the 2002 team made it to 12-0, finishing the season with a perfect 14-0 season and the national championship.
DOUBLE DIGITS
This is the fourth Ohio State team to reach 10 or more wins under sixth-year head coach
Jim Tressel. The 2002 team won the national championship with a 14-0 record, while his 2003 team finished 11-2. Last year's team was 10-2. The Buckeyes have played in a BCS bowl each year they have won at least 10 games under Tressel.
OHIO STATE COACH Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel is in his sixth season as head coach at Ohio State. His record with the Buckeyes is 61-13 (.824), including a 37-10 (.787) slate in the Big Ten, and his career ledger now stands at 196-70-2 (.735) 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 18-game winning 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 during 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 18-9 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.
THE OHIO STATE-MICHGAIN SERIES
The two teams are meeting for the 103rd time in a rivalry that began in 1897 and has been continuous since 1918. Since 1935, the game has been the traditional conference finale between the two schools. Michigan was 13-0-2 in the first 15 games of the series before finally dropping 13-3 decision in Ann Arbor in 1919. Since 1951, the Buckeyes have a 27-26-2 lead, including victories in four of the past five games under
Jim Tressel. Ohio State has won the last two games in the series and has won two straight in Ohio Stadium, but Michigan leads the series in Columbus 27-21-2.
Over the years, the two teams have been undefeated a total of 17 times when meeting one another, but 15 of those were prior to 1935. Since 1935, that has happened just twice - both in the Hayes-Schembechler era - in 1970 and 1973.
In 1970, the 8-0 Buckeyes downed the 9-0 Wolverines 20-9. In 1973, 9-0 Ohio State and 10-0 Michigan played to a 10-10 tie.
This also will be the eighth time that one or the other of the two teams has been ranked No. 1. Michigan was No. 1 going into the game in 1947, '48 and '97, while Ohio State was No. 1 in 1954, '69, '73 and '75.
RECAPPING LAST YEAR
The Buckeyes recorded a 25-21 come-from-behind victory in Ann Arbor, tallying the winning touchdown on a 3-yard run off left tackle by tailback
Antonio Pittman with 24 ticks left on the clock. Quarterback
Troy Smith engineered drives of 69 and 88 yards in the final eight minutes to rescue his team from a 21-12 deficit. A 26-yard pass to
Santonio Holmes cut the Michigan lead to 21-19 and Pittman's run gave Ohio State the lead for good. The latter was set up by a spectacular leaping catch by
Anthony Gonzalez at the Wolverines' 4-yard line.
Ted Ginn had a season-high nine receptions for 89 yards as the Buckeyes rolled up 418 yards in total offense.
Smith threw for 300 yards and also ran for 37, including a 4-yard touchdown in the first quarter, giving him 723 yards in total offense in his two starts against the Wolverines.
Middle linebacker
Anthony Schlegel had 10 tackles for the Buckeyes who lost outside linebacker
Bobby Carpenter on the first defensive play of the game with a broken ankle.
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 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. His return against MSU is the lone punt return for a TD in the Big Ten this 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 14 passes for touchdowns as a Buckeye.
DEFENSIVE DANDIES
Ohio State co-captains
David Patterson and
Quinn Pitcock, arguably two of the top defensive tackles in college football this year, were reunited Saturday after a three-game hiatus. Patterson missed the Michigan State and Indiana games because of a knee injury. When he returned against Minnesota, Pitcock was sidelined after suffering a mild concussion against the Hoosiers.
"It was nice to be back in there and playing together," Patterson said. "We only have three games left as teammates so we want to be in there and help this team any way we can."
Buckeye coach
Jim Tressel certainly appreciates having his two captains in the lineup.
"As far as I am concerned they are the best two defensive tackles in the country," Tressel noted earlier in the year. "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 10.0 tackles-for-loss, including a team-high 8.0 sacks, and 33 tackles on the season. In 12 games last year, he finished with 28 tackles and 3.0 tackles-for-loss and one sack. Patterson 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
Lombardi Award finalist and All-America candidate
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.
A SPECIAL SOPHOMORE
Sophomore linebacker
James Laurinaitis continues to lead the Buckeyes in tackles with 91 and is tied for the Big Ten lead in interceptions with five. The Butkus Award finalist also has 8.5 tackles-for-loss and 4.0 sacks and has forced three fumbles. Laurinaitis has led the Buckeyes in tackles in seven of their 11 games this year, including a career-best 13 stops at Texas.
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) earlier this year before having that streak ended against Bowling Green.
BUCKEYE NOTES
Sophomore
Brian Robiskie has caught a pass in every game this year ... Redshirt freshman
Brian Hartline enjoyed his best day as a Buckeye at Northwestern, snagging two
Troy Smith passes for touchdowns. Hartline finished with three receptions on the day for 47 yards ...
Antonio Pittman has at least one touchdown in 15 of his last 16 games as the Buckeyes' tailback ... freshman tailback
Beanie Wells ran for a career high 99 yards and a touchdown at Northwestern ...
Todd Boeckman scored his first career rushing touchdown at Northwestern, tallying from four yards out on a quarterback draw ... Cornerback
Malcolm Jenkins finished with a team-best eight tackles against the Wildcats, one short of his career high ... freshman linebacker
Ross Homan picked off his first career interception at Northwestern and senior defensive end
Jay Richardson notched his first fumble recovery of the year ... Senior safety
Brandon Mitchell recorded his second career interception return for a touchdown at Northwestern, going 46 yards after picking off an errant Wildcat throw. Mitchell had a 57-yard return for a touchdown at Indiana last year.
Vernon Gholston leads the Buckeyes in tackles-for-loss with 14.0 and is second in sacks with 7.5 ... The sophomore defensive end recorded two of the Buckeyes' three sacks at Northwestern.
BUCKEYE SACK PACK
Ohio State ranks third in the Big Ten in sacks with 33. The Buckeyes are led by defensive tackle
Quinn Pitcock with 8.0, followed by
Vernon Gholston with 7.5.
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 62-8-1 when ranked as the nation's No. 1 team. Overall, the Buckeyes are 294-68-9 when carrying a Top 10 ranking and 401-123-14 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.
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 7-0 league record this year, Ohio State owns an all-time Big Ten record of 435-187-28 in 94 seasons of league competition.
Ohio State vs.WLT Chicago1022 Illinois60294 Indiana65125 Iowa44143 Michigan39576 Michigan St.25120 Minnesota3970 Northwestern57141 Penn State11110 Purdue35122 Wisconsin50175 TOTAL43518728
BUCKEYES PERFECT IN NO. 1 VS. NO. 2 SHOWDOWNS
This will be the second time this year that the No. 1 Buckeyes have faced a No. 2 team. In week two of the season, top-ranked Ohio State downed second-ranked Texas in Austin in the earliest regular-season match-up in college football annals between a No. 1 and a No. 2 team. Prior to this year, Ohio State has been involved in two other 1 vs. 2 showdowns. The first was in the 1969 Rose Bowl and the second in the 2002 national championship game at the 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State won both, downing the Southern California, 27-16, in the former and Miami (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 18-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 860 wins (860-280-36), Notre Dame is second at 820-267-42 and Texas ranks third at 809-311-33. The Buckeyes are fifth all-time with 786 wins. 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 786-300-53 in 116 seasons of competition. That includes a Big Ten record of 435-187-28 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.
