Cleveland PD
10/30
TURNING POINT
Going, going, Ginn - again
Sunday, October 30, 2005Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Minneapolis-
Ted Ginn Jr. left Minnesota coach Glen Mason begging Saturday - begging for Glenville High coach Ted Ginn Sr. to send some players like his son up north.
"If you're listening out there Ted Ginn Sr., I love ya. Send me some of your players," Mason said. "I'm laughing on the outside, crying on the inside, fellas."
Mason was distraught because he knew exactly what he didn't want Ginn Jr. to do to the Gophers on Saturday, and then he had to watch as Ginn did it anyway in Ohio State's 45-31 win.
The Gophers planned to kick short to keep the ball out of Ginn's hands on kickoff returns, and said they would come away satisfied even if the Buckeyes were starting their drives at the 30-yard line because of the pooch kicks.
"You don't want to give up a touchdown, but you hate to pop it up and let them return it to the 40 or 45 and let them play on a short field," Mason said. "You're darned if you do and darned if you don't. I hate to say it, because it sounds like a defeatist attitude because you are spotting them a 10-yard return at the least by doing it. We started off doing that."
The Buckeyes countered by lining up speedy receivers Santonio Holmes and Anthony Gonzalez just short of Ginn, figuring they could still be dangerous even if Ginn didn't get the ball.
So the Gophers pooched it on their first kick, which Gonzalez returned 9 yards to the 20. They did it on their third kick, which Gonzalez returned 9 yards to the 30. They did it on their fourth kick, which Gonzalez returned 13 yards to the 29.
But they didn't do it on their second kick.
Ginn took that one back 100 yards for Ohio State's first kickoff return for a touchdown since Michael Wiley did it against Bowling Green in 1997. Ginn now has six touchdown returns in his OSU career, the first five of them on punts.
"You can usually tell by the approach of the kicker where the ball is going," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "And Teddy read it just like a center fielder."
Ginn caught the ball just inside the end zone on the left side on the field and gradually made his way toward the right sideline without a Gopher laying a hand on him.
"We got out of our lanes down there," Mason said. "Nobody touched him. He didn't break a tackle."
Though Ginn said during the week that he liked playing on grass, he found his second game in a dome to be enjoyable. He also caught three passes for 53 yards and has 27 catches for 382 yards this season.
"I liked the turf," he said. "It was very fast out there."
The Minnesota kick returners never had the chance to find out. In a part of the game that can't be overlooked, Ohio State's Josh Huston forced touchbacks on all eight of his kickoffs, even banging one kick off the crossbar. Of his 48 kickoffs this season, 32 have been touchbacks.
"I think he put it in the stands just about every time," Mason said. "I'm going to try to find me one of those guys. Our kickoff coverage is making me way old before my time. Where do you get a guy like that?"
Maybe Mason should ask Ted Ginn Sr. for a kicker, too.
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