Postgame Notes From No. 1/1 Ohio State vs. Cincinnati Postgame Notes From No. 1/1 Ohio State vs. Cincinnati
Sept. 16, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes
Attendance: 105,037
Ohio State Postgame Notes
Ohio State's 10-game winning streak is second nationally. TCU (vs. Texas Tech at 5:30 p.m.) leads with 12-consecutive victories.
With the win over Cincinnati, the Buckeyes hold a 55-9-1 record when ranked as the top team nationally.
Overall, the Buckeyes are 286-68-9 when carrying a Top 10 ranking and 393-123-14 as a Top 25 team.
Jim Tressel's record with the Buckeyes now is 53-13 and his career record is 188-70-2. He is 40-4 at Ohio State when the Buckeyes score 24 or more points.
Under Tressel, the Buckeyes now are 39-3 when leading at the half and 41-3 when ahead after three quarters.
With the win Saturday, Ohio State now is 778-300-53 in 117 seasons.
All-time, the Buckeyes are 43-11-1 vs. teams from the Big East Conference.
Against Cincinnati, the Buckeyes are 13-2, including 8-0 in Columbus. Ohio State has held the Bearcats to a touchdown or less in the last two meetings (27-6 win Sept. 4, 2004 in Ohio Stadium).
The Buckeyes' 37 points were a season-high. OSU has outscored its opponents 96-26 this year.
The OSU defense totaled eight sacks and held the Bearcats to -4 yards rushing in 22 attempts. It was the first time since Sept. 24, 2005 vs. Iowa (18 attempts, -9 yards) the Buckeyes have held an opponent to negative rushing yards.
The Buckeyes have scored at least one touchdown in 116-consecutive games.
The Buckeyes trailed, 7-3, following the Bearcats' touchdown with 6:36 remaining in the first quarter. It marked the first time this season Ohio State was behind in a game and the first time since the 12:59 mark of the first quarter against Notre Dame in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.
Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith ended the game 21-for-30 for 203 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Smith has attempted 152-consecutive passes without an interception. He was last intercepted vs. Northwestern last season on his last attempt of the first half.
Smith has a least one TD pass in nine of his last 10 games and two or more in six of the last eight.
He has thrown for 200 or more yards in nine of the last 10 games. It was his 10th career game with 200-plus yards passing.
Smith's career total offense total of 4,897 yards is 10th all-time in Ohio State history. He is 200 yards behind Craig Krenzel, who had 5,097 yards from 2000-03 to rank ninth.
Antonio Pittman ended the game with a season-high 155 yards rushing on 16 carries. It was the 10th 100-yard game of his career.
Pittman's rush for 23 yards in the second quarter was the Buckeyes' first over 20 yards this season. He had a 48-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for Ohio State's longest rush this year.
16 of 17 receptions this season by Anthony Gonzalez have resulted in Ohio State first downs. In addition, 16 of his 17 catches this season have been for 10 or more yards.
Ted Ginn Jr. had two touchdown receptions vs. the Bearcats, the second game this season and in his career with two TD catches. He also hauled in two passes for TDs in the season opener vs. Northern Illinois.
Ginn Jr. has at least one reception in 22-consecutive games had has recorded 2 or more catches in 20-consecutive games.
Maurice Well's 9-yard touchdown rush in the fourth quarter was the first of his career.
Freshman Chris Wells' 10-yard reception of a Troy Smith pass in the first quarter was the first catch of his Buckeye career.
Ryan Pretorious booted a 52-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter, the first made field goal of his Buckeye career. It was OSU's longest field goal since Mike Nugent hit a 53-yarder at Michigan State Nov. 6, 2004.
Aaron Pettrey's 47-yard field goal in the first quarter was the longest of his career. He added a 43-yarder in the second quarter. Pettrey had a 31-yard kick vs. Texas last week for his first career field goal.
The game vs. UC was the first time a Buckeye had two field goals of more than 40 yards since Josh Huston converted 45 and 44 kicks against Texas in 2005. The last time the team had three 40 or more yard field goals in a single game was against N.C. State Sept. 18, 2004. Against the Wolfpack, Mike Nugent had kicks of 50, 46 and 47 yards.
Reigning Big Ten Defensive player of the week James Laurinaitis's sack of UC quarterback Dustin Grutza, for an 8-yard loss, was the second of his career and his second in as many games. He had an interception in the second quarter, the second of his career and his second in as many games.
Quinn Pitcock had a career-high three sacks (for 24 yards) vs. the Bearcats. He now has 10 in his career.
Ray Small's 36-yard reception from Justin Zwick was the longest of his career.
Freshman quarterback Rob Schoenhoft entered the game in the fourth quarter, marking his first appearance as a Buckeye. He completed his first career pass.
Miscellaneous
The attendance of 105,037 was the 13th-largest in Ohio Stadium history.
The Buckeyes' honorary captain for the game was Craig Krenzel.
The seven men and six women in the 2006 Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame class were introduced at halftime. The groups were inducted in separate ceremonies Friday evening. The class includes: Men - Kevin Akins (track and field, 1979-82), Adam DiSabato (wrestling, 1989-91), Alex Eckelman (baseball, 1994-97), Eddie George (football, 1992-95), Ted Provost (football, 1992-95) and Kip Simons (gymnastics, 1991-94); and Women - Kate Hedman (swimming, 1992-95), Annette Kraml (rifle, 1984-87), Donica Merriman (track, 1998-01), Patricia Szelle (fencing, 1995-98) and Lindsey Vagedes (gymnastics, 1998-01). In addition, Jim McDonough, former head cross country and assistant track coach, was presented with an Honorary Varsity "O."
Cincinnati Postgame Notes
Tight end Brent Celek extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 15. Celek, with three receptions for 65 yards, topped the UC career record for receiving yards by a tight end. He finished with 826 career receiving yards, topping the previous mark of 791 set by Kris Bjorson (1989-92)
Jared Martin's 22-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the redshirt freshman's first career reception.
Dominick Goodman's 53-yard kickoff return was the longest of the sophomore's career and the longest by a Bearcat since Marshwan Gilyard's 60-yard return vs. Pittsburgh last season (Oct. 8, 2006).
Dustin Grutza's 23-yard run was the longest run from scrimmage this season by a Bearcat and a career long for the third-year sophomore.
The setback marked the first time in eight games during Mark Dantonio's tenure as head coach that Cincinnati had lost after owning a lead at the end of the first quarter of play.
