Right: E-Turn shoots over Durrell “I Love Zone Defenses” Summers in Ohio State’s 78-67 loss to Michigan State. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

The rock group, Led Zeppelin, had a song entitled “Communication Breakdown.” Ohio State’s theme song against Michigan State on Sunday should be called, “Defensive Breakdown.”

After watching the seventh-ranked Spartans shred the Buckeyes’ 3-2 zone defense to a tune of 78-67 in front of only the second sellout at Value City Arena, it’s time for Ohio State head coach Thad Matta to switch back to man-to-man.

Michigan State has a very good inside-out game where they have players who can post up and score inside, while having several sharpshooters who can knock down the three. And the Spartans got too many open looks against the Buckeyes.

Another problem with the zone defense is rebounding on the defensive end. Ohio State gave up 16 offensive rebounds to Michigan State, which is way too many. It’s hard to get a body on someone when you are guarding an area, not a person.

I realize, though, that playing man-to-man defense may be a bit difficult now. Ohio State was gassed at the end of the game since the bench is depleted with injuries to David Lighty and Nikola Kecman, as well as the transfer of of Anthony Crater. So even if Matta can’t scrap the zone completely, at least switch it up from time to time.

I still can’t believe that after 12 home games, it was only the second capacity crowd of the season. That’s pathetic in itself.

Things were looking good for Ohio State after they jumped out to a 24-11 lead with 7:24 left in the first half after Evan Turner drained a jumper, though it was all down the proverbial toilet for the Buckeyes after that.

OSU was able to cling to a 31-26 advantage at the intermission break, but Michigan State chipped away at Ohio State’s lead and claimed it for good when Michigan State’s Goran Suton scored on a 14-foot bucket that put the Spartans ahead 52-50 with 10:52 remaining to play.

Matta used just seven players against Michigan State, and were visibly spent in the waning moments of the game. Four of those scored in double figures with Turner leading the way with 19 points. Jon Diebler and B.J. Mullens each chipped in an even dozen, while William Buford added 11.

For Michigan State, Durrell Summers scored 26 points and Kalin Lucas contributed 20 as Suton added another 13 points for the Spartans.

The biggest keys to the game were these: While Ohio State was able to hold the Spartans to just 37.1 percent (10-of-27) shooting in the first half, MSU was a solid 60.0 percent (18-of-30) from the field in the second period.

The Buckeyes on the other hand, shot rather well from the floor, going 23-of-42 (54.8 percent). Notice, though, that Michigan State took 15 more shots than Ohio State. That’s due to the fact that OSU had just three offensive rebounds all game. Three. No, that’s not a typo. It was one-and-done all day long for Matta’s cagers. Overall, Ohio State was outrebounded 35-19.

Up next, the Buckeyes’ host “The School Up North,” Wednesday night. Tip-off at Value City Arena is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and it will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

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Ohio State (13-4, 3-3) vs. No. 7/7 Michigan State (15-3, 5-1)

Date: Sunday, January 25
Time: 3:45 p.m. ET
Place: Value City Arena – capacity 19,049
TV: CBS Sports (WBNS – Channel 10 in Columbus) with Verne Lundquist and Clark “Special K” Kellogg.
Radio: WBNS-AM 1460 and WBNS-FM 97.1 in Columbus and 58 more stations across Buckeyeland on the Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Network with Paul Keels and Ron Stokes.
Series History: Ohio State owns a 48-57 all-time record against Michigan State, but the Buckeyes are 32-20 vs. the Spartans in games played in Columbus.
Last Game: Ohio State lost to Michigan State, 67-58, at the Breslin Center in E. Lansing, back on Jan. 6. The Buckeyes led 17-13 with 8:13 remaining in the first half after a jumper by William Buford, but the Spartans responded by going on an 18-3 run fueled on five, three-pointers and never looked back. Ohio State trailed by eight with a little over 8:00 left, but that’s as close as the Buckeyes could get. Buford led OSU with 17 points, while Evan Turner poured in 14. Kalin Lucas led all scorers with 20 points and Raymar Morgan chipped in 13 for the Spartans.

Above: Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo (far right) looks on during the closing minutes
of the Spartans’ 70-63 loss to Northwestern, Wednesday night. (AP Photo)

Michigan State looked like the clear-cut favorite to wrap-up the Big Ten title after winning their first five games in the conference. Then lo and behold, perennial cellar dweller Northwestern ventured into the Breslin Center in E. Lansing where the Spartans have won 28 straight contests and the Wildcats came away with a 70-63 win, Wednesday night.

Kevin Coble scored 31 points for Northwestern (10-6, 2-4 Big Ten), who have won back-to-back Big Ten games after starting conference play with four straight losses.

Michigan State had won 12 straight over Northwestern. The Spartans had won 11 straight overall this season since losing to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Dec. 3.

Against Northwestern’s 1-3-1 zone defense, Michigan State committed 18 turnovers while holding the Spartans to 40.4 percent shooting from the field.

The Spartans got only one point from second-leading scorer and rebounder, 6-foot-8 junior Raymar Morgan, who entered averaging 14.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He was bothered by flu-like symptoms and played just 18 minutes, leaving smaller wing players stuck guarding Coble.

Michigan State’s leading scorer, 6-foot sophomore guard Kalin Lucas, who is averaging 14.1 points per game, scored 20 vs. Northwestern. Goran Suton, a 6-foot-10 senior center who averages 9.5 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game, had a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds for Michigan State.

Before the Northwestern loss, Michigan State had rattled off five straight conference wins including a 67-58 victory over Ohio State in E. Lansing back on Jan. 6.

The Buckeyes are coming off an downright ugly 67-49 defeat at Illinois, Tuesday night. It will be interesting to see which team responds after a loss. A win against the Spartans and the Buckeyes are back in the title hunt, while a loss would send them under the .500-mark in conference.

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Right: Sophomore Evan Turner found it to be tough sledding against Illinois.
(AP Photo/Robert K. O’Daniell)

When your best player scores just four points, and as a team commits 20 turnovers, you can chalk it up as an L on the standings just about every time.

That’s what happen in Ohio State’s 67-49 lost to No. 25 Illinois last night at Assembly Hall in Champaign, IL.

The Buckeye were never really in the game. The contest was tied twice early in the first half and Ohio State never held a lead at any point.

Illinois led 38-26 at intermission, and took their biggest lead of the game with 2:46 left play when Dominique Keller scored on a layup that put the Illini ahead 67-49, which was the final score. Neither team was able to put any crooked numbers in the scorebook for nearly three minutes until the horn sounded.

The closest the Buckeyes got in the second half was when Dallas Lauderdale scored on a short jumper in the lane that trimmed Illinois lead down to 38-30 with 17:34 left to play.

But Illinois scored on their very next possession when Mike Davis added his own J in the key and the Illini led by double digits the rest of the game.

B.J. Mullens led the Buckeyes in scoring by pouring in 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and pulled down seven rebounds. Outside of Dallas Lauderdale’s making both shots he attempted from the floor for five points in the game, the rest of the young Bucks’ were bricklayers.

William Buford added 13 points, but was just 5-of-14 from the field and was the only other Buckeye to score in double figures. Evan Turner, who was averaging 15.9 points per ball game entering the Illinois contest scored just four points on 2-of-7 shooting, though he did have a team-high 10 rebounds. Point guard Jeremie Simmons also clanged the rim often, making just two of his eight attempts from the field and netted seven points.

Overall, Ohio State shot 41.3 percent (19-of-46) from the field, but was just 4-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Defensively, Illinois attacked the holes in Ohio State’s 3-2 zone down low as Illini forwards Mike Tisdale along with Davis and Keller combined to score 35 points on 15-of-23 shooting.

Illinois shot 47.1 percent (27-of-57) from the field, but the Illini had their problems from long range, too, knocking down just six of the 22 three-pointers they attempted.

It look as though the Buckeyes were still celebrating their win over Michigan and were not focused on Illinois. That’s going to have to change real quick as the seventh-ranked Michigan State Spartans, led by 6-foot-8 forward Raymar Morgan, pay a visit to Value City Arena on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on CBS.

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Right: Byron James Mullens throws down two of his 15 points against Michigan.
(AP Photo/Tony Ding)

Ohio State moved into a four-way tie for third place in the Big Ten after an impressive 65-58 win over their rival and previously 25th-ranked Michigan at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Saturday night.

Evan Turner led all Buckeyes with 19 points while William Buford and B.J. Mullens each chipped in 15 for Ohio State.

With Ohio State’s victory, the Buckeyes failed to climb back into any top 25 poll on Monday, but Buford was named Big Ten player of the week after leading OSU to a pair of victories over Indiana and Michigan. In those two wins, Buford averaged 17 points, six rebounds and went 13-of-25 (.520) from the field. The Toledo, Ohio native also recorded four assists and two steals while averaging 36.5 minutes per game.

Against Michigan, Ohio State only briefly trailed in the second half. Down 44-40 with 8:15 left to play as Michigan claimed their biggest advantage of the game, jumpers by Turner and Buford tied the contest at 44-all on consecutive possessions.

Later with 5:31 remaining in the ball game, Michigan’s Stu Douglass drained a three-pointer that once again tied the game, this time at 47-47.

But from that point, the Buckeyes scored the game’s next 10 points to take a 57-47 lead after an old school three-point play by Mullens with 1:08 to go.

In over four minutes of action during Ohio State’s 10-0 run, Michigan went 0-of-4 from the floor, including 0-of-2 from three-point range with two turnovers as the Buckeyes’ kicked up the defense a notch.

Ohio State shot 54.5 percent (24-of-44) from the field, while holding Michigan to just 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor. The bigger Buckeyes also outrebounded the smaller Wolverines 32-38.

Up next, Ohio State travels to Chambana to take on No. 25 Illinois. Tip-off at Assembly Hall is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and it will be televised on ESPN.

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Ohio State (12-3, 2-2) vs. No. 25/24 Michigan (13-4, 3-2)

Date: Saturday, January 17
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Place: Crisler Arena – capacity 13,751
TV: Big Ten Network with Tom Hamilton, Shon Morris and Clarissa Thompson.
Radio: WBNS-AM 1460 and WBNS-FM 97.1 in Columbus and 58 more stations across Buckeyeland on the Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Network with Paul Keels and Ron Stokes.
Series History: Ohio State owns a 83-70 all-time record against Michigan.
Last Game: Ohio State lost 80-70 at Crisler Arena on Feb. 17, 2007. Kosta Koufos scored 18 points and Evan Turner added 16 for the Buckeyes.

Right: Michigan guard Manny Harris leads the Wolverines averaging 18.7 points per game. (AP Photo)

Thad Matta’s basketball Buckeyes venture up to Crisler Arena for a Saturday night tilt against the Michigan Wolverines. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. and it will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Ohio State is coming off a pair of wins after losing two consecutive games in conference. On Tuesday night, the Buckeyes dismantled Indiana 77-53 at Value City Arena. Meanwhile, Michigan dropped a 66-51 decision to Illinois in Champaign on Wednesday night after winning three straight Big Ten contests.

The Wolverines are led on the outside by 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Manny Harris, who is second in the Big Ten in scoring averaging 18.7 points per game. On the inside, 6-foot-8 junior forward DeShawn Sims is third in the conference with a 15.9 points per game average and second in rebounding with 7.2 caroms per ball game.

Harris scored 20 points in a losing effort against the Illini, Wednesday night, while freshman forward Zack Novak had nine rebounds for the Wolverines. No other UM player scored in double figures against Illinois.

Michigan gained some recognition during the month of November by beating then No. 4 UCLA and knocking off fifth-ranked Duke two weeks later.

Michigan’s four losses have come at the hands of Duke, Maryland, Wisconsin, and the aforementioned Illinois.

This is a really big game for the Buckeyes, needing to pick up a few road wins against conference foes and remain in contention for a Big Ten title. The starting five has played well, but Ohio State is going to need the other five who ride the pine to step up their play. Currently, OSU only dresses 10 players after injuries to David Lighty, Nikola Kecman, and Mark Titus, as well as Anthony Crater leaving the program.

Crisler Arena will be a sellout for only the second time this season and the venue is old and small, but it can get quite loud, especially with all of the students right there at court level. It’s going to be a hostile environment for the young Bucks’, but if they can keep their poise like they did against Miami and play well like they have the last two games, it could be upset time.

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Right: Freshman center B. J. Mullens hammers down two of his 14 points vs. the Hoosiers. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

Granted, Ohio State’s last two opponents will never be confused with any team John Wooden had at UCLA. Be that as it may, Ohio State has rebounded nicely from the two losses to Minnesota and Michigan State during the first week in January by defeating Houston Baptist and Indiana in the second week as OSU continues on without starting forward David Lighty.

Sure, Lighty was mic’ed up during the Indiana game which was televised by ESPN and was able to talk to the future Mrs. Barker, Erin Andrews, while on the sidelines. But it’s becoming more apparent that with the play of William Buford, Lighty’s services aren’t as valuable as much anymore.

Buford, a 6-foot-5 freshman swingman from Toledo Libbey High School, scored 19 points for the second straight game as the Buckeyes easily defeated the Hoosiers 77-53 at Value City Arena, Tuesday night.

Buford also added seven rebounds and three assists for the Buckeyes.

Again, there’s no Alcindor or Walton look-a-likes suiting up for Indiana, who only dressed nine scholarship players against Ohio State, but one thing is for sure, Tom Crean is a tremendous coach and a fine dresser. He will have Indiana back at the top in a few years, even if he does look like actor David Lander, who played Squiggy on the TV show, “Laverne and Shirley.”
(Photo on the left.)


With 13:35 remaining in the first half, Indiana’s Malik Story stole the ball from Ohio State’s B.J. Mullens and raced down the court for a layup that made the score 15-10 in favor of the Buckeyes.

Think it’s going to be a close game, huh? Think again.

Ohio State went on from that mark to score 18 unanswered points in a matter of a mere five minutes and two seconds on four 3-pointers, an offensive putback by Mullens, a layup in transition from Jon Diebler, and a two-handed jam by Mullens on a great pass from Diebler that put the Buckeyes ahead 33-10 with 8:33 left until intermission.

Ohio State led 44-28 at halftime.

The closest Indiana could get in the second half was 13 points on two different occasions, the last time happening when Tom Pritchard tipped-in his own missed layup that trimmed OSU lead down to 49-36 with 15:23 remaining.

The Buckeyes’ biggest advantage came with 6:41 left when Evan Turner drained a three-ball from the baseline in front of Ohio State’s bench that put the home team ahead 70-45.

Along with Buford in double figures for the Buckeyes’ in scoring was Diebler, who scored all 17 of his points in the first half. Mullens came off the bench to score 14 while pulling down a team-high eight rebounds, and Jeremie Simmons added 12 points with eight assists.

Ohio State made nine of its first 11 triples and hit 13-of-24 from beyond the arc for the game, and when the shots counted as two points, the Buckeyes were 15-of-29. Overall, OSU was 28-of-53 (52.8%) from the field.

Up next, Ohio State travels to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan, Saturday night. Tip-off at Crisler Arena is scheduled for 8:00 p.m., and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

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No. 10 Ohio State (10-2, 7-1) vs. No. 3 Texas (11-1, 7-1)

Date: Monday, January 5
Time: 8:20 PM ET
Place: University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, AZ – capacity 73,719
TV: FOX will televise the game nationally with the best play-by-play man you’ve never heard of, Matt Vasgersian, calling the action along with Tim Ryan and Laura Okmin. Chris Myers is on the sidelines.
Radio: WBNS-AM 1460 The Fan in Columbus is the flagship station for the 73-station Ohio State Radio Network. The Jim Tressel Pregame Show airs 30 minutes prior to kickoff. “Big Daddy” Paul Keels will call the play-by-play and will be assisted by former Buckeye Jim Lachey in the booth and Marty Bannister on the sidelines.
Weather from AccuWeather.com: Partly cloudy skies and a game time temperature of 47 degrees. Not that it really matters since there’s a roof over the stadium.
Latest Line from The Sports Network: Ohio State is an 8-point underdog. The Over & Under is 51 1/2.
Series History: This is the third meeting between the two schools. Ohio State and Texas have split the first two meetings.
Last Time Out: Ohio State won 24-7 at Darryl K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin back in 2006.
Analysis and Prediction: In the last three contests, Ohio State is averaging 39 points a game, so the offense has been progressing nicely, but will we need to see Terrelle Pryor throw the ball more than a dozen of so times against Texas if the Buckeyes hope to hang an upset on the Longhorns.

A balanced attack of Pryor throwing the ball along with Beanie running the ball will keep Texas’ defense honest and on their heels. Hopefully, Tressel’s play-calling will be more creative and less conservative.

I understand Tressel has some trickeration up his sleeve, using both Pryor and backup quarterback Todd Boeckman in certain situations, though I am not quite sure how that will pan out.

One thing is for sure, Ohio State will have to throw the ball on more occasions that just obvious passing downs.

The Big XII could be labeled the “No Defense League.” While seven teams in the Big XII ranked 25th or better in the nation in total offense and three more ranked in the top half, just two Big XII squads are ranked in the top half in terms of total defense. Texas has the conference’s defensive unit, but are only ranked 49th nationally.

Texas had fared much better against the run as opposed to the forward pass defensively, but those numbers might be a bit skewed after playing eight games in the pass-happy Big XII.

The bottom line is this: Ohio State’s offensive line must play a whole lot better than it has all season for the Buckeyes to be competitive. They have to open up holes for Beanie and give Terrelle time to throw. In Ohio State’s last two postseason games, sacks allowed have undermined OSU’s offense.

Meanwhile, I think Ohio State’s defense will be up for the challenge, though the defensive front four will have to put consistent pressure on Colt McCoy, because if you give him time to throw, he will pick apart any defense.

Since it was announced that Ohio State would face Texas in the Fiesta Bowl, I have thought all long that Texas should win. But as kickoff gets closer, I really do like Ohio State’s chances.

Ohio State 23, Texas 21

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Right: Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, speaking to reporters during media day on Friday, threw for 3,445 yards and had a team-high 576 yards rushing, this season.
(AP Photo)

The third-ranked Texas Longhorns enter Monday night’s Tostitos Fiesta Bowl one play away from playing in the Big XII title game and possibly a shot at BCS national championship game, while the 10th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes are a few plays and one lopsided loss from making their third straight trip in quest of that crystal football.

Back on November 1 in Lubbock, Texas, the Longhorns were just seconds away from posting their ninth win this season when Tech quarterback Graham Harrell found Michael Crabtree along the far sideline, who snuck pass a defender and scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass with one tick left on the clock that gave the Red Raiders a 39-33 win and knocked off then No. 1 Texas.

Both Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma finished in a three-way tie in the final Big XII South standings, but since the Sooners were ranked higher than the Longhorns, OU went on to play in the conference championship game. Never mind the fact that Texas had defeated Oklahoma earlier in the season on October 11, 45-35, in front of a record crowd of 92,182 fans at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

The only other team that gave Texas fits during the season was Oklahoma State, who nearly knocked off the top-ranked Longhorns, 28-24, in Austin.

The Cowboys had one last chance for the upset with under three minutes left in the ball game, but on a fourth-and-6 at the OK State 30, Zac Robinson’s pass to Dez Bryant lost two yards, giving the ball back to Texas on downs with 2:39 remaining.

But out of Texas’ other nine games during the course of the 2008 campaign, no other team came close. The Longhorns notched impressive wins over Florida Atlantic (52-10), UTEP (42-13), Rice (52-10), Arkansas (52-10), Colorado (38-14), then-No. 11 Missouri (56-31), Baylor (45-21), Kansas (35-7) and Texas A&M (49-9).

Texas is led by 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior quarterback Colt McCoy, who has completed 77.6 percent of his passes (291-of-375) for 3,445 yards with 32 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, numbers good enough to place him second in the Heisman Trophy award balloting.

McCoy is also his team’s leading rusher, gaining 576 yards on the ground in 128 attempts with 10 scores. Vondrell McGee, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound sophomore running back, is second in rushing picking up 376 yards on 88 carries and four touchdowns. Cody Johnson, a 5-foot-11, 255 pound fullback is third on the Texas’ roster with 336 yards in 73 attempts and a team-high 12 rushing TDs.

McCoy’s favorite targets have very similar statistics, meaning he doesn’t lock in to just one receiver. Jordan Shipley, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior, has 79 receptions for 982 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Quan Cosby, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound senior, has caught 78 balls for 952 yards and eight TDs. Chris Ogbonnaya, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound running back, is the Longhorns’ third leading receiver, hauling in 42 passes for for 484 yards and three scores, plus has rushed for 331 yards on 63 carries and four more scores.

Defensively, Texas is led by 6-foot-2, 235-pound junior linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy, who has recorded 106 total tackles. Brian Orakpo, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound senior defensive end tops the Longhorns’ roster with 10.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. Ryan Palmer, a 5-foot-10, 186-pound cornerback, has a team-high three interceptions.

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Right: Eventual Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Troy Smith had a productive night in Austin passing for 269 yards and two scores. (AP Photo)

– Note: Republished article written by Matt Barker as it appeared on BuckeyeBanter.com, September 10, 2006. -

A 21-game winning streak along with 12 consecutive games of scoring 40 or more points came to a crashing halt as the number-one ranked Ohio State Buckeyes soundly defeated the reigning national champion Texas Longhorns 24-7 in front 89,422 at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, Saturday night.

Led by senior quarterback Troy Smith, the potent offense was able to churn out 348 yards against one of the nation’s stingiest defense.

Smith was 17-of-26 passing for 269 yards and two touchdowns, and as the Texas’ defense focused on Heisman Trophy candidate Ted Ginn Jr., they forgot about Gonzalez, who had a career night for the Buckeyes catching eight passes for 142 yards and a score.

The unit that made the loudest statement in Austin was the defense, who I am sure is tired of hearing that hey have lost nine of 11 starters from last year’s team.

Linebacker James Laurinaitis made the most of the noise. He had 10 solo and 13 total tackles, forced two fumbles and had an interception.

Ohio State took the game’s opening possession and drove down to the Texas’ 11-yard line, but placekicker Aaron Pettrey missed on a 28-yard field goal attempt.

Both teams then traded punts, with the Longhorns beginning their second possession of the game at their own 20 yard line after A.J. Trapasso’s punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback.

Texas drove down to the OSU 7 yard line, behind the running of Jamaal Charles and Selvin Young, who combined for 46 rushing yards.

On a second-and-goal, Texas’ quarterback Colt McCoy completed a pass to Billy Pittman, who was stripped of the ball by Laurinaitis at the OSU 2. OSU’s Donald Washington scooped up the loose pigskin and returned it 48 yards to midfield.

From there it took the Buckeyes just five plays to score with Smith connecting on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Gonzalez, putting OSU ahead 7-0 follwing Pettrey’s made PAT with 1:04 left in the first quarter.

Texas tied the game at 7-all with 1:55 left in the second quarter when McCoy found Pittman in the end zone for a 2-yard scoring strike.

But Ohio State answered by going 66 yards in five plays that was capped off by a 29- yard pass play from Smith to Ginn with 16 seconds remaining until the half, putting the Buckeyes’ ahead 14-7 at intermission.

Laurinaitis made another big defensive stop just three plays into the third quarter when he intercepted a McCoy pass at the UT 46 yard line and returned 25 yards.

After three plays, Aaron Pettrey added a 31-yard field goal with 11:03 left in the third quarter giving Ohio State a 17-7 advantage.

In the fourth quarter, Texas would eat up eight minutes and six seconds off the clock by driving 33 yards in seven plays, but came away with no points after Greg Johnson was wide-right on a 45-yard field goal attempt.

The Buckeyes’ hammered the final nail into Texas’ coffin by going 72 yards in 10 plays as Antonio Pittman darted in from the 2-yard line to put Ohio State ahead 24-7 with 6:31 remaining in the contest.

Pittman finished with 74 yards on 16 carries.

While the Longhorns’ were able to gain 172 yards on the ground, the Buckeye’ defense harassed McCoy all night long. Texas was unable to get the ball downfield to their deep threats, and Limas Sweed caught just three passes for 37 yards.

Coach & Player Quotes:

OHIO STATE

HEAD COACH JIM TRESSEL
On the game: Texas is an outstanding football team. Their kids played hard and it was a heck of a college football game. I’m sure the people that were here, and the people that were tuned in enjoyed the quality of college football. Our guys played hard. They came into a tough environment and kept slugging away. Our defense came in there and caused some turnovers. Anytime you hold a team to seven points in their stadium, it’s incredible. I thought we did a good job of making some big plays offensively. Our offensive line did a nice job of protecting and made a lot of good decisions. We got the running game going a little better towards the end of the game, and I think we are in pretty good shape. We had our special teams up, and our defense was relentless. All in all we did not make many mistakes.

On Troy Smith’s improvement over the last year: He’s improved methodically and incrementally throughout his career. He’s had a gain of knowledge and a gain of confidence. He knows this game real well. He’s got some good guys with him, and a bunch of good guys up front. Our defense was getting the ball back, and when you have a guy like Troy, with the development he’s had, you have a chance.

QB TROY SMITH
On the Texas defense: Defensively I can’t say enough about them. They define the word physical in every way that you can do it.

On Ohio State’s special teams: Our special units were also great. They did a great job. We didn’t have any costly turnovers, and that’s what you need when you’re on the road.

On the play of Anthony Gonzalez: Gonzalez did a great job today making plays on the ball, and the guys up front did a great job blocking for us. Without those guys up front, I can’t make passes to Gonzalez, and Gonzalez can’t make plays on the ball.

On the touchdown pass to Ted Ginn at the end of the first half: [Aaron] Ross is a great cornerback, probably the best in the Big 12. He had some great plays today. [Ted] Ginn had an inside release on that play, and he did a great job of using his speed to get over top. I had ample amount of time to throw the ball. I just put the ball in the air, and he made a great play on it.

On using last year’s game for motivation for this year’s game: I tried not to think about last year’s game. We didn’t go into this game with the revenge factor or a chip on our shoulder. We just try to, week in and week out, execute the game plan and the things that we see on film to the best of our ability. This year’s game was totally different, in a sense that now this is a whole different set of seniors. This is a whole different group of guys, and we just have to win with the guys that we have now.

DT DAVID PATTERSON
On the game: This is a great game to play in. They have a great stadium, and you have to give it to Texas. They’re the best athletes we have ever played against. I’m just happy with the offense. Those guys just came out and did a great job. On defense I was really happy with some guys stepping up. You know this is the biggest game some of these guys have ever played in, and they really stepped up to the challenge.

On the forced fumble inside the Ohio State five yard line: We always talk about winning the turnover margin and causing turnovers. On that particular play, James [Laurinaitis] just came up and made a great hit. Donald [Washington] was there, and he just scooped it up. It was a great play for us to hold them out right there. We talk about tightening up our defense in the red zone, and I think we did a good job of that.

DT QUINN PITCOCK
On the game: You have to give credit to the Texas football team. They are a great football team and definitely deserve to be ranked high in the standings. They are a very physical team and play hard every down. Defensively, we knew coming in that we needed to create turnovers and put pressure on the quarterback, which we were able to do.

On the defense’s play: They drove a lot and did a lot, but we were able to stop them towards the red zone and hold them to seven points. Again I’m not sure. I’ll have to see the film. The defense did work well. I think we did improve from last week. We stepped up, but once again we have to work hard each week and get better.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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