The spirit of the 1970’s is alive and well for Buckeye Nation. Don’t worry- disco isn’t on its way back. But the days of Archie Bunker and pre-rehab Aerosmith are back in vogue. You know, those football autumns when all you did was count the days until the Michigan game while the cries to change the Big Ten’s name to “The Big Two and the Little Eight” got louder every year.
Ohio State’s #1-ranked 2006 edition overcame only their third deficit of the season to roll Indiana 44-3 for their 15th straight win. Quarterback Troy Smith equaled his career high with four touchdown passes after missing on his first four attempts, while receiver Ted Ginn, Jr. threw a scoring strike as well.
The Hoosiers came into Columbus with a 4-3 record overall, including a 2-1 mark in the league. The two Big Ten wins had come back-to-back over Illinois and Iowa; the first consecutive conference wins for IU since 2001. The victory last Saturday over the then 15th-ranked Hawkeyes was Indiana’s first triumph over a top-15 team since a 31-10 upset of #9 Ohio State in 1987.
Runningback Demetrius McCray got the Hoosier offense off to a good start with an 11-yard run on their first play of the afternoon, and moments later redshirt freshman quarterback Kellen Lewis scrambled for another first down to the IU 44. The Buckeye defense stiffened from that point, with cornerback Donald Washington missing an interception as Lewis’ throw ricocheted off his chest. Punter Tyson Beattie nailed a 53-yard effort, which hit and died at the Ohio State 2. The Bucks could do nothing and punted back, and returner Tracy Porter slid around the left side and motored down to the OSU 15. For the second consecutive week, the defense found itself in very early trouble, but just as a holding call disrupted Michigan State’s touchdown hopes last week, Indiana did itself no favors as a nice first-down throw from Lewis to Marcus Thigpen near the OSU 5 was ruled to have been caught out of bounds. IU’s big-play receiver, James Hardy, got hit with a third-down toss from Lewis in a bad place- right on the numbers. Lewis bobbled the ball then batted it up in the air where Brandon Mitchell just missed picking it. Austin Starr came on to boot a 34-yard field goal, giving Indiana a 3-0 lead.
Troy Smith couldn’t connect with Rory Nicol nor Brian Hartline on the Bucks’ next series, so A.J. Trapasso punted Indiana back to their own 26. Receiver Nick Polk made a first-down catch but Lewis and Co. couldn’t muster anything else. Beattie got off another beauty, pounding a 54-yard punt that Ted Ginn, Jr. hauled in at his 13 before being leveled by gunner James Bailey. Following an incompletion, Antonio Pittman took a screen pass for 22 to get the OSU offense jumpstarted. Two plays later, Smith optioned right, then reversed to his left for a big 29-yard pickup to the Indiana 32. Pittman broke through the left side for 9 more, barely (and I mean barely) stepping out of bounds. Pitt was then stacked up for no gain, so Chris Wells was sent in on 3rd-and-1. IU bit on play-action and Smith dialed up a wide-open Rory Nicol down the seam for a 23-yard score, Nicol’s 2nd TD of the year. Aaron Pettrey’s PAT put the Scarlet and Gray out front 7-3.
Marcus Thigpen brought the ensuing kickoff back to his 22 before Brian Hartline absolutely de-cleated him, sending him to the sideline for the rest of the afternoon. The OSU defense forced a three-and-out, and with Tyson Beattie only managing a 32-yard punt, the Bucks had their best starting field position of the game at their own 47. Chris Wells got a great block from Stan White, Jr. and skirted left end for 10, then moments later lunged over the right side for 5 on a play that could’ve gone for a whole lot more. The first period ended with Ohio State on the Hoosier 31.
As ESPN-U (which temporarily replaced TBGUN as Public Enemy #1 last week) returned from commercial, they showed the Heisman Trophies that are on display at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. The shot was intended to serve as a prelude for an interview with “Two-Time”, aka Archie Griffin, but on OSU’s first play of quarter two Troy Smith again showed why there will be a new addition to those Heismans at the WHAC. Coming out of a fake, Troy spun away from tackle Keith Burrus and rolled left. With linebacker Josh Bailey bearing down on him, Smith stopped on a dime, took a couple of steps back and fired off his back foot to Ted Ginn, Jr. in the back of the endzone. 14-3, Bucks. Archie’s low-key response? “He’s been doing it all year”. Although Archie won two of the coveted trophies, he actually only gets one vote in the Heisman balloting. I wonder if he’s already mailed it in?
Indiana’s offense tried to get something going on their ensuing drive. After Demetrius McCray was dropped for a loss of 7 by Antonio Smith on first down, Kellen Lewis connected with James Hardy for 5 and Jahkeen Gilmore for 17 to move the chains. Antonio Smith made another big play on first down as he sacked Lewis for a loss of 10, but James Laurinaitis was called for an absolutely ticky-tack late-hit penalty on a Lewis scramble to give IU another first down. With a 3rd-and-10 at his own 45, Lewis showed off his tremendous running ability, dancing for 16 to the Buckeye 39. Finally the OSU defense put the clamps on, as Smith once more rang up a TFL on McCray and Jay Richardson grabbed Lewis for another sack. Tyson Beattie’s punt only traveled 23 yards and the Buckeye offense was ready to go from their 22, where they proceeded to show the big-play, quick-strike, multiple-weapon capability that makes them so dangerous.
Antonio Pittman lit the fuse with a 12-yard scamper on a draw, then Anthony Gonzalez was finally heard from as Troy Smith found him on a deep out for 24. “Pitt” burst for 14 more, and just like that the ball was at IU’s 28. Two more Pittman carries brought up 3rd-and-4 at the Indiana 22, and then it was Ginn’s turn as he took a slant throw and glided to the 9. After missing Ted on a fade, Smith kept on the option to the 5, bringing up 3rd-and-goal. Anthony Gonzalez went in motion from right to left with Joe Kleinsmith trailing him. The only receiver lined up to the left, Brian Robiskie, ran a pick play, basically running his defender into Kleinsmith. Troy looked right as this was developing, then uncorked the ball back to the left for a lonesome Gonzo in the endzone, fattening the Ohio State advantage to 21-3.
Indiana quickly went three-and-out, and OSU got fine field position at their own 46. It’s hard to be nit-picky as a fan of an unbeaten, #1-ranked team, but the Bucks’ next march pointed up a couple of things that you don’t want to see, especially November 18th.
As he has been wont to do this season, Jim Tressel went for the throat when it appeared that the Hoosiers were ripe for a knockout blow. But Troy Smith again somehow overthrew an open Ted Ginn, Jr. deep despite good protection. One of his only two picks of the year came on a bad throw towards Ted against Penn State, and the Buckeyes would have had easy touchdowns against Iowa and Michigan State if the Glenville alums could’ve hooked up. I know, I know, four paragraphs ago I was lauding Smith’s waltz towards the Heisman. But if Ginn gets that wide open against Michigan, Troy has GOT to make that play. On the very next snap, guard T.J. Downing was whistled for his fourth false start/procedure call in two games. Again, those have been lost in the overall scheme of things, but Michigan’s front seven is giving no quarter this year, and beating them is going to be that much tougher if you’re facing first- or second-and-15. The march fizzled, but A.J. Trapasso got off a 45-yard kick to pin IU at its own 6.
Kellen Lewis converted a pair of third-and-long plays, finding Jahkeen Gilmore for 23 on one of his best throws of the day, then scrambling and hitting Andrew Means for 16. The Buckeye defense turned up the heat as Jay Richardson sacked Lewis for a loss of 6, then after an OSU timeout Curtis Terry broke up a pass at the sideline. On third down, Vernon Gholston chased Lewis and had him wrapped up, forcing the freshman into a grounding penalty as he flung the ball out of bounds. Facing the ever-popular 4th-and-38, Beattie punted to the Buckeye 39, where Ted Ginn, Jr. brought it back 12 yards into Hoosier territory. Indiana had to burn a timeout to get a 12th man off the field, giving the Bucks more time than usual after a change of possession to plot their strategy. With 44 seconds left in the half, Troy Smith connected with Brian Robiskie for 20 yards, and when Indiana was hit with a personal-foul facemask call on the tackle, it was first down at the IU 14. Smith went back to “Robo” for 13 more to the one, then on a “Y-shallow cross” freshman tight end Jake Ballard laid out to make a fantastic catch in the endzone for his first touchdown as a Buckeye. After missing on his first four passes, Smith had gone 11 of 14 for 169 yards, hitting four different receivers with touchdown strikes and putting his team out in front 28-3 at halftime.
During the intermission, Mike Gleason, who is back at ESPN’s studios with former Buckeye coach John Cooper on game days, presented a countdown of Ohio State’s Top 10 plays of 2006 so far-
10) James Laurinaitis’ early third quarter interception at Texas
9) Troy Smith’s 34-yard scramble vs. BG on a 3rd-and-25 play
8) Ted Ginn, Jr.’s 29-yard TD catch with 16 seconds left in the first half at Texas
7) Ginn’s 57-yard scoring reception vs. BG
6) Anthony Gonzalez’ one-handed grab last week at Michigan State
5) Troy Smith’s scramble and touchdown throw to Brian Robiskie at Michigan State
4) Malcolm Jenkins’ 61-yard pick-six against Penn State
3) Ginn’s Big Ten record 60-yard punt return score at Michigan State
2) Laurinaitis’ forced fumble on Texas’ Billy Pittman inside the Buckeye 5
1) Smith’s escape and 37-yard TD aerial to Robiskie against Penn State
Since the piece was probably taped ahead of the Indiana game, I can understand not having Troy’s Houdini act touchdown to Ginn in the rundown, but where in the world was Gonzo’s catch-and-run score at Iowa with the block of the year by Brian Hartline?
Gonzalez and Ginn had first down receptions on OSU’s opening drive of the second half to help advance the ball to Indiana’s 27, but on 3rd-and-3 Smith was stripped on an option keeper by Jammie Kirlew, who eventually recovered the fumble at the IU 25. The Hoosiers couldn’t take advantage and punted away to Ginn, who returned the boot 19 yards to his 42. A 21-yard catch by Gonzalez gave the Bucks a first down at the Indiana 38, and then Tressel went deep into the playbook, calling for a reverse pass from Ginn that didn’t quite click last week against Michigan State. Tight end Rory Nicol, who wasn’t the primary receiver on the play against the Spartans but had the ball thrown his way, was the man this time. Linebacker Adam McClurg, who had pretty good coverage, fell down as the ball arrived to make it academic- Nicol easily gathered the pass in and eased into the endzone for the second time on the day. It was amazing that Ohio Stadium didn’t quake with the three-touchdown performance by Ohio State’s tight ends. No tight end caught a TD pass last season (insert your own Ryan Hamby/Texas joke here), and there were only two scores in 2004 (Hamby against Cincinnati in the opener and Rory Nicol to prevent a shutout in the debacle at Iowa). You’d have to go back to 2003 to find anything as remotely productive from OSU’s tight ends as Saturday- Hamby and Ben Hartsock both scored against Michigan State in ’03, and each one also caught touchdown tosses from Craig Krenzel in overtime during the wild win over NC State.
Indiana pounded out a pair of first downs on their next drive, but Antonio Smith countered those with two more TFL’s, drilling Nick Polk on a screen pass and Demetrius McCray on a late option pitch that McCray probably thanked Kellen Lewis for back in the huddle. Tyson Beattie punted into the endzone and the Buckeyes turned to Antonio Pittman, who barreled for 8 then popped through the middle and cut left for 44 yards to the IU 28. Indiana’s “D” hung tough, pushing OSU back to the 34, where Aaron Pettrey hammered home a season-long 51-yard field goal, making it 38-3, Bucks, after three.
Blake Powers came on to play quarterback for Indiana, and led a drive to the OSU 35 before he was picked off by Malcolm Jenkins, the sophomore corner’s third theft of the season. Mo and Chris Wells alternated carries on a 9-play, 68-yard march that ended with Chris Wells’ 12-yard touchdown jaunt around left end. Aaron Pettrey missed his first extra point of the season in 36 tries, accounting for the final count of 44-3.
In the late going, Andre Amos got his first interception as a Buckeye after being shafted of one in the Bowling Green game by a moron replay official. OSU ran out the clock on the ground, although Mo Wells had a nice 32-yard burst thanks to a great trap block by backup guard Ben Person. Safety Troy Grosfield just tripped him up by the ankle or Mo would have sprinted to the house.
The Buckeyes will entertain Minnesota this Saturday in Ohio Stadium for Homecoming, with kickoff set for 3:30 on ABC. Indiana, needing two wins to qualify for its first bowl trip since 1993, will host Michigan State at noon.
RANDOM THOUGHTS- Not to be confused with the fine gentlemen that gave us cough drops, the Smith brothers picked up some Big Ten hardware, as Troy Smith shared Offensive Player of the Week honors with Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton, who engineered the greatest comeback in college football history over Northwestern Saturday. Antonio Smith, who had 12 tackles, including 4 for losses, was the co-Defensive Player of the Week with Penn State’s Paul Posluszny…In his eight years as a head coach, Terry Hoeppner’s teams have never been shutout…Antonio Pittman has 778 yards rushing so far in ’06. Ohio State hasn’t had a back with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons since Eddie George in ’94 and ’95…With the unpredictable Ohio weather, it’s hard to say whether anything can be done for the last two home games, but the Ohio Stadium grass sure looked bad (maybe it was just ESPN-U’s cheap cameras?). Antonio Pittman looked like he was on ice on his 9-yard run near the OSU sideline on the Bucks’ first scoring drive, and Rory Nicol’s touchdown reception from Ted Ginn, Jr. sure was a whole lot easier when Adam McClurg slipped and fell. And maybe I haven’t seen enough of Chris Wells in the open field, but he didn’t seem to be running comfortably at all…The Big Ten has announced that the Buckeyes’ November 4th matchup at Illinois will kickoff at 3:30 Eastern time on ESPN2. That’s “2”, not “U”. Actually, it will be Michigan’s turn to scream that week as ESPN-U will cover their meeting with Ball State..
DÉJÀ VU- The last time the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers faced off in the World Series was 1968, when- guess who?- won college football’s national title
TBGUN UPDATE- The formula worked again for UM last Saturday- great defense, just enough offense- as they knocked off Iowa 20-6 in their last real test before coming to Columbus November 18th. The Wolves face Northwestern, Ball State and Indiana the next three games; teams that have an aggregate mark of 8-16. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes will warm up with Minnesota, Illinois and Northwestern, who currently occupy the 9th, 10th and 11th place spots in the Big Ten. With USC idle last weekend, the Maize and Blue slid into the #2 spot in the latest BCS standings
Ohio State 44 Indiana 3
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VS
October 21st, 2006
Ohio Stadium - Columbus, Ohio
Attendance 105,267
