When Ohio State started scheduling Ohio-based universities in the mid-1990s, then-OSU coach John Cooper surmised that “if you play them 20 times, they will beat you once.”
That nearly happened on Saturday at Ohio Stadium as upset-minded Ohio U. nearly slayed No. 3-ranked Ohio State. But the Buckeyes rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to take a 26-14 win before 105,002 at the Horseshoe and the order of the universe was restored.
It was an ugly game, certainly. Cooper, in fact, would have had a way to describe this one as well: “It goes in the left-hand column, guys.”
In summing up the game, OSU head coach Jim Tressel said his team could have been guilty of looking forward to next week’s showdown at No. 1 USC.
“You were there as well as we were and I guess the way that I would take a nutshell look at it would be, it kind of looked like everyone predicted you might look like in between your opener and your big ‘national stage game,’ which is disappointing, because we really needed to make progress,” Tressel said.
“We didn't play to the best of our ability every snap, every guy, and we didn't coach to the best of our ability every snap, every guy.”
It is hard to believe that one player would mean this much of a difference. But a veteran Ohio State team that has played for the last two national championships needed a huge break and a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat their game opponent from the Mid-American Conference.
The Buckeyes (2-0) played without Heisman Trophy candidate Chris “Beanie” Wells at tailback and it showed. Ohio State – a five-touchdown favorite – trailed 7-6 at halftime and 14-12 after three quarters. But a fumbled OU punt opened the door for the Buckeyes to finally reclaim the lead early in the fourth quarter.
Without Wells – sidelined with a foot injury -- OSU struggled to establish the running game. The Buckeyes barely outgained OU 272-254 in total yardage. OSU rotated Maurice Wells, Boom Herron and Brandon Saine at tailback. Wells started and finished with 48 yards on nine carries. Herron had 50 yards on 12 carries, while Saine had five carries for 15 yards.
“You love to have all your guys and you like to have your veterans,” Tressel said. “You like to have the guys in the huddle that can have that presence and create that energy and so forth, but sometimes you don't and you've got to be just as good when you don't. But of course we would have loved to have him.”
Herron scored his first career touchdown to help the Buckeyes’ comeback bid in the third quarter.
“We started off a little slow, but we picked up the fight in the second half,” Herron said. “I had to do something to get the offenses running because a lot of the guys were frustrated on the sidelines. We really need to work hard next week.”
Quarterback Todd Boeckman also had an up-and-down day for the Buckeyes. He completed 16 of 26 passes for 110 yards.
“Offensively, we need to get a lot better,” Boeckman said. “We did some things out there we're not very proud of. We made some mistakes. You've got to give a lot of credit to OU. We knew they were going to do it, they came and did it. They came at us.”
With OSU trailing 7-6, Boeckman let an errant shotgun snap get away from him in the end zone and Ohio U.defensive end Curtis Meyers recovered it for a touchdown that gave the upstart Bobcats a 14-6 lead with 9:00 left in the third quarter.
OSU rallied with short touchdown runs by Herron and Saine – the second one set up by the fumbled OU punt return, which Shaun Lane recovered at the OU 25-yard line – to grab a 19-14 lead with 14:00 left. A Ray Small punt return for a touchdown midway through the final quarter gave OSU some breathing room.
Ohio U. quarterback Boo Jackson came off the bench after an early injury to starter Theo Scott and he nearly sparked the Bobcats (0-2) to the upset. He completed 9 of 25 passes for 86 yards with three interceptions. He also carried the ball seven times for 55 yards.
"We had a lot of confidence in him,” said OU coach Frank Solich. “Boo was great in practice and really progressed offensively. We felt fortunate to have the depth at quarterback and it played out for us today."
Solich shared his thoughts on his team’s upset bid.
"As the game went on, we got more confident,” Solich said. “We were prepared to fight back against adversity. When you get things to happen for you and make plays, the belief starts to set in.
"We don't feel good. It was good to take it into the fourth quarter, but we would've liked it to be that way at the end of the fourth quarter."
Ohio State went three-and-out on its first two possessions. OSU defensive end Lawrence Wilson struck the first big blow for the Buckeyes as he tipped a pass from Scott pass to himself and returned it 21 yards to the OU 24-yard line with 6:02 left in the first quarter.
“I just kind of smacked the pass and it was up in the air,” Wilson said. “I thought, ‘Hey, I can catch that.’ I caught it and I took off running. My teammates said I wasn’t running very fast. They caught me.”
Boeckman converted a third-and-9 predicament as he stood in under pressure and found Small on a crossing pass for a 9-yard gain and a first down at the OU 14. But the drive sputtered as Herron got 2 yards on first down, Boeckman hit Small for 3 yards on second down and his third down pass to Small in the end zone was incomplete. Ryan Pretorius’ 27-yard field goal put OSU up 3-0 with 3:00 left in the first quarter.
Freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor came in on the next possession. He got 1 yard on an option keeper on first down before he threw incompletions on the next two plays and the Buckeyes had to punt the ball away.
The Buckeyes got the ball back quickly, though, as on third-and-10 from the OU 46, Jackson threw wildly into the right flat. OSU corner Malcolm Jenkins made a leaping interception at the OSU 39 with 14:55 left in the first half.
Boeckman was back at the controls. He scrambled for a 16-yard gain and Wells had a 12-yard gain, putting OSU in position at the OU 38. But Wells got 2 yards on first down and Boeckman dumped the ball off to Wells for 4 yards on second down. Boeckman’s quick pass to Robiskie on third down got 3 yards, setting up fourth-and-1 at the 29.
OSU lined up in the I-formation and tried to plow Wells straight ahead. But OU defensive tackle Jameson Hartke stopped him for no gain and the Bobcats took over on downs with 12:17 left in the first half.
Ohio U. then drove 72 yards in 11 plays to grab the lead. The drive got a big early boost when Jackson avoided a sure sack by OSU’s Wilson and spun away to hit a sliding Taylor Price for a 30-yard gain and a first down at the OSU 45.
“I couldn’t believe he got away from me,” Wilson said.
Jackson later scrambled for 10 yards and a first down at the 32. Jackson then found Riley Dunlop on a crossing route for a 12-yard gain and a first down at the 15.
On second-and-10 from the 15, OU’s Donte Harden took a give and went left. The Bobcats blocked it perfectly, locking up linebackers Ross Homan and James Laurinaitis. Harden made a smooth cutback and scored untouched from 15 yards out to give Ohio U. an unlikely 7-3 lead with 6:56 left in the first half.
Boeckman and the Buckeyes went back to work. He hit tight end Jake Ballard for a 25-yard gain and a first down at the OU 39. A 13-yard gain by Herron put the Buckeyes in business at the Ohio U. 23. But the drive bogged down (again). Boeckman had a pair of incompletions, one off Robiskie’s hands and another off Hartline’s hands in the end zone. OSU settled for Pretorius’ 39-yard field goal, trimming the OU lead to 7-6 with 5:02 left in the half.
OSU forced a quick three-and-out and, after a poor OU punt, took over at the Bobcats’ 48-yard line with 3:46 left. Boeckman found Small for an 8-yard gain and a first down at the 38. Once again, though, the drive stalled out. Boeckman’s first-down pass to Hartline was high and incomplete. He hooked up with Small for 6 yards on second down. But was sacked by OU’s Kris Luchsinger for a 4-yard loss at the OU 36.
The Buckeyes let the clock roll down to 1:03 before taking a timeout. Pretorius came on to attempt a 53-yard field goal, but it sailed wide left and OU took a 7-6 lead to the locker room at halftime.
Ohio U. had the ball to open the second half and drove 56 yards down to the OSU 34 before punting it away and pinning OSU back on its own 6.
On third-and-2 from the OSU 14, center Jimmy Cordle’s snap sailed over Boeckman’s head and landed near the goal line. Boeckman appeared to recover it, but was hit by OU’s Lee Renfro and the ball popped loose for Meyers to recover for the touchdown and a 14-6 lead with 9:00 left in the third quarter.
“I gave the snap signal and I kind of looked up a little bit,” Boeckman said. “The ball was in the air and it was a little high. I guess it was maybe both of our faults a little bit. I thought I fell on the ball and had it on my stomach, so we’ll see.”
Meyers added, "I just got my hands on it and I wasn't going to let anyone take it."
Ohio State answered with a determined 13-play, 73-yard scoring drive. Herron started it with a 14-yard gain. Boeckman then found Dane Sanzenbacher for 12 more. The key play came on third-and-7 at the OU 10. Boeckman, under blitz pressure, hit Hartline on a slant for a 9-yard gain and a first down at the 1.
On first down there, Herron plowed in over left guard behind H-back Brandon Smith and fullback Curtis Terry for the 1-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 14-12 with 2:51 left in the third quarter.
“I felt like we had to get it in there,” said Herron, who scored his first career touchdown. “It was an honor. It was exciting and fun. I felt like they trusted me to run the ball. Everyone who was on the field did a great job on that play. We came off fighting and we knew we had to get a touchdown there. That’s why we got into the end zone.”
Instead of going for two to try and tie it, Tressel opted to have Pretorius try a PAT kick. The kick sailed wide left and OSU still trailed by two.
OSU then forced a three-and-out, but went three-and-out itself. But OU’s Mar Parson fumbled A.J. Trapasso’s punt and OSU’s Shaun Lane recovered it barely before falling out of bounds at the OU 25 with 58 seconds left. The play was reviewed – very briefly – and the officials’ call for the Lane recovery stood up.
“I was shocked he dropped it,” Lane said. “I’m sure he felt me coming. They sent the anti-sniper to block the punt so I got down there clean. I was trying to lean to get him and then I saw he dropped it. I just dived for it.
“I don’t want to call it the play of the game. It was just me taking advantage of my opportunity and doing what my team depends on me to do.”
The Buckeyes needed six plays to find the end zone. On third-and-11 from the 26, Boeckman hit Dane Sanzenbacher in the right flat for a 12-yard gain and a first down at the 14. Saine then got the call with runs of 7 and 5 yards to set up first-and-goal at the 2. Saine plowed in behind left guard for the 2-yard touchdown that staked OSU to a 19-14 lead with 14:00 left.
“It felt really good to score,” Saine said. “I haven’t scored since last year against Washington. We had two big guys in there (Smith and Terry) who love to hit people so if we just stay in behind them it will be good.”
Ohio U. then drove across the 50, but linebacker Marcus Freeman tipped a Jackson pass and Laurinaitis intercepted it with 9:05 left to thwart the threat.
OSU’s Small provided some breathing room with his dazzling 69-yard punt return for a touchdown to make it 26-14 with 5:57 left.
“First of all, I saw a good punt,” said Small, who enjoyed his first career punt return score. “He hadn’t kicked it good all day and I was like, ‘I’m not fair catching.’ I was kind of thirsty. So, I saw the good kick and it just kind of clicked in my head that I had Brian Hartline next to me and I always know he’s got my back. So, I made a guy miss and then crossed and I knew I had it from there.
“On the punt return, everyone can’t be blocked. It’s an 11-on-11 thing and if the other 10 guys do their job, then I’ve got to do my job and make somebody miss.”
OSU safety Anderson Russell picked off a Jackson pass with 3:06 left and the Buckeyes – with Pryor running mostly keepers -- ran out the remaining time to escape with the win.
Also Notable
* Small’s punt return touchdown was OSU’s first since Hartline had a school-record 90-yarder last year against Kent State.
* OSU had four interceptions in a game for the first time since a 2001 win over San Diego State. Wilson had his first career pick, while it was the second for Russell, eighth for Laurinaitis and ninth for Jenkins.
* This was be the sixth all-time meeting between these two schools. The last match-up was on Sept. 18, 1999, at Ohio Stadium with 13th-ranked Ohio State posting a come-from-behind 40-16 win in what would end up as a dismal 6-6 campaign for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State won the four previous meetings between the schools from 1899-1902 by a combined score of 95-0.
There are no more games between the schools presently scheduled.
* Ohio U. is now 0-14 all-time against ranked teams.
* Under Solich, Ohio U. is 2-6 against teams from BCS conferences. That record includes wins over Pittsburgh in 2005 (16-10 in overtime at home) and at Illinois in 2006 (20-17). Last year, Ohio U. traveled to eventual ACC champion Virginia Tech and lost 28-7.
* Ohio State is now 176-48-15 all-time against opponents from the state of Ohio. OSU has played at least one Ohio opponent every year since 1997. OSU has not lost to an Ohio opponent since falling to Oberlin 7-6 in 1921. OSU has never lost a game to an Ohio team in Ohio Stadium, which opened in 1922.
The Buckeyes are now 19-0 against Ohio competition since a 1992 win over Bowling Green. OSU has won those games by an average of 22.8 points.
* OSU is now 46-5 at home under Tressel. The five losses were to Wisconsin and Illinois in 2001, Wisconsin in 2004, Texas in 2005 and Illinois last year. OSU has also now won 20 of its last 21 home games.
* The win over Ohio U. is the 800th in school history for Ohio State. OSU became just the fifth Division I-A football program with 800 wins, joining the likes of Michigan (869), Notre Dame (824), Texas (821) and Nebraska (818). Also in the top 10 are Penn State (791), Alabama (788), Oklahoma (777), Tennessee (771) and USC (754).
“It is a big accomplishment,” Freeman said. “I wish we could have had a better win, but it really shows how prestigious this university is.”
* Football alums Bobby Hoying and Jeff Uhlenhake were inducted into the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame this weekend. They and the other members of the 2008 class was recognized at halftime.
* Ohio State travels to No. 1-ranked USC (1-0) next Saturday. The game, set for an 8 p.m. Eastern start, will be televised nationally by ABC.
* Here are highlights from ESPN and ScoutingOhio.com (premium link):
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/articles/2008/9/6/bucknuts-tv-ohio-state-ohio-u--highlights
Here is Dave Biddle's game blog:
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/articles/2008/9/6/live-game-blog-ohio-u-at-ohio-state
Here is video of Jim Tressel's postgame press conference:
http://scoutingoh.com/Bucknuts_Jim_Tressel_090608.htm
Here is video of the captains' postgame press conference:
http://scoutingoh.com/Bucknuts_Captains_090608.htm
Special thanks to ScoutingOhio.com for their help with video.
