2006 Ohio State Buckeyes Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews
Jan. 8
BCS Championship
Florida 41 ... Ohio State 14
Florida dominated Ohio State on both sides of the ball holding
the Buckeye offense to eight first downs and 82 total yards of offense
while amassing 370 yards and scoring 21 straight points in the first
15:04. Things started out on a high note for OSU as Ted Ginn Jr. took
the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, but the Gators responded
with a big kickoff return, helped by a penalty, and a seven-play,
46-yard drive finishing with a 14-yard Dallas Baker touchdown catch.
Percy Harvin ran for a four-yard score, and DeShawn Wynn ran for a
two-yard touchdown for the big lead, but the Buckeyes appeared to have
some life after an 18-yard Antonio Pittman touchdown run. That would be
it as Florida got two Chris Hetland field goals and took advantage of a
sack and Troy Smith fumble to go five yards in the final minute of the
first half finishing with a one-yard Andre Caldwell touchdown catch from
Tim Tebow. Tebow closed out the scoring with a one-yard run in the
fourth quarter. Player of the game ...
Florida DEs
Jarvis Moss and Derrick Harvey. The
two Gator ends combined to make six tackles, five sacks, and came up
with several hurries. Moss forced a key Troy Smith fumble at the end of
the first half deep in Buckeye territory, and Harvey recovered it.
Stat Leaders: Florida- Passing: Chris Leak, 35-36, 213 yds,
1 TD Rushing: DeShawn Wynn, 19-69, 1 TD Receiving: Percy Harvin,
9-60 Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 4-14, 35 yds, 1
INT
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 10-62, 1 TD Receiving: Anthony Gonzalez, 2-11 Notes & Thoughts ...
-
Quarter by quarter
game notes ...
Troy Smith didn't have anyone to throw to.
That's not to say the Buckeyes would've beaten the Gators if Ted Ginn
hadn't hurt his ankle, but it certainly didn't help. The Florida
secondary swarmed all over Anthony Gonzalez and the OSU receivers, and
the game was over. OSU's defense didn't do anything to shut down the
Gator offense, and down 21-7, had to all but abandon the running game.
... Time of possession: Florida 40:48 - Ohio State 19.12. Third down
conversions: Florida 10 of 19, Ohio State one of nine. The Gators
pitched a near-perfect game. ... The Ohio State energy level never
appeared to be there, even after Ginn's opening kickoff return for a
score. Florida was always bouncing around and crisp, while OSU appeared
to be going through the motions with no pop on either side of the ball.
The Gators had a lot to do with that.
Nov. 18
Ohio State 42 ... Michigan 39
Ohio State won a classic as Troy Smith threw four touchdown
passes to four different receivers highlighted by a 39-yard pass to Ted
Ginn off a fake for a 21-7 second half lead and an eight-yard strike to
Anthony Gonzalez for a 28-14 halftime advantage. Michigan roared back
with a stop on OSU's first second half possession to go 60 yards in five
plays finished off by the second of Mike Hart's three touchdown runs.
The Wolverines pulled within four on a 39-yard Garrett Rivas field goal,
but the Buckeyes got their second big touchdown run of the game, the
first coming in the first half on a brilliant, spinning 52-yard dash
from Chris Wells, on an Antonio Pittman 56-yard dash. Michigan
capitalized off a fumble with a short Hart scoring run, but head coach
Lloyd Carr chose to kick the extra point rather than go for two allowing
OSU to be up by four. With an 11-play, 82-yard drive that took five
minutes and was kept alive on a penalty from a helmet-to-helmet hit on a
third down misfire, Smith hit Brian Robiskie on a 13-yard touchdown pass
for a 42-31 lead. Michigan marched back with a 16-yard touchdown pass to
Tyler Ecker and the two point conversion, but the Buckeyes recovered the
onside kick and ran out the clock. Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith
completed 25 of 41 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns with two
interceptions Stat Leaders: Michigan- Passing: Chad
Henne, 21-35, 267 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Mike Hart, 23-142, 3 TD. Receiving:
Mario Manningham, 6-86 Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 25-41,
316 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 18-139, 1 TD. Receiving:
Ted Ginn, 8-104, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Quarter by Quarter Game Notes
...
It's on to Glendale. Ohio State
got everything Michigan had, but kept coming back with the big plays, at
least on offense, when it absolutely needed them. Troy Smith was
brilliant in the first half sealing up the Heisman, Ted Ginn had his
best game of the season, and the backs came up with brilliant long runs.
The defense struggled and the offense had a hard time putting the game
away, but that was the number two team in the nation the Buckeyes just
beat. How can anyone possibly find fault with cranking out 503 yards of
total offense and 42 points on one of the best teams in the nation? Give
credit to an offensive line that, once again, had a strong game. When
Smith got time, it was a thing of beauty.
Nov. 11
Ohio State 54 ... Northwestern 10
Ohio State had little trouble getting out to a 21-0 first
quarter lead and was up 33-10 at halftime helped by three Troy Smith
touchdown passes, including two to Brian Hartline, and a 46-yard
interception return for a score from Brandon Mitchell. Smith hit Ted
Ginn with a 34-yard touchdown pass with three seconds to play in the
first half to spark a run of 27 unanswered points. Northwestern
scored on a eight-yard Tyrell Sutton touchdown catch and a 29-yard
Joel Howells field goal. Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith
completed 12 of 19 passes for 185 yards and four touchdowns with an
interception Stat Leaders: Northwestern- Passing: C.J.
Bacher, 17-28, 212 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Tyrell Sutton, 12-57. Receiving:
Tyrell Sutton, 7-75, 1 TD Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 12-19,
185 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chris Wells, 11-99, 1 TD. Receiving: Brian
Hartline, 3-47, 2 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk
about coming into the Michigan game on a roll, the Buckeyes took
care of business against Northwestern like it was a light scrimmage
spreading the ball around well and getting a nice bounce-back day
from Troy Smith after the lousy Illinois outing. The backups got
some good work in, the starters got their mojo back, and the defense
was never really threatened. Now the team can finally turn its full
attention on Michigan with the of the tunnel in sight.
Nov. 4
Ohio State 17 ... Illinois 10
Ohio State's high-powered offense was held to 224 yards
surviving thanks to a big first drive going 80 yards in 14 plays
finishing with a two-yard Chris Wells touchdown run while using a
short field to finish with a one-yard Antonio Pittman scoring run.
The Buckeyes finished off their scoring late in the first half with
a 50-yard Aaron Pettrey field goal. Illinois hit a 37-yard Jason
Reda field goal and got a three-yard Rashard Mendenhall touchdown
run with 1:40 to play, but couldn't get the ball back until late
with the ball on its two with only four seconds to play. Player of the game ... Ohio State LB Jim Laurinaitis
made 11 tackles and picked off a pass, while in a losing cause,
Illinois LB J Leman made 19 tackles, one sack, forced a fumble and
made 3.5 tackles for loss. Stat Leaders: Illinois- Passing: Isaiah
Williams, 8-18, 77 yds Rushing: Pierre Thomas, 8-58. Receiving:
Jeff Cumberland, 4-62 Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 13-23,
108 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 32-58, 1 TD. Receiving:
Ted Ginn, 5-26 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Forget
about the Illinois game chalking it up to one lazy, down performance
in an otherwise brilliant season. However, this can't be a start of
a trend. If the Buckeyes struggle at Northwestern next week, then
it's time to seriously worry about what the offense will do against
Michigan. This was the first time all year the offensive line was
lousy getting no room for Antonio Pittman to move. Illinois might be
playing better lately on defense, but there's no excuse for a team
as powerful as OSU to only gain 224 yards and only 144 after the
first drive of the game.
Oct. 28
Ohio State 44 ... Minnesota 0
Ohio State had no problem with the Gophers cranking out 484
yards of total offense and getting two Antonio Pittman rushing
touchdowns and Troy Smith ran for a score and threw an 18-yard
touchdown pass to Brian Robiskie. Minnesota was held to 47 rushing
yards and lost three interceptions failing to ever mount any sort of
a threat. Chris Wells and Justin Zwick added short touchdown runs in
the fourth quarter. Player of the game ... Ohio State RB Antonio Pittman
ran 21 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: Minnesota- Passing: Bryan
Cupito, 13-25, 120 yds, 3 INT Rushing: Amir Pinnix, 14-46. Receiving:
Jack Simmons, 5-48 Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 14-21,
183 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 21-116, 2 TD. Receiving:
Brian Hartline, 4-69 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It's all
working right now for the Buckeyes. Minnesota wasn't even in the
stadium and the Buckeyes were rolling. While Troy Smith got hit a
bit, he's still getting plenty of time to make plays and more than
enough time to find his third and fourth options. With everything
working well, now it's time to start working on some new things and
giving Michigan some things to think about. Even more deep passes
wouldn't be bad, more running from Smith, and a few different
blitzes would be nice. Of course, that's if the Buckeyes feel like
getting creative instead of just winning every game in a blowout.
Oct. 21
Ohio State 44 ... Indiana 3
Ohio State got down 3-0 on a 34-yard Austin Starr field goal,
and then scored 44 unanswered points with Troy Smith throwing four
touchdown passes to four different receivers, including a 31-yard throw
to Ted Ginn, who also threw a scoring pass connecting with Rory Nichol
for a 38-yard pass. Chris Wells capped things off with a 12-yard run
midway through the fourth quarter. OSU outgained IU 540 yards to 165. Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith
completed 15 of 23 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns and ran four
times for 38 yards Stat Leaders: Indiana- Passing: Kellen
Lewis, 15-28, 106 Rushing: Demetrius McCray, 12-13. Receiving:
James Hardy, 6-45 Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 15-23,
220 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 16-105. Receiving: Ted
Ginn, 5-72, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It took
Ohio State a little while to wake up against Indiana, and then it looked
like a number one team is supposed to with a dominant performance on
both sides of the ball. The defense held IU to seven rushing yards,
while the offense had perfect balance with 270 yards rushing and 270
yards receiving. It's now to the point where Troy Smith can come up with
a sluggish game and still throw four touchdown passes along with a
couple of highlight reel plays. DB Antonio Smith had a huge game with 12
tackles, a sack, forced fumble, and four tackles for loss.
Oct. 14
Ohio State 38 ...
Michigan State 7
Ohio State won in a walk as Troy Smith threw two touchdown
passes, including a Heisman-reel play to Brian Robiskie on a
seven-yard strike, and Ted Ginn returned a punt 60 yards for a
score. Antonio Pittman started the Buckeye scoring with a two-yard
run to cap an 80-yard, 12-play drive, and Chris Wells ended it with
a five-yard score. MSU finally got on the board with just over a
minute to play with a six-yard A.J. Jimmerson run. The Spartans were
held to 198 yards of total offense with 69 of them coming on the
final drive. Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith
completed 15 of 22 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: Michigan State- Passing:
Drew Stanton, 8-16, 54 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Jehuu Caulcrick, 15-45. Receiving:
Terry Love, 4-44 Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 15-22,
234 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Chris Wells, 12-53, 1 TD. Receiving:
Anthony Gonzalez, 7-118, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Ohio
State is a machine. Michigan State never had a chance with the way
the Buckeyes were playing on both sides of the ball. The offense was
balanced and nearly flawless with Troy Smith coming up with yet
another fantastic game, and Ted Ginn, for the second game in a row,
started to show off the explosiveness and ability that brought him
so much hype. Quinn Pitcock doesn't get a ton of national exposure,
but he might be playing better than any defensive tackle in America.
Everything's working; there's no touching this team until the
Michigan game.
Oct. 7
Ohio State 35 ... Bowling Green 7
Ohio State got a near-perfect game from Troy Smith and Ted
Ginn's best game of the season, but it took an 11-yard touchdown pass to
Ray Small and a 57-yard touchdown from Ginn in the fourth quarter to
finally put the game away. Bowling Green hung around with a 12-yard
Corey Partridge scoring catch in the third quarter, but there was no
answer for Ginn or Smith. Antonio Pittman ran for two first half scores
for the Buckeyes and Rory Nicol caught a three-yard touchdown pass. Player of the game ... Ohio State WR Ted Ginn caught
ten passes for 122 yards and a touchdown Stat Leaders: Bowling Green- Passing:
Anthony Turner, 16-24, 179 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Chris Bullock, 21-72. Receiving:
Corey Partridge, 4-49, 1 TD Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 17-20,
191 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 13-61, 2 TD. Receiving:
Ted Ginn, 10-122, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Yeah,
yeah, yeah, Ohio State doesn't put up a bazillion points a game under
Jim Tressel, but how is it that Troy Smith is lights out, Ted Ginn comes
up with a fantastic game, and yet the game was still close into the
fourth quarter. Bowling Green should've been knocked out far earlier.
Obviously, the Buckeyes were able to turn up the pressure when needed,
but it would be nice to see a 55-7 romp at some point.
Sept. 30
Ohio State 38 ... Iowa 17
Ohio State took the raucous Iowa crowd out of the game early
with a 12-yard touchdown catch from Anthony Gonzalez 2:24 into the
game, and stayed ahead the rest of the way. Troy Smith threw four
touchdown passes and Gonzalez scored again on a brilliant, weaving
30-yard touchdown catch. Iowa got a four-yard touchdown catch from
Andy Brodell and a 15-yard touchdown run from Albert Young, but the
Buckeyes always stayed one step ahead turning a Marcus Freeman
interception of Drew Tate into a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brian
Robiskie. Player of the game ... Ohio State QB Troy Smith
completed 16 of 25 passes for 186 yards and four touchdowns
and ran seven times for 20 yards Stat Leaders: Iowa- Passing: Drew Tate,
19-41, 249 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT Rushing: Albert Young, 11-48, 1 TD. Receiving:
Scott Chandler, 6-87 Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 16-25,
186 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 25-117, 1 TD. Receiving:
Ted Ginn, 7-69 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk
about your cold, efficient performances, Ohio State played like a
team that had seen it all and done it all. It had already dealt with
a crazy road atmosphere at Texas, so Iowa's Kinnick Stadium wasn't
going to be a problem. Troy Smith continues to get time, and he
continues to deliver with clutch play after clutch play finding all
his targets to take whatever's given to him. The defense gave up
some yards to Drew Tate, but it also came up with more than its
share of big plays to kill any Hawkeye momentum. Now, only the road
trip to Michigan State stands in the way of an 11-0 start before the
Michigan game.
Sept. 23
Ohio State 28 ... Penn State 6
Penn State had the ball with just over two minutes to play and
down eight points in a tight defensive game, and then the Buckeye
secondary took over as Malcolm Jenkins stepped in front of an
Anthony Morelli pass for a 61-yard score. Antonio Smith rubbed salt
in to the wound taking another Morelli pass 55 yards for a
touchdown. The Buckeye offense had a few good moments with a 12-yard
Antonio Pittman touchdown run in the third quarter, and Troy Smith
came up with a Heisman highlight play in the fourth scrambling out
of danger before throwing a 37-yard strike to Brian Robiskie for a
touchdown. Penn State only managed two Kevin Kelly field goals. Player of the game ... Ohio State RB Antonio Pittman
ran 20 times for 110 yards and a touchdown Stat Leaders: Penn State- Passing:
Anthony Morelli, 16-25, 106 yds, 3 INT Rushing: Tony Hunt, 24-135. Receiving:
Jordan Norwood, 5-30 Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 12-22,
115 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 10-110, 1 TD. Receiving:
Brian Robiskie, 3-51, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It wasn't
Ohio State's best game, and the run defense was surprisingly soft
against Penn State, but team came up with the plays when it needed
to in the hard-fought win. While Troy Smith struggled to get into
any sort of a rhythm, Antonio Pittman kept on chugging averaging 5.5
yards per carry and providing some semblance of consistency to the
attack. Where was Ted Ginn? He was all but erased by the Nittany
Lions from the game plan, but he wasn't bad returning punts. He has
to have the ball in his hands more than twice on offense.
Sept. 16
Ohio State 37 ... Cincinnati 7
Ohio State started off slowly, but kicked it in over the final
three quarter scoring 34 unanswered points and running over the Bearcats
in the second half highlighted by a 48-yard Antonio Pittman touchdown
run and a nine-yard Maurice Wells scoring dash. Ted Ginn caught two
short touchdown passes to all but put the game away after Cincinnati
took a 7-4 lead on a 22-yard Jared Martin touchdown catch. Aaron Pettrey
hit field goals from 47 and 43 yards out for the Buckeyes, but the big
bomb came on a 52- yard shot late in the fourth quarter by Ryan
Pretorius. Cincinnati was held to -4 rushing yards. Player of the game ... Ohio State RB Antonio Pittman
ran 16 times for 155 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for
seven yards Stat Leaders: Cincinnati- Passing:
Dustin Grutza, 18-22, 202 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Greg Moore, 3-14. Receiving:
Derrick Stewart, 5-64 Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 21-30,
203 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 16-155, 1 TD. Receiving:
Anthony Gonzalez, 5-85 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Call it a
hangover. It's hard to fault the Buckeyes from coming out a little flat
after the dominating win over Texas, but when they had to get things
moving against Cincinnati, they did. This might be the theme all season
long; the offensive line is the key to the team. It's giving Troy Smith
all day to throw and powered over the Bearcat defense in the second half
to give the running game room to move. Ted Ginn Jr. will get all the
headlines, but Anthony Gonzalez continues to kill teams for not paying
enough attention to him.
Sept. 9
Ohio State 24 ... Texas 7
Ohio State got two touchdown passes from Troy Smith, a late
two-yard scoring run from Antonio Pittman to put things away, and a
wonderful defensive performance coming up with the big plays when it
absolutely had to. The Longhorns had an early chance to score getting
down to the OSU seven, but Buckeye LB Jim Laurinaitis forced a Billy
Pittman fumble which was returned to midfield by Donald Washington. The
OSU offense capitalized with a 14-yard scoring grab by Anthony Gonzalez.
Texas came back to tie it on a two-yard Colt McCoy pass to Pittman for
its only points of the night. It was a relatively dead even game, but
Texas couldn't come up with the big offensive plays Smith was able to
produce. Player of the game ... Ohio State LB Jim Laurinaitis
made 13 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception and forced two
fumbles. Stat Leaders: Texas- Passing: Colt
McCoy, 19-32, 154 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Selvin Young, 11-94. Receiving:
Selvin Young, 6-41 Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 17-26,
269 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 16-74, 1 TD. Receiving:
Anthony Gonzalez, 8-142, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Ohio State sure looked like a number
one team against Texas. Troy Smith was cool, calm and collected
appearing to be way too comfortable throwing the ball. His -13 rushing
yards shows how the coaching staff must have thought that the offense
could move the ball best if Smith hung in the pocket and found his
receivers, and they were right. The Buckeyes did a great job of finding
Anthony Gonzalez and getting the ball to him with all the attention paid
to Ted Ginn, and Ginn once again appeared polished as a first round
caliber wide receiver and not just a first round caliber athlete. While
the O will get the publicity, Jim Laurinaitis and the defense stole the
show by not letting the Longhorn ground game dictate the tempo.
Sept. 2
Ohio State 35 ... Northern Illinois 12
Ohio State looked like the number one team from the opening
drive as Troy Smith threw three first quarter touchdown passes hitting
Ted Ginn for scores from six and 42 yards and Anthony Gonzalez from 15
yards out. The blowout was all but complete when Chris Wells scored from
eight yards out on the first play of the second quarter. NIU kept
fighting thanks to RB Garrett Wolfe, who racked up 286 yards of total
offense, but it wasn't nearly enough. Player of the game ... In a losing cause, Northern
Illinois RB Garrett Wolfe ran 26 times for 171 yards and caught five
passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Stat Leaders: Ohio State- Passing:
18-25, 297 yds, 3 TD Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 19-111, 1 TD. Receiving:
Ted Ginn 4-123, 2 TD Northern Illinois - Passing: Phil
Horvath, 15-26, 186 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 26-171, 1 TD. Receiving:
Garrett Wolfe, 5-114, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Is it
possible to get off to a hotter start than Ohio State did over the first
16 minutes of the blowout over Northern Illinois? There has to be some
concern about all the new faces on defense after Garrett Wolfe ran wild
for 171 yards. If Wolfe and the Huskie offense could do that, then Texas
and Jamaal Charles could go nuts. The key to the NIU win was the OSU
offensive line. Troy Smith might have been great, but he got ten days to
throw allowing his receivers to run any routes they wanted to.
2006 Ohio State Preview
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Further Analysis
If you were wondering what kind of a monster Ohio State has become
under head coach Jim Tressel, take a look at the respect the 2006
team is getting after losing an array of future NFL stars.
Seriously, who loses five number one draft picks, the entire
defensive back seven, the number one receiver, and two tremendous
offensive linemen and is supposed to be better than the year
before?
It's partially due to the lack of a true number one team to start
the season, and it's partially due to quarterback Troy Smith and an
offense that should light up most defenses like a Christmas tree,
but it's mostly due to the recruiting. Ohio State is one of the
select few that can lose players like A.J. Hawk, Donte Whitner,
Bobby Carpenter, Santonio Holmes, Nick Mangold, Ashton Youboty,
Anthony Schlegel, Nate Salley, and Rob Sims, and immediately replace
them with athletes just as strong, just as fast, and just as
talented.
Of course, it's asking too much for all the new starters to
immediately play like first round draft picks, but the expectations
have gone out of control after winning fifty games, including four
of the last five against Michigan, a national title, three BCS
games, and four straight bowl games under Tressel. Simply put,
anything less than a national title will be seen as a disappointment
in Columbus.
No pressure there.
But the makings are there
for this team to get the job done. If it's not the number one team going
into the season, it'll be in just about everyone's top three. It has a
high profile showdown at Texas which could mean a rock-solid number one
ranking with a win, and a loss would come early enough that a national
title shot would still be a possibility by winning out. The secondary
is full of big, fast athletes that looked like seasoned veteran
throughout spring ball. The linebacking corps replaces the legendary
trio of Hawk, Schlegel and Carpenter with seven talented options to form
a great rotation. And then there's the offense.
Smith is expected to be this year's Vince Young. After two years of
clutch performances in several big games, and with his knowledge of the
Buckeye offense that will allow for more spread formations, it's all
there to have a Heisman caliber season. He has Ted Ginn Jr. to throw to,
and Antonio Pittman along with superstar recruit Chris Wells in the
backfield. To make Buckeye haters even more nervous, the line might be
the best yet in the Tressel era with two tremendous tackles and enough
depth to form a solid second team.
Of course, with everything going for them, the Buckeyes will have to
avoid a 2004-like letdown if there are problems early on. That team was
much like this year's version; it was loaded with talent, but it had to
replace a slew of stars. Experienced teams loaded with veterans win
close games; teams with plenty of new starters, even talented ones, tend
to have issues when things get tight.
And that's where Smith is supposed to come in. If he really is VY part
two, he'll be the leader who gets the team out of jams and makes all the
big plays he has to. Fortunately for OSU, he won't have to do it too
often because of ...
The Schedule: Let's
cut to the chase here. Games against Northern Illinois, Cincinnati,
Bowling Green, Indiana, Minnesota, at Illinois, and at Northwestern
will be mere formalities unless all the planets are aligned
absolutely perfectly. Considering Wisconsin has beaten the Buckeyes
in the last two meetings and that Purdue should be better, missing
those two from the Big Ten slate isn't a bad thing. At Texas on
September 9th is the one the world is waiting for, and at Michigan
State will be much tougher than expected. The other two potential
battles are in Columbus against Penn State and Michigan. In other
words, if the Buckeyes can get by the Longhorns and survive a trip
to Iowa, things are as
favorable as can be reasonably asked for.
Best
Offensive Player: Senior QB Troy Smith. Michigan fans liked to
joke that Smith was the second best pro quarterback in Ohio behind
Carson Palmer after the Buckeye star got suspended for taking money
from a booster. Ohio State has had all the laughs recently in the
last two wins against the Wolverines thanks to Smith after he
completed 40 of 60 passes for 541 yards and three touchdowns with no
interceptions, 282 rushing yards, and two touchdowns.
Best
Defensive Player:
Senior DT Quinn Pitcock. While he doesn't get a lot of
headlines and his stats are hardly eye-popping, the 6-3, 295-pound
senior is one of the nation's best tackles. He's strong enough to
occupy two blockers without a problem, and quick enough to force the
action in the backfield.
Key
player to a successful season: Sophomore PK Ryan Pretorius and
redshirt freshman PK Aaron Pettrey. Ohio State hasn't had to worry
about field goals for several years with Mike Nugent and Josh Huston
among the best in the nation. Can Pretorius and Pettrey be as
clutch? If not, the offense might have to open it up just a little
bit more in close games.
The
season will be a success if ... the Buckeyes play for the
national title. The schedule is too favorable and the Texas games
comes just early enough that anything less than a game on January
8th, 2007 in Glendale, Arizona will be a major disappointment.
Key
game: Sept. 30 at Iowa. Of course everyone is jacked up for the
Texas game on September 9th, and the Michigan game is always one of
the must-see games of the year, but Iowa has the type of team that
can win the Big Ten title, and has a good enough schedule that it
can reasonably dream about playing for a national title. If the
Buckeyes aren't razor-sharp, national championship and Big Ten title
dreams can go bye-bye.
2005
Fun Stats:
- Sacks: Ohio State 44 for 291 yards - Opponents 18 for 110 yards
- Second quarter scoring: Ohio State 111 - Opponents 41
- Time of possession: Ohio State 32:00 - Opponents 28:00
The Last Time Ohio State…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Fiesta Bowl vs. Notre Dame)
…missed a bowl game…1999
…pitched a shutout…2003 (Northwestern)
…was shutout…1993 (Michigan)
…scored 50 points…2002 (San Jose State)
…went undefeated…2002
…won a conference title…2005 (share, Big Ten)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…1998 (Joe Germaine)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2005 (Antonio Pittman)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2002 (Michael Jenkins)
…had a first-round draft choice…2006 (LB A.J. Hawk, DB Donte Whitner,
LB Bobby Carpenter, WR Santonio Holmes and C Nick Mangold)
