The Buckeyes finally got their first test of the 2007 season when they traveled to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies. Ohio State ultimately prevailed 33-14 but the game was closer than the final score indicated.
This game set itself up well. Coming in, both teams were 2-0. Ohio State had handled Youngstown State and Akron while still trying to work out many kinks. Washington meanwhile had beaten Syracuse and Boise State, mostly because of redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker. The Buckeyes had yet to play a road game and were definitely in for a test against Washington, which has one of the loudest crowds in college football.
It became clear very early in the game what the Buckeyes wanted to do on offense. Four consecutive runs by Chris Wells signaled a return to Tressel-ball. With a pass interference call on the Huskies, the Buckeyes appeared to be set up well to score on their first drive but kicker Ryan Pretorius missed a field goal from 44 yards out.
Just as the Buckeyes demonstrated what they wanted to do on the first drive, so did the Huskies. Locker completed his first pass for nine yards and two downs later scrambled for 12 yards. But the Buckeyes forced Locker into third-and-long and Washington was unable to convert.
The Buckeyes ensuing drive took up the rest of the first quarter with a bunch of short plays with the exception being a strong 23-yard run by Wells. The start of the second quarter was the end of the Buckeyes drive when Pretorius hit a 28-yard field goal to give the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead.
Three points are nice but seven would’ve been much better and the Huskies took advantage of the Buckeyes inability to finish.
The teams traded possession multiple times, each ending with a punt, until 2:40 left in the second. The Huskies had a few nice drives earlier but failed to convert on third down. This drive they did not fail, however. Washington converted twice on third down, including a 16-yard pass on 3rd-and-11. Locker demonstrated why so many people are talking about him as he accounted for 81 yards on this drive, which ended with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Russo in surprisingly soft coverage by the Buckeyes. With just three seconds left, the teams headed into the locker room with Washington winning 7-3.
The second half would be a different story for the Buckeyes and this one was a good one though it didn’t appear so right away.
Washington received the ball in the second half and immediately started on a drive from the 41-yard line after a 35-yard return by Curtis Shaw. On 2nd-and-10, Locker scrambled for 11 yards and the drive was underway. Known more for his legs that his arm, Locker completed three consecutive pass attempts. Throw in a personal foul penalty at a crucial point in the drive on cornerback Donald Washington and the Huskies were deep into OSU territory. Two short running plays and a sack forced 4th-and-20 where kicker Ryan Perkins lined up for a 46-yard field goal, which would’ve given the Huskies a 10-3 lead. Buckeye safety Kurt Coleman apparently did not think this would be a good idea and decided to block the field goal, keeping the score at 7-3 and swinging momentum back into the Buckeyes’ favor.
With Washington focused on stopping Wells, it was no surprise when he got stopped for a 3-yard gain on the Buckeyes first play from scrimmage after the blocked field goal. What happened on the next play was a thing of beauty for OSU fans though.
It was 2nd-and-7 and the Buckeyes came out in a three-receiver set. Washington thought better and pulled a safety in the box while pressing three cornerbacks at the line on each receiver. Quarterback Todd Boeckman recognized it, held the free safety in check and then threw a strike to flanker Brian Robiskie who was tearing up the right sideline after beating the press coverage. Since Boeckman looked off the safety, it was an easy throw to Robiskie who ran into the endzone untouched for a 68-yard touchdown to put the Buckeyes ahead 10-7.
With momentum now heavily in the Buckeyes favor, a solid drive by the Huskies would’ve kept them in the game. But receiver Devon Torrence caused a Shaw fumble and it was recovered by the Buckeyes’ James Scott at the 25 yard-line. Wells ran 11 yards on first down then 14 yards on second for the touchdown, putting OSU ahead 17-7.
The teams traded punts a few more times before starting the fourth quarter. At the end of third, Ohio State began to flex its muscle on offense, driving to the Huskies’ 6-yard line. Wells, Maurice Wells and Brian Hartline all looked good on the drive which would go a long way towards opening up the offense if those three could continue to play like that.
The start of the fourth quarter saw the Buckeyes drive stall. Pretorius drilled a 23-yard field goal to put the Buckeyes up 20-7.
The fourth quarter proved what makes the Buckeyes so good. After the Pretorius field goal, the Buckeyes held the Huskies to two consecutive three-and-outs while running the clock down when they had possession in between.
A Ray Small punt return set up the Buckeyes well with less than 5 minutes left. Washington figured Tressel would run to drain the clock, but on 3rd-and-9, Boeckman hooked up with Hartline on a 36-yard pass over the middle to Brian Hartline who had no trouble hauling it in despite being well-covered for a touchdown. The score put the Buckeyes up 27-7 and victory appeared imminent.
The Huskies wanted one last gasp, but on 1st-and-10, Locker’s pass was intercepted by Malcolm Jenkins, who had moved to free safety. The Buckeyes again used a clock-killing drive, punting the ball away with two minutes left.
Locker apparently suffered an injury and backup Carl Bonnell came in firing. Bonnell completed passes of 26 and 25 yards which set up a two-yard touchdown run by Louis Rankin, making the score 27-14 with 1:14 left.
Tressel simply wanted to run the clock out on the final possession as Brandon Saine rushed for three yards on first down and one yard on second. But on 3rd-and-6 from the Washington 37-yard line, Saine ran off tackle and burst up the sideline as time expired for a touchdown. With no PAT attempt, the final score was 33-14 in favor of Ohio State.
Random Thoughts: Boeckman looked very out of sync in the first half. It seemed that after his first pass, a deep attempt, went incomplete that he had a hard time finding a rhythm. It would be nice to see Boeckman attempt, and complete, some short passes early to build his confidence. The pass to Robiskie was a nice one but had he not completed that, the Buckeyes may not have been able to recover.
Chris Wells and Brandon Saine both appear to be nursing some injuries. Whether they are minor or major, this is a concern as Maurice Wells and Daniel Herron are the only two scholarship backs on the roster besides Wells and Saine.
Malcolm Jenkins is good. Like, really good. Lining up at free safety and he still picks off a pass. Jenkins may be the best defensive back to come through Ohio State since Shawn Springs, and that puts him with some very good company.
A solid second half performance helped the Buckeyes win a game against a good team in a tough road environment, but they will have to get the offense rolling earlier if they are to win at Penn State and Michigan.
The Buckeyes next two games (Northwestern, at Minnesota) should be good tune-ups before the team travels to West Lafayette to take on a very underrated Purdue team.
(10)Ohio State 33 Washington 14
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VS
September 15th, 2007
Husky Stadium
Seattle, WA
Attendance 74,927
9/19/07
