OSU vs Iowa >> Go Bucks!!! >>

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Game Time
OSU vs. Iowa

Where: Ohio Stadium
When: Sept. 24
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m.
TV: ABC

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By JON SPENCER
Gannett News Service

COLUMBUS -- Ohio State players liberally sprinkled words like "embarrassed" and "humiliated" into their comments after last Saturday's lackluster 27-6 win over patsy San Diego State.

Insightful post-game analyses? Perhaps, except the Buckeyes were addressing a much sorer subject -- last year's 33-7 loss at Iowa.

Saturday's Big Ten opener against the 21st-ranked Hawkeyes gives No. 8 OSU a chance to vent 11 months of frustration and avenge its most lopsided loss under coach Jim Tressel.

As good as Texas quarterback Vince Young looked two weeks ago, Iowa's Drew Tate was even better against the Buckeyes last October. He threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to hand Ohio State its first loss in Iowa City since 1962.

The victory propelled Tate to the Big Ten passing title and Iowa to a share of the league championship with Michigan.

"The person we have to stop is Drew Tate," OSU linebacker Bobby Carpenter said, looking ahead to the noon rematch of 2-1 teams in Ohio Stadium. "Last year he embarrassed us; he did whatever he wanted. He ran, he passed ... he could have done anything he wanted. It didn't matter what we did, he was more effective. So our gameplan is to stop Drew Tate and stop their running game."

Tate suffered a concussion in the second quarter of a 23-3 loss at Iowa State two weeks ago, but looked sharp in a 45-21 victory over 1-AA Northern Iowa last Saturday. He completed 15-of-18 passes for 247 yards and two scores, complementing the two-touchdown performance of running back Albert Young.

Tate, one of many mobile quarterbacks in the Big Ten, killed the Buckeyes last year on rollouts. Keeping him from getting out on the edge will be a key to Saturday's outcome.

Carpenter could be very instrumental in that regard. Against San Diego State, he recorded two of OSU's three sacks while used almost exclusively as a rush end. That enabled the Buckeyes to keep all three of their linebackers -- Carpenter, A.J. Hawk, Anthony Schlegel -- on the field when they went to a nickel package with five defensive backs.

"The loss to Texas was something we had to get over," Carpenter said. "Now we have to get after Iowa. If we can't get ready for them, there's something wrong."

Ohio State would be wise not to read too much into Iowa's loss to Iowa State. The same thing happened in 2002 and the Hawkeyes bounced back to share the Big Ten title with Ohio State. The co-champs didn't meet, however, and the Buckeyes went on to win the national championship.

Last year, the Hawkeyes suffered early-season losses to Arizona State and Michigan before rebounding for another share of the Big Ten title.

So far, however, Iowa's defense -- much like the OSU offense -- appears to be at a crossroads.

With four new starters on the line, the Hawkeyes have had trouble generating a pass rush. Although they jumped to a 38-7 lead last Saturday, Iowa couldn't deliver a knockout. Northern Iowa racked up 368 yards and scored its most points ever in 14 meetings with the Hawkeyes.

Quarterback Eric Sanders was 19-of-29 for 263 yards and three scores against a defense with two All-America candidates at linebacker in Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge.

"We really don't know what kind of team we are and what kind of team we could be," said defensive back Jovon Johnson, who scored on an interception return against Northern Iowa. "We could turn out to be a great team. At the same time, we could take the opposite direction."

OSU quarterback Troy Smith was just as conflicted after his first start of the season produced only one scoring drive of more than 32 yards against San Diego State. The Aztecs yielded 85 points in their previous two games.

After three games, playmakers Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr. have only three touchdowns between them. In the last two weeks, they've had 15 touches on offense, while Smith has become the offensive focal point with 27 carries and 38 pass attempts.

"I don't think we're searching for playmakers; we're searching for our playmakers to make big plays," center Nick Mangold said. "We need to give them that opportunity, whether it's run blocking a little better or pass blocking a little better."


Originally published September 20, 2005

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Friday, September 23, 2005
Iowa at OSU: Game breakdown

By Jon Spencer

Iowa at OSU, 12:10 p.m. Saturday, ABC TV

BUCKEYE TRIVIA
This marks the 11th time OSU has opened Big Ten play vs. Iowa. The Buckeyes are 9-1, the only loss coming in 1983. The two teams last opened league play against each other in 1997.

THE SERIES
The Buckeyes have won four straight in Columbus, last losing at home in 1991. Overall, OSU holds a commanding 26-8-1 edge. Last year’s 33-7 loss at Iowa snapped an eight-game winning streak over the Hawkeyes.

BUCKEYE DATA
Coach Jim Tressel
42-12 (5th year/OSU); 177-69-2 (overall)
Statistical leaders
TB Antonio Pittman: 233 yards rushing, 49 carries
QB Troy Smith: 19 of 37, 227 yards, TD, Int.
WR Santonio Holmes: 13 catches, 189 yards, 2 TDs
LB A.J. Hawk: 30 tackles, 3 sacks
PK Josh Huston: 9 of 10 field goals, 20 kickoffs, 12 touchbacks

HAWKEYE DATA
Coach Kirk Ferentz
44-32 (7th year/Iowa); 56-53 (overall)
Statistical leaders
TB Albert Young: 298 yards rushing, 36 carries, 3 TDs
QB Drew Tate: 29 of 39, 403 yards, 4 TDs
WR Clinton Solomon: 8 catches, 154 yards, 3 TDs
LB Chad Greenway 35 tackles
LB Abdul Hodge 27 tackles, 1 sack

THE MATCHUPS

Quarterbacks
Instead of watching film of the Iowa defense, Troy Smith should be studying the way counterpart Drew Tate dissected the Buckeyes last year. Tate is the model of what Jim Tressel thinks Smith can become — a quarterback who can scramble out of danger, but, more importantly, a quarterback who can scramble and find the open receiver. Tate and Smith had humble starts to their college careers. The difference is Tate built on last year’s boffo performance against the Buckeyes and went on to win the Big Ten passing title. What has Smith done since his Michigan moment? Not much.
EDGE: Iowa

RUNNING BACKS
Because of a freakish amount of injuries, the Hawkeyes were down to their fifth-string tailback when they routed the Buckeyes last year. So a healthy Albert Young is a major improvement, averaging 8.3 yards per carry. Iowa’s problem has been turnovers. The Hawkeyes have lost five fumbles, matching their total for all of last season. Jim Tressel says he’s looking for more consistency out of OSU’s running game. Calling less junior-high quarterback draws and quarterback runs up the middle could help. Before completely writing off Antonio Pittman, it would be nice to see what he could do one week with a 25-carry workload. His 5.0 yards-per-carry average warrants a longer, harder look.
EDGE: Iowa

WIDE RECEIVERS
Can we all agree that Ohio State’s strength on offense is its receiving corps of Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn Jr., Anthony Gonzalez and Roy Hall? So why can’t Jim Tressel see that something’s wrong when Troy Smith has one carry for every ball caught by that quartet? That was the story against San Diego State. Smith had 14 carries; they had 14 catches. The Buckeyes should be leaning more on their receivers and less on Smith’s legs. You wouldn’t trade Holmes and Ginn for Iowa’s Ed Hinkel and Clinton Solomon, but the two Hawkeyes are used more effectively. They had 121 catches and 13 touchdowns between them last year. Solomon is off to another fast start with three TDs among his eight receptions. Iowa also uses tight end Scott Chandler as a target. He shares the team lead in receptions with 10.
EDGE: OSU

OFFENSIVE LINE
The Buckeyes rotated two entire groups of linemen against San Diego State. You can afford to do that when you’re up against 230-pound defensive ends. What’s troubling is that the coaching staff didn’t feel anyone was deserving of Lineman of the Week honors despite OSU’s decided size advantage over the Aztecs The task will be considerably tougher this week although Iowa has an entirely new defensive front. Solid play in the trenches has been Iowa’s forte under Kirk Ferentz. His son, Brian, is the starting center. Mike Elgin has moved from center to guard and Mike Jones has moved from guard to tackle. The newcomers up front are 6-6 tackle Ben Gates and 315-pound junior college transfer Marshal Yanda at guard.
EDGE: Even

DEFENSIVE LINE
You would like to think the Buckeyes will take advantage of Iowa’s inexperience on its defensive front. For that to happen, they will have to run block much better than they did against San Diego State. Tackle Mike Follett leads Iowa’s revamped front with three sacks among his 11 tackles. Hopefully, OSU’s down linemen will feed off the energy provided by Bobby Carpenter. With the Buckeyes almost exclusively in a nickel package against San Diego State, Carpenter moved to rush end and recorded two of OSU’s three sacks. Carpenter’s power and speed from the edge could keep quarterback Drew Tate from hurting the Buckeyes on sprint outs.
EDGE: OSU

LINEBACKERS
Saturday’s game showcases what many analysts believe are the two best linebacking corps in the nation. Ohio State’s A.J. Hawk and Iowa’s Chad Greenway probably would have been first-round NFL picks had they bypassed their senior seasons. Both have already received Big Ten Player of the Week honors this season, Hawk for his monster effort against Texas and Greenway for his 20-tackle performance last week against Northern Iowa. Like Greenway and Hawk, Iowa’s Abdul Hodge is a Butkus Award candidate and already has two fumble recoveries this season. Edmond Miles completes Iowa’s set, while Anthony Schlegel complements Hawk in a 4-2-5 deployment that has linebacker Bobby Carpenter playing end when the Buckeyes are in the nickel.
EDGE: Even

DEFENSIVE BACKS
The emergence of true freshman Malcom Jenkins makes the OSU secondary even more dangerous. The Buckeyes can use him in single coverage on the outside and move corner Tyler Everett back to his customary position of safety when the Buckeyes are in a nickel. The biggest criticism of the backfield so far is that it isn’t creating many turnovers. They’ve picked off only two of 95 passes. Iowa cornerback Jevon Johnson, like OSU safety Donte Whitner, has returned an interception for a touchdown.
EDGE: OSU

SPECIAL TEAMS
Only in Jim Tressel’s world could the place-kicker be team MVP two years in a row. Yes, unfortunately, it could happen. Josh Huston, like predecessor Mike Nugent, has been the offense’s most consistent performer. Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr. are also doing their part, giving Ohio State the nation’s most explosive return unit. Thanks to his straight-away bursts, Holmes is averaging 36.3 yards per kick return and 13.2 yards per punt return. Ginn has a 46-yard kickoff return and, despite too much dancing, has a decent 11.8 average on punt runbacks. The day is probably coming when an opponent will go for it on fourth-and-10 from its own 40 — in a tie game — rather than kick to those guys. Iowa kicker Kyle Schlicher converted 21 of 26 field goals last year and was automatic inside 40.
EDGE: OSU


Originally published September 23, 2005

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Go Bucks!!! :)

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-Smith played a pretty good game n' the BIG 'D" played super TOUGH!!!


Tate is the model of what Jim Tressel thinks Smith can become — a quarterback who can scramble out of danger, but, more importantly, a quarterback who can scramble and find the open receiver.

Go Bucks!!! :)

[V.P.]

How many did he have?:eek:

[Tracker-32]

Ya'll can gloat win osu leaves columbus and actually wins against a good team.

LONGHORNS RULE!!!! ( 25-22 )


T-32

[countyroad]

I didn't see anything about Texas in the thread title. I'd imagine Tracker is just a fair weather fan anyway.

[Tracker-32]

Texas didn't play this week....

Longhorns Rule!!!! ( 25-22 )

T-32

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Sunday, September 25, 2005 - Last year's loss avenged

Iowa's Tate silenced by stingy OSU defense

By JON SPENCER
Gannett News Service

... OSU 31, Iowa 6 ... :)

COLUMBUS -- Ohio State's shockingly easy 31-6 victory over Iowa on Saturday was a sight for sore eyes -- and battered egos.

Everywhere the Buckeyes went this past week, they were reminded of last year, when they were on the other end of a knockout punch against the Hawkeyes.

Photos of the Kinnick Stadium scoreboard flashing "33-7" were plastered on shower walls, in bathroom stalls, on water fountains and in lockers. A scoreboard adjacent to OSU's practice field read "33-7" all week. The players saw "33-7" in their sleep.

The Buckeyes didn't want Gatorade. They needed Visine.

"Everytime we walked through a door, it said 33-7," safety Donte Whitner said. "We had no choice but to think about that score and how they embarrassed us last year."

According to the Buckeyes, no loss in recent memory prompted as much motivational maneuvering.

"Not even our loss to Michigan (in 2003), because it wasn't as bad," Whitner said. "(Iowa) dominated in every phase of the game last year and we wanted to pay them back."

Whitner did his part in Saturday's Big Ten opener with seven tackles, the Buckeyes' only interception and a pass deflection. So did wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez with a pair of touchdown catches, part of a career day that included six catches for 90 yards.

"There were even letters on the wall written by alumni (names were removed to protect the innocent) telling us how terrible we were last year against Iowa and how we let 'em down," Gonzalez said. "There was a lot of stuff to get you motivated -- not that you would need it.

"I'm not into the whole revenge thing. If you are looking for revenge, it's because somebody wronged you. I don't think they wronged us. We wronged ourselves, we were so terrible. Maybe we got revenge on ourselves, if that's possible."

The eighth-ranked Buckeyes (3-1) not only exacted revenge, they rubbed Iowa's nose in the Ohio Stadium turf and got under the skin of quarterback Drew Tate.

So flustered was Tate, the star of last year's game, he spiked the ball in frustration after a 15-yard sack by Bobby Carpenter, drawing a delay-of-game penalty in the third quarter.

The only thing Tate was delaying was Iowa's execution.

"It's gratifying for a defense when we know we can affect a quarterback so much that we take him out of the game plan," Carpenter said. "Anytime you see him show outward emotion, it's a definite plus."

Ohio State sacked Tate five times and held him to 3.7 yards per completion to keep him from repeating last year's four-touchdown performance against the Buckeyes. The sacks resulted in a loss of 34 yards and made Iowa's non-existent ground game (minus-9 yards rushing) look even worse.

The 21st-ranked Hawkeyes mustered only two field goals from Kyle Schlicher after falling in a 24-0 hole.

"He was looking directly at me and Nate (Salley) ... looking in our eyes," Whitner said of Tate. "That's when you know you've got the quarterback's head. He's a very good quarterback, but today he was staring down me and Nate. Once you get him worrying about you, he isn't worrying about what his offense is doing."

If Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith had gotten flagged for spiking the ball, it would have been for excessive celebration. He had to feel like it was last year's Michigan game all over again.

Making his second start of the season, Smith threw the two TD passes to Gonzalez and also ran for a pair. He passed for 191 yards and rushed for 127 as the Buckeyes amassed 530 yards, their highest output since ringing up 631 against Indiana two years ago.

After "fuddling around" -- center Nick Mangold's description -- on offense the last couple of weeks, the Buckeyes went the old school route to open the running lanes and air waves for Smith.

They began the game in the I-formation, pounding away at an inexperienced defensive line with tailback Antonio Pittman. He rushed for 46 yards on seven carries as the Buckeyes marched 81 yards with the opening kickoff. By the time he was done, Pittman had a career-high 171 yards on 28 carries.

Ohio State rushed for 314 yards, the first time it has topped 300 yards on the ground since Maurice Clarett made his splashy debut in the 2002 opener against Texas Tech.

"Whatever they were doing wrong on offense, they definitely fixed it," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We were surprised only in the sense they haven't run the ball this well all year. It was a good strategy. A year ago, their offensive line was very young, but now they are veterans and played like it."

OSU did -- and didn't -- have a better handle on things offensively. Smith and tailback Brandon Schnittker fumbled the ball away inside the five. It was the second week in a row Schnittker gave it up near the goal line. Smith had three other fumbles he recovered, Pittman lost the handle on a ball that went out of bounds and punter A.J. Trapasso fumbled a snap that led to an Iowa field goal.

"I don't think it was near perfect," coach Jim Tressel said. "We'll be able to go to the film and find a lot that wasn't perfect, but I thought we played the best we've played thus far and that's what you hope for each week, to get a little better.


Originally published September 25, 2005

http://www.centralohio.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/BF/20050925/SPORTS04/509250334/1057

>>> GO Bucks!!! :)

[Wise1]

WAY TO GO BUCKS !!


Texas was dang lucky to get outta Columbus with a win.........

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Originally posted by Wise1
WAY TO GO BUCKS !!


Texas was dang lucky to get outta Columbus with a win.........

heheh ~ they left Buckeye land as a Beatup n' Ugly Uni-Corn fer' sure!!! :)

If they are lucky the T'girls might even grow back a new pair of 'Nads by seasons end!!!

LMAO :)

[V.P.]

tOSU and Texas play again in a bowl game this year.:eek: ;)