WR Ted Ginn, Jr. (Official Thread)

[BB73]

He's kind of right, OSU does have a horrible history against SEC teams (isn't the record like 0-10?), and the teams this year are looking strong, I would pick LSU, UF, and AU to beat OSU if they played.

tOSU's record against SEC teams is 7-9-2. Try to get in the same galaxy as the facts when posting some historical numbers.

 

[osugrad21]

Considering this disclaimer:

Considering all the hype and all the attention,

I find it difficult to disagree with him. Teddy gets all-universe hype and attention but has not put up those kind of numbers. It doesn't matter that Iowa was probably his best game as a "pure" WR...the numbers were not indicative of the hype.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

In the game thread, one of the feature-pieces posted quotes BG's DL coach as saying the following.

"Our kids might be a little more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this week. They know the highlights of this game are going to be the first thing people see on SportsCenter."

This made me realize that some DB's might find going against Ginn less frightening than you might think.

As a defensive-back, you know that some receivers can put you in a SportsCenter Highlight, running into the end-zone behind them.

Against Ted Ginn Jr., you know that you're not likely to even be in the picture.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Against Ted Ginn Jr., you know that you're not likely to even be in the picture.

Thats fantastic!

 

[OmahaBeef]

Considering this disclaimer:



I find it difficult to disagree with him. Teddy gets all-universe hype and attention but has not put up those kind of numbers. It doesn't matter that Iowa was probably his best game as a "pure" WR...the numbers were not indicative of the hype.

I don't really know, so I'm just honestly wondering, do you think that is ginn's fault, or just the fact that we are so deep at wr this year? I dont watch too too closley, but i dont remember people complaining about him having bad games or anything.

 

[tibor75]

How great is Ted Ginn?

This from the geniuses at ESPN...

Stat of the game... 120: After three straight games with less than 70 yards rushing, Ted Ginn Jr. came up with a big day, gaining 120 yards on 10 carries.

 

[Dryden]

How great is Ted Ginn?

This from the geniuses at ESPN...

Stat of the game... 120: After three straight games with less than 70 yards rushing, Ted Ginn Jr. came up with a big day, gaining 120 yards on 10 carries.

Shit, why does Pittman even see the field then!?

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

COMMENTARY
Ginn has a grip on what it takes to win

Sunday, October 08, 2006

BOB HUNTER

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It is one of the cruelest injustices that can be inflicted on a receiver. Mammoth talent gives, and doubleteams take away.
A dangerous punt returner can suffer a similar injustice, except the means for this thievery is different: an out-of-bounds punt.
Ted Ginn Jr., the fastest man this side of Jess Owens, is lucky, er, unlucky enough to be both receiver and punt returner. Because of all the electrifying moves he has displayed the past two seasons, until yesterday he has been mostly reduced this season to creating opportunities for everybody else.
Ohio State?s No. 1 ranking and 6-0 record are testaments to how well he has done that job. His virtual silence about it is testament to his value as a teammate and friend.
"It?s not that I like it, but it?s just something I?ve got to go with, just something I?ve gotta do now," Ginn said. "I?m getting used to it. I always go into the game thinking if I catch five balls, I?ve got to make it be the best five balls in the whole wide world."
That is an easy thing to say and not necessarily an easy way to live. Ginn began the season as a Heisman Trophy candidate and is now being called a disappointment in some quarters because he hasn?t returned any punts for touchdowns and hasn?t had the big numbers that a receiver of his stature might expect.
It isn?t fair. Yesterday, Bowling Green punted away from Ginn and out of bounds for 25, 21, 25 and 28 yards, all of which gave the Buckeyes good field position. On the one punt that Alonso Rojas boomed for 57 yards, Ginn returned it for 21 yards.
"I don?t think I did anything this year for teams to kick away from me," Ginn said. He smiled. "I could see if I had three or four punt returns to the house, but I haven?t done anything. I don?t like it. But, hey, it?s part of the game."
If you think about how some of the NFL biggest stars would react to that kind of treatment, if you think about the whining that usually erupts whenever a team?s second or third receiver starts consistently leading the team in receptions, you can see how impressive it is that the junior flanker/return specialist simply accepts his role.
"Ted has been the kind of guy and kind of teammate ever since youth when I played with him who it has never been about him," OSU quarterback Troy Smith said. "He would rather jump up and slap fives with somebody else before giving himself all the credit. Don?t get me wrong. He?s gonna work harder than the hardest guy working, but he?s never been that kind of guy who?s, ?It?s all about me.? He?s always been a team-oriented guy. I think those guys end up first, and it?s a direct reflection of what we were taught growing up."
Yesterday was one of those days when Ginn?s teammates were high-fiving him. He grabbed a career-high 10 receptions for 122 yards in the Buckeyes? 35-7 win, mostly on short routes that ultimately created the chance for him to catch a 57-yard touchdown pass, the kind he hasn?t had since the first game game of the season.
Ginn knows he shows what Smith describes ? "He can run past you in the blink of an eye" ? but he is still too team-oriented to say that he wished his coaches would call those deep balls more than they do.
"No, you can?t be selfish," Ginn said. "Just play the play. You can always take a 5-yard catch to an 80-yard pass. You?ve just got to play the play."
Still, it seems unfortunate that in the absence of a couple of spectacular punt returns ? and teams have to punt it to him for that to happen ? he seems destined to be ignored by Heisman voters in a campaign in which he might be a huge reason for what may be a once-ina-lifetime season for his team.
"The Heisman ... in my eyes, I never was fighting for the Heisman," Ginn said. "The Heisman is a good award to win, but the national championship is way bigger than that."
Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch.
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

Tom Archdeacon: Ginn's eyes on bigger prize than Heisman

By Tom Archdeacon
Staff Writer

Sunday, October 08, 2006

COLUMBUS ? When Ted Ginn Jr. doesn't like what he's hearing, he does something about it.
Something dramatic. Something that often leaves other folks saying, "Hey, where'd he just go?"
He showed that as a little boy at the Cleveland church he attended on Sunday mornings. He showed it again Saturday as his No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes steamrolled Bowling Green, 35-7, at Ohio Stadium.
And, like always, his longtime pal, OSU quarterback Troy Smith, was involved.
When the pair were grade-schoolers, they attended Morning Star Baptist Church on Shaker Boulevard in Cleveland.
"The church we went to ? in our eyes ? wasn't for kids," Ginn said Saturday. "Yeah, they had a teen time and all, but we'd sit there and it was like (the preacher) was talking to grown-ups."
That's when a simple look between Smith and the younger Ginn would produce a disappearing act.
As the preacher droned on, they'd quietly slip from their pews. "You could always go find somebody in the hallway," Ginn grinned.
And from there he and Smith would find respite in the basketball gym in the basement of the church or maybe across the street at McDonald's.
Saturday, the junior receiver once again found a way to deal with some preaching he hadn't liked. He heard it a week earlier as Ohio State drilled Iowa, 38-17, before a raucous Kinnick Stadium crowd. At game's end, some Hawkeye fans resorted to taunting him.
Because he'd been overshadowed by fellow receiver Anthony Gonzalez, hadn't caught any of Smith's four touchdown passes and didn't have a big kick return ? his calling card in seasons past ? they goaded him that his Heisman Trophy hopes now were dead.
"Yeah they got on him, but Ted handled it the right way," Bucks' tight end Rory Nichol said. "He told them, 'Who cares? We won.' He might not have had great stats in Iowa ? and I'm sure he didn't like hearing that stuff ? but he didn't (sulk), he just came out today and had a phenomenal game."
Against Bowling Green, Ginn had a career-best 10 catches for 122 yards and a breathtaking 57-yard touchdown catch that produced one of those same "Hey, where'd he just go?" moments.
Early in the fourth quarter, Ginn simply blazed straight past Falcons' cornerback Antonio Smith and, without breaking stride, gathered in a pin-point strike from Troy Smith. It's the eighth time at OSU they've hooked up on a passing play of more than 50 yards.
"Teams try everything to stop him," Nichol said. "They double team, triple team. Rough him up. Kick it away from him. And he just fights through it."
Through six games, Ginn leads the Bucks with 33 catches for 459 yards and five touchdown catches.
While his receiving yards have helped boost the Heisman candidacy of Troy Smith, his statistical shortfall when it comes to return yards ? the Bowling Green punter continually pooched the ball out of bounds rather than allow Ginn to touch it ? has been costly.
The Scripps Howard News Service runs a poll of Heisman voters each week, and after last weekend, Smith was tops in voting, while Ginn's name wasn't on any ballot.
Asked about that, Ginn's smile momentarily evaporated: "I was never ? in my eyes ? fighting for (the Heisman). It's a good award to win but ... winning the national championship is way bigger than that. That's what I want."
His smile had returned.
He'd taken something he didn't want to hear and made it into something he did.

 

[osugrad21]

Link


Ginn back in the spotlight
By Josh Hachat
NNCO

COLUMBUS -- Nobody saw the sigh of relief early in the fourth quarter from Ohio State receiver Ted Ginn Jr., but it was probably there.
After two straight games where opposing defenses focused on stifling him, the junior speedster unleashed the reigns on Saturday. Ginn had a 21-yard punt return, a 57-yard touchdown reception and a career-high 10 catches for 122 yards to boost the top-ranked Buckeyes.
He also saved his best for last.
The TD catch and punt return both came in the fourth quarter, and finished the fight."I just want to catch every ball thrown to me,"Ginn said. "I don't care if it's low or high or whatever. I just want to make my quarterback look good. If I catch five balls, I have to make it be the five best balls in the whole wide world."
Ginn made the most of his opportunities on an involved afternoon. The yardage total is his fourth-best.
He was taken off most Heisman Trophy lists this week after just 84 yards and no touchdowns receiving the past two games, but might have jumped right back into the race with his performance on Saturday.
"He'll run past you in the blink of an eye," quarterback Troy Smith said. "I just try my best to get the ball out there to him because he's so talented and gifted with so much speed. You try to get it to him in stride so he doesn?t have to stop and get a defensive back a chance to break on the ball."
It was his long connection with Smith that left a lasting impression. The Falcons were content with Ginn catching several short balls thrown his way, but he burned BG in one-on-one coverage down the sideline.
Smith lofted a beautiful ball and Ginn caught it in stride just as he crossed the end zone.
"I was especially pleased with the last one because we had a couple homerun opportunities in the last couple games and didn't connect," coach Jim Tressel said.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Ginn makes good on his prediction to Gonzalez

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

NEAL C . LAURON DISPATCH Ohio?s Ted Ginn Jr. returns a punt for a score after Brandon Underwood?s block on Michigan State?s Nehemiah Warrick.


EAST LANSING, Mich. ? Too bad Ted Ginn Jr. couldn?t play all of his games in Spartan Stadium. If so, he might have been more of a factor in the Heisman Trophy race.
He got back in stride on punt returns yesterday, taking one back 60 yards for what coach Jim Tressel called a "gigantic" touchdown in the second quarter of Ohio State?s 38-7 win over Michigan State. Ginn did it in the same place where he had his collegiate coming-out party two years ago, scoring on a punt return, a run and a pass.
"For some reason I feel like this is my home stadium," Ginn said.
It certainly will find a big place in his biography. The punt return was the sixth for a touchdown in his career, breaking the Big Ten record. The record was held by Iowa?s Tim Dwight.
It also made Ginn something of a prophet. On the sideline before the play, he had a prediction for fellow receiver Anthony Gonzalez.
"That was the play today, in my eyes, because we were sitting on the sideline and Ted said, ?I?m gonna score. I?m gonna score,? " Gonzalez said. "He emphatically said, ?Everybody get going. Get up. Everybody stay excited.?
"And sure enough, he catches the ball and goes. Unbelievable. People from Glenville (High School in Cleveland), they can see the future I guess. It?s crazy."
In reality, Ginn saw Michigan State?s Brandon Fields having to punt out of his own end zone, which meant the Spartans would be concerned about a block. Then, even though the punt went 51 yards, Ginn also saw Gonzalez, who had dropped back with him, shielding away Michigan State?s Kendell Davis-Clark, who was coming up the middle.
"I was just so happy Gonzo picked up that one block for me, and when I looked up, I saw all of those green shirts (to the right) and I thought, ?I can?t go that way,? " Ginn said. "I just cut it back, found the lane and took it."
Gonzalez hardly touched the Michigan State player, but that wasn?t the point.
"Any time you give Ted a chance, something good is going to happen, and that was no exception," he said.
Looking up and watching Ginn zoom down the sideline, "It?s pretty cool," Gonzalez said. "I dive and try to hit my guy, and I turn my head and it looks like he?s already 60 yards down the field. It?s like, ?Unbelievable. How did you get there that fast?? "
People had been asking through the first six games this season where his magic had gone, but Ginn said that wasn?t on his mind after the game.
"I?m just happy first for the win," he said. "All week they?ve been talking about the ?98 team getting upset by Michigan State, and the ?74 team, and all that stuff. We just came out and we took it to them early and had fun."
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Ohio State notebook

Ginn's speed startles Spartans

No. 7 has good luck against Michigan State catching, running, returning kicks for TDs

By Marla Ridenour

Beacon Journal sportswriter

EAST LANSING, MICH. - Michigan State coach John L. Smith's lucky number is not 7.
For three years Smith has insisted on kicking and punting to Buckeyes speedster Ted Ginn Jr. with disastrous results. Saturday in Spartan Stadium, the embattled Michigan State coach saw his recurring nightmare come to life again.
Ginn, a junior flanker who wears No. 7, scored his fifth touchdown against the Spartans, this time on a 60-yard punt return, as the top-ranked Buckeyes rolled to a 38-7 victory.
It was the first kick or punt return for a score by Ginn this season, who had six the previous two years.
OSU led just 10-0 in the second quarter when Brandon Fields punted 51 yards to Ginn.
Cornerback Kendell Davis-Clark had a shot at Ginn when he fielded the ball but didn't get a hand on him because receiver Anthony Gonzalez was also deep and picked up Davis-Clark. Linebacker Larry Grant quickly sealed off a lane up the left side with a standup block and Ginn cruised to the end zone.
``I was just happy Gonzalez picked up that one block for me,'' Ginn said. ``When I looked up, I saw all of those green shirts and I knew I couldn't go that way. I cut it back, found a lane and took it.''
``(That) was gigantic,'' Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ``We haven't had too many kicks straight at him where we could get some blocks. When you give Teddy some space, he's as good as it gets. That may have been one of the first times he got space in between the hash marks.
``We always say if you can get Teddy one block... I think it was called a right return and we returned it left for a touchdown. That shows the design was extraordinary. He's special.''
ABC announcers said Buckeyes speed coach Butch Reynolds told them last week that Ginn travels about 27 mph. It looked all of that as Ginn recorded his sixth career punt return, setting the Big Ten career mark (surpassing Iowa's Tim Dwight).
``I think it is great. Records are made to be broken,'' Ginn said. ``You're only here for a short time in your life, so just go out and have fun with it.''
Ginn needs two more to tie the NCAA career record of eight by Wes Welker of Texas Tech and Antonio Perkins of Oklahoma, currently with the Browns.
``I don't set my season on it,'' Ginn said.
Ginn had his breakout game in 2004 against Michigan State when he scored three touchdowns, a 17-yard reverse, a 58-yard reception and a 60-yard punt return. Last year against the Spartans he scored on a 57-yard reception. For his career, Ginn has 22 touchdowns, 15 of 56 yards or longer.
Pittman guts it out
OSU junior tailback Antonio Pittman limped off with less than two minutes to go in the first quarter and trainers went to work on his left ankle.
But he missed only one series until Tressel took the starters out.
The Buchtel product managed 48 yards on 18 carries and scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter, his eighth touchdown of the season.
That surpassed his total of seven in 2005.
Stanton battered
Michigan State senior quarterback Drew Stanton lasted only 2 ? quarters and didn't throw with his usual zip.
He was already playing with bruised ribs, then MSU feared he broke his thumb in practice last week. That injury required drilling a hole in his nail to relieve pressure.
The pounding continued when Stanton hurt his back on a sack by senior defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock in the second quarter.
Stanton's day ended with 9:52 left in the third quarter after he ran out of bounds and smacked his head on a Gatorade cooler.
He was replaced by sophomore Bryan Hoyer at the 6:52 mark in that quarter.
Stanton finished 8 of 16 for 54 yards with an interception and three sacks, two by Pitcock.
Buckeyes
Sophomore linebacker Marcus Freeman notched his second interception of the season with 2:27 left before halftime and it set up an OSU touchdown. The Buckeyes now have 13 interceptions this season.... Freshman tailback Chris ``Beanie'' Wells of Garfield ran for 53 yards on 12 attempts.... Ohio State right guard T.J. Downing of GlenOak was whistled for three false starts.... Right tackle Kirk Barton of Perry said he underwent a radical new laser treatment for plantar fasciitis two weeks ago and has been amazed by the result.... Tressel called back-to-back reverses to Gonzalez and Ginn to start the third quarter, which the coach said he's probably never done. They went for 29 and 16 yards, respectively.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

Spartans pay for punting to Ginn

Buckeye star races 60 yards to break Big Ten record for punt-return TDs.


By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

Sunday, October 15, 2006


EAST LANSING, Mich. ? Opponents have consistently punted away from Ohio State's Ted Ginn Jr., sometimes sending dying quails out of bounds rather than daring to put the ball in his hands.
But Michigan State, which has the Big Ten's all-time punting leader in senior Brandon Fields, decided against that strategy.
Big mistake.
"We haven't had too many kicked straight at him ? where we could get some blocking," OSU coach Jim Tressel said.
"If you give Teddy some space, he's as good as it gets. That may be one of the first times that he got some space in between the hash marks. And he's gonna go."
After a 51-yard boot by Fields ? and helpful blocks from Larry Grant and Anthony Gonzalez ? Ginn accelerated through an opening in the middle of the field, veered left and was never touched.
The 60-yarder was his first punt-return TD this season and the sixth of his career, breaking the Big Ten record he shared with Iowa's Tim Dwight.
The all-time national mark is eight.
"It's a great feeling," Ginn said. "You have to experience it on your own (to know). I guess it's like having a kid."
The Buckeyes had called for a return to the right, but Ginn, who had lined up deep with Gonzalez, had to improvise.
"I looked up and saw all those green shirts," he recalled. "I said, 'I can't go that way.' I saw a lane and took it."
While lining up deep with Gonzalez, Ginn predicted a TD.
"When you have their backs to the wall, and they have to punt out of the end zone, it's an easy return," Ginn said. "I told Gonzo, 'One of us is taking it to the house.'?''
Ginn also had a similar punt return against Michigan State here in 2004, ripping off another 60-yarder by looping to his left and reaching the goal line without ever feeling a fingertip.
"For some reason, this feels like my home stadium," he said.
Ginn injected a little levity into the affair by ad-libbing on a flea-flicker. He was supposed to throw a pass on a reverse to Gonzalez, who was covered. And the Buckeyes didn't have a second option.
After juking for several seconds, he uncorked a floater to tight end Rory Nicol that fell incomplete. Amazingly, the Buckeyes weren't flagged for having offensive linemen downfield.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

OHIO STATE INSIDER
Ginn has return to form with TD


Sunday, October 15, 2006

Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter

East Lansing, Mich.- Ted Ginn Jr. was running up and down the Ohio State sideline as Michigan State was stopped on third down deep in its own territory during the second quarter Saturday. The Buckeyes return man, stifled so far this season by angled kicks and poor punts, sensed something.
He thought his first return for a score this season was coming. He was right.
Ginn's 60-yard punt return for a touchdown was the sixth of his career, breaking the Big Ten record he had shared with Iowa's Tim Dwight. He's now two shy of the NCAA career record.
A week after freshman receiver Ray Small had told coach Jim Tressel he'd score his first touchdown and did it, Ginn just knew his first TD return of the season was on the way.
"I guess people from Glenville can see the future," Ohio State receiver Anthony Gonzalez said. "Ted was adamant we were about to take that back. I don't know how he knew, he just knew. He knew we were going to score on that play. It was crazy."
What did Ginn know? He knew that with Michigan State back on its 9-yard line, punter Brandon Fields, who has the best career punting average in the country, would be forced to boom the ball out. And he knew all he needed was a chance.
"We haven't had too many kicked straight at him, where he could get some blocks," OSU coach Jim Tressel said. "That guy kicked the heck out of that ball. When you get Teddy some space, he's as good as it gets. That may have been one of the first times where he got space in between the hash marks, and he's going to go with it."
The punt return was actually designed to go to the right, but that wasn't going to work.
"I looked up and saw all those green shirts, and I was like, 'I can't go that way,' " Ginn said. "I cut it back and found a lane and took it."
After that one step right, Ginn headed back left as Gonzalez screened off the first Spartans player down the field.
"I just dove and hoped I didn't clip the guy," Gonzalez said. "By the time I turned around, Ted was 5 yards away from the end zone."
By that point, Ginn had already hit his seam. Larry Grant sealed off two Michigan State players with an inside block, and Andre Amos got a block on a player on the sideline. Ginn spurted through that hole untouched, and it was open field from there.
"It's just a great feeling," Ginn said of that moment in the clear. "It's something that you've got to experience for yourself. It's just like having a kid, I guess."
It was in Spartan Stadium two years ago that Ginn grew into a college football force with a three-touchdown game. One of those scores was a 60-yard punt return, just like Saturday, down the left side, like Saturday, and into the same end zone.
He now has five touchdowns against Michigan State in his career, four in Spartan Stadium.
"For some reason," Ginn said, "I feel like this is my home stadium."
Barton better than ever:
Right tackle Kirk Barton said he felt great on the field Saturday after sitting out most of last week with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Though Barton was wearing a soft boot on the foot after the game, he said the medical procedure he had on the foot alleviated a problem he'd faced all year.
"It's a little sore, but nothing compared to the last five weeks how bad it hurt," Barton said. "Now it's just a little pinch. I'm better long term and short term, because at the end of games, it was really painful to play. I tried not to show anything, but on film you could see a little downfall toward the end of games. Now I felt great the whole game. I'm happy with the result."
Hoyer in:
St. Ignatius grad Brian Hoyer was forced to take over after Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton banged his head and neck against a water cooler on Ohio State's sideline. The sophomore completed 11 of 14 passes for 81 yards while leading the Spartans' only touchdown drive of the game.
Stanton was injured on an 8-yard, third-quarter run when OSU linebacker Marcus Freeman pushed him out of bounds, and after hitting the turf, he slid into the cooler.
"I really didn't get a clean shot on him," Freeman said. "He slid into the cooler, so I hope he's getting better."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-4479

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ToledoBlade

BUCKEYES NOTEBOOK
Ginn proves OSU?s net asset

By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER


EAST LANSING, Mich. ? After a long, incomplete pass early in yesterday?s game against Michigan State, Ted Ginn Jr. ran out of bounds and straight into the net the Spartans? punters use to warm up along the sideline. They should have kept Ginn in there, or used the net to try to keep track of the swift Ohio State receiver.

Ginn burned Michigan State a short time later with a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown, part of the assault in top-ranked Ohio State?s 38-7 victory over the Spartans.

The first player downfield for Michigan State on the punt play missed him, and Ginn simply accelerated past the rest of them.

Most teams elect to kick the ball short, out of bounds, or angle it away from Ginn. Michigan State played with fire, and got scorched.

The Spartans should have known better ? Ginn has five TDs against them in his career.

?We haven?t had too many teams kick right at him,? Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ?But when you give Teddy some space, he?s as good as it gets. We?ve always said that if we can just get Teddy one block, then ??

The punt return for a touchdown was the sixth of Ginn?s career, establishing a Big Ten record, just two off the NCAA career mark.

Iowa?s Tim Dwight (1994-97) had held the Big Ten record.

?I think that?s great,? Ginn said. ?Records are made to be broken. Someone else will come along and break it, and that?s great. You?re only here for a short time in your life, so you should just go out and have fun with it.?

Ginn has 22 touchdowns in his Ohio State career, and 15 of them have come from 50 yards or farther.

GOING GONZO: When Ohio State scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Troy Smith to Anthony Gonzalez to take a 24-0 halftime lead over Michigan State, none of the coaches were taking any bows.

The play was called by Gonzalez during a timeout.

?We had another one in mind, but he called that play, and it worked,? Tressel said.

?Gonzo is such a heady player out there, and his awareness of all that is going on is something. I was never up for a Rhodes Scholarship, so I listened to him.?

Smith said with the way Gonzalez studies film and digests the game plan, there was no reason to question the call.

?That?s why we call him ?The Wizard? ? if you give him a chance, he?s going to do things and see things that will just mesmerize you,? Smith said.

?He?s a great player who is going to continue to grow as a player, and as a man.?

FIELDS REPORT: Toledo St. John?s grad Brandon Fields had another outstanding day punting for Michigan State, knocking eight kicks for an average of 40.4 yards on a blustery, windy day.

Fields had a long punt of 51 yards, and put four kicks inside the 20.

Fields, seventh in the nation with a 46.1 average, has a career average of 45.7, which ranks him first on the Big Ten career list.

He was a consensus All-American in 2004, and is a leading candidate for the Ray Guy Award that goes to the nation?s top punter.

MORE GONZO: Ohio State junior wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez had seven receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown yesterday.

Gonzalez has five touchdown catches this season, and 31 of his 34 receptions this year have gone for first downs or touchdowns.