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Game Thread Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20 (final)

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12/28/05

OSU seniors will chase own mark

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

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AP JOE RAYMOND IRISH LEADER If Ohio State’s seniors want to end their careers on a winning note, they must find a way to stop Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, who leads one of the country’s most potent offenses. The two teams will meet Monday in the Fiesta Bowl at Tempe, Ariz.
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Fiesta Bowl Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

Tempe, Ariz.
5 p.m. Monday
TV ABC (Channel 5)
RADIO WHBC-AM 1480, WQKT-FM 104.5, WAKR-AM 1590, WNIR-FM 100.1, WKNR-AM 850, WJER-FM 101.7


TEMPE, Ariz. - Winning never gets old.

Winning in the desert, well, it may not be old, but Ohio State has sipped from that glass before. The No. 4-ranked Buckeyes are in Tempe preparing for Monday’s Fiesta Bowl against No. 5 Notre Dame. It will be Ohio State’s third trip to Sun Devil Stadium in four years, and if the Buckeyes had their way, it’ll be four in five years next season.

Next season, the Fiesta Bowl hosts the national championship game.

For 16 Ohio State seniors, it’s a chance to leave quite a legacy. A victory and these OSU seniors leave as the school’s winningest class in history, tied with the 1995-98 class that had 43 wins.

“I’m not sure there has been a senior class that has won four bowls,” said Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel. “I don’t know about total number of wins, but they can certainly leave quite a legacy is they are successful in this ballgame. That is a tall order, and that’s why we’re practicing so hard.”
Four bowl wins from one senior class? Go ahead and rub Notre Dame’s nose in postseason success.

The Irish have not won a bowl game in their last seven bowl trips. Bill Clinton was president and Monica Lewinsky was just another big-boned White House intern when Notre Dame beat Texas A&M in the 1993 Cotton Bowl.

Ohio State and Notre Dame matching up in a BCS bowl is one of this season’s treats. The storied programs have played just four times.

“It’s part of the whole experience,” Tressel said. “We’re part of the Ohio State-Notre Dame history. It’s not a long one, but it’s a special one. When we go out and line up against the Irish, we won’t be lining up against the guys who played in 1935-36, or the guys who played in 1996-96. We’ll be able to be a part of that storied history.”

Notre Dame is enjoying a resurgence under first-year Head Coach Charlie Weis. The Irish put an end to a mediocre era this season. Notre Dame finished 7-6 or worse five times in the last seven seasons before this year’s 9-2 mark. Three times during that span the Irish finished with a losing record.

But they almost beat No. 1 USC, losing 34-31 in the final seconds. Since then, Weis has led his team to five straight wins. It was the best finish since Bob Davie won his final seven in 2000 and then lost the Fiesta Bowl to Oregon State. That lopsided 41-9 loss was Notre Dame’s last BCS appearance.

No wonder Irish supporters are following Weis. He led them to the desert to drink again.

But seven straight bowl losses doesn’t sit well at Notre Dame, nor is it forgotten.

“Oh it will be mentioned,” Weis said. “It won’t be history. It will be mentioned every day multiple times.

“I could care less, to tell you the truth. Those games are gone. There is nothing you can do about it. But I like the firepower going into practice every day. They will hear it. It might not be in the first 20 minutes of practice when my friends from the media are there, but they will hear that a lot.”

Notre Dame is one of two teams in the country with a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers. But this will be the offense’s toughest test against a Buckeye defense led by Lombardi Award winner A.J. Hawk. Ohio State is among the top 10 defenses in yards and points allowed.

The Irish are looking to break the school’s single-season scoring record. OSU’s defense against Notre Dame’s offense is the common theme this week.

The Buckeyes and Irish are the highest-ranked two-loss teams in the country. Ohio State lost to No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Penn State and hasn’t beaten an opponent inside the Top 20.

“When you come to Ohio State, you want to play against the best,” Hawk said. “We played some of the best this season, and Notre Dame is no different. I’m excited to get in there and have our defense face their offense. It will be a great matchup with so much talent on the field.”
Legacies will be made Monday night in Tempe. The question is whether Notre Dame’s will begin.

“They have a chance to become the winningest class in school history with one more win,” Weis said. “Ironically, that’s how many games they have left.” Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail:
[email protected]
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12/28/05

Mutual respect


OSU leads the Big Ten in every significant defensive category. And Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn knows he could look at film of the unit until his eyes are bloodshot and still not find a glaring deficiency.

"They don't really have any weaknesses," he said. "When you look at their defense as a whole, they're sound fundamentally in the way they play. When you look at them on film, there's nothing really that stands out that makes you think you can take advantage of that. They're just solid all around."

Quinn looks just as indomitable to the Buckeyes.

Although only a junior, the Dublin native has already set the ND career records for passing yards (8,193) and TDs (58). His 3,755 yards and 32 TDs this season also are No. 1 all-time.

Quinn has thrown at least one scoring pass in 16 straight games, breaking Heisman Trophy-winner John Huarte's school mark of 10.

"I think he's obviously got all the physical tools," OSU linebacker A.J. Hawk said. "He's a big, tall, strong kid. He's obviously very smart, and that's a huge thing these days with how complex offenses get.

"He's done a great job this whole year playing in this system. He seems to control the game well and not get rattled."

The Buckeyes recruited Quinn but couldn't persuade him to stay home. The presence of true freshmen Justin Zwick and Troy Smith on the OSU roster then might have been a deterrent, but Quinn has said he never seriously considered the Buckeyes after visiting ND.

Weis to take hit


Tickets for the Fiesta Bowl are scarce, and ND coach Charlie Weis is feeling the pinch.

"I can't tell you what this game is going to cost me, but it will be a lot," he said. "Between tickets and my wife going to Neiman Marcus, it will be a tough deal for me."

Quote of the day


Weis on meeting Ohio State: "This is one of the greatest college football bowls that has taken place in quite some time. What happens with a lot of bowls is, while they're interesting, they don't really bring that intrigue that this game has brought on."

Contact Doug Harris at 225-2125.

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12/28/05

OHIO STATE | NOTEBOOK
Schnittker, Hamby rejoin practice, expect to play

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Tim May

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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PHOENIX — Maybe it was the warm temperature and bright sun. Maybe it was the clock ticking quickly toward zero on his college career. But something got into Brandon Schnittker yesterday.

As Ohio State took the field for its first practice here for the Fiesta Bowl, Schnittker hit the ground running. The senior fullback couldn’t play the last four games of the regular season after undergoing an operation to fix a disc in his lower back. He received clearance from team medical and training personnel to resume practice yesterday.

"I haven’t taken a full-blown hit yet, and I probably won’t until the game," Schnittker said after the workout. "But I feel pretty good."

Also back on the field and cleared was No. 1 tight end Ryan Hamby, who also missed the last four games of the regular season because of a knee sprain. Coach Jim Tressel said he expects both to be available for the game.
"We didn’t do a whole bunch (of plays) real live, but there was some good thumping and they weren’t asked to be in a different jersey" signifying an injured player, Tressel said.

Sophomore fullback Dionte Johnson hopes Schnittker has the chance to take the field for the Buckeyes one last time.

"Without a doubt we root for him because he missed his last Michigan game," Johnson said. "I don’t know how that feels and I don’t want to know how that feels, so we’re all pulling for him to get out there and get it done."
Shaking the rust



Tressel, who put the players through a two-hour practice, said there was some rust-shaking early on. The Buckeyes were off for eight days.
"But as time went on, and they wanted to compete with each other, you get back at it," Tressel said.

The Buckeyes will work hard for three more days before tapering action as game day approaches.
Speaking of full go



While the Buckeyes wait to hear whether senior linebacker Bobby Carpenter will be cleared to play, junior linebacker Mike D’Andrea was worked into the mix at times.

D’Andrea, who started the first game at middle linebacker in 2004, was out most of last season and this season because of a knee injury and recovery from surgery. He played in just two games this year, primarily on special teams, and was not credited with a tackle.

Like old times

Athletics director Gene Smith planned to attend last night’s Insight Bowl in Chase Field, and with a rooting interest for Arizona State over Rutgers.
Smith was athletics director at Arizona State until this year. He also was a member of the Fiesta Bowl’s hospitality committee, and he said he brought along his prized "yellow jacket" to wear to one of the bowl functions this week for old time’s sake.

[email protected]
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Can anyone say biased?

Okay...here's some info I got off of the official Fiesta Bowl webpage:

Headquarters:

Ohio State-Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort

Notre Dame-Scottsdale Plaza Resort

Which one is more manly?

Practice facilities:

Ohio State-Pinnacle High School

Notre Dame-Scottsdale Community College

Seriously,they got us at a HIGH SCHOOL????You mean there isn't more than 1 community college in the area?

I feel this shows real biased towards ND.Seriously,a college football field has to be in better shape than a HS field.
 
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I'm a homer, but even I think you're really stretching it here. The name of the hotel means squat. I've also seen some very well maintained high school fields, and a community college field is not necessarily be better simply because it's a "college" field...
 
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BuckeyeFan824 said:
Seriously,they got us at a HIGH SCHOOL????You mean there isn't more than 1 community college in the area?

I feel this shows real biased towards ND.Seriously,a college football field has to be in better shape than a HS field.
Click to expand...

Ever been to a HS football field in the south or out west...just anywhere in a warm climate? You'd be very surprised at the quality of the fields. I could practice my putting on on our game and practice fields.

Where is CoastalBuck?
 
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I don't think it would matter if they were practicing in the Circle K parking lot, the outcome of this game would be the same. I checked the forecast for Jan. 2 and the outlook is stifling defense with intermittent flares of brilliance turning to a hurricane force ass whipping.

On a side note, the extended forcast calls for bright and sunny on Buckeye Planet and clouds of despair over Notre Dame.
 
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