Football
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook - Part I
By John Porentas
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Out of the Game, but Not Their Hearts: OSU senior linebacker Bobby Carpenter suffered an injury on the first play of the game against Michigan and did not return to action in the game. Carpenter sustained a broken ankle, and is not likely to be able to play in OSU's bowl game.
Despite the fact that he was not on the field making plays, Carpenter's presence was felt by his teammates.
"Bobby was upset, but at half time coach said 'Bob, we're going to need your heart, your soul to be with us, and that's exactly what it was," said freshman linebacker JamesLaurinaitis who was called upon to replace Carpenter in the lineup.
"When the O was out there he was cheering for the O. When the D was out there he was cheering for the D. Some guys could have had their head down, but he didn't. He knew it was Michigan, and even if he couldn't play, he came out here and he put his whole heart and soul into every snap," Laurinaitis said.
"He stayed with us," said senior safety Nate Salley.
"He didn't go to the sideline and sulk. He was with us every drive.
"Every time I came to the sideline he was greeting me. It was tough for him, but he's just that type of guy.
"We kept telling him we were going to go out there and get it for him. That was huge to end up winning, he didn't have to feel to bad about it. We won," said Salley.
It wasn't just the defense that was moved by Carpenter. Following OSU's winning drive with under a half minute to play, every member of the OSU offense ran off the field directly to Carpenter and gave him a hug. Carpenter's bleary eyes when they did so made it abundantly clear that he appreciated the gesture.
Not According to Plan: To say that the game probably didn't go exactly as Jim Tressel had planned would be a gross understatement. Tressel stresses winning the turnover battle, special teams, and opportunistic offense. OSU's offense was fine against the Wolverines, but two turnovers, two muffed punts, a missed field goal and a missed PAT were almost disastrous for the Buckeyes. Somehow, they managed to play over all those mistakes for the win.
"I told the guys in the locker room after the game that they broke one of my truisms. I tell them that we can't win this game if we turn it over, but our kids wanted it so badly and did what they had to do to over come that," said Tressel.
"Our guys kept playing. The ball was rolling around the wrong way and we weren't holding onto it maybe. A penalty hear and there, maybe an interference call, and our guys kept playing," Tressel said.
"We played until the end. That's the way we always do it. We don't think we're ever done."
Tressel credited his team's will to win, and a short memory that allowed them to get on to the next play even when things didn't go their way, for their ability to overcome their shortcomings in Ann Arbor.
"You put those behind you, of course, because you've got to attack the situation at hand," he said.
"You don't carry those with you and start adding them up as the game goes on and say 'Well heck, we're probably not going to win, we lost the turnover margin, we lost the special teams, because usually you have to win those things to win. You just go to work on whatever the situation is at hand.
"That's why you're so proud of these kids. They never stop playing and they never stop believing.
"Like Troy said, to send those seniors out with at least a co-Big Ten championship, and maybe a chance to play in a BCS game and all those things, that's huge. You have to appreciate the A. J. Hawks, and the Bobby Carpenters and the Ryan Hambys and the Marcus Greens and all those guys that we just wish the best for. We didn't add up all those problems. We just kept fighting."
"We defied the traditional logic of this game," added wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez.
"The team who wins the turnover the margin wins like 89% of the time. If not it's the team that outrushes, or it's the team with the special units, and we didn't really get it done on those fronts. The bottom line is the score of the game, and we were on top, and that's the important thing."
Falling Leaves: The football regular-season is over, but that doesn't mean there will not be any football around the state of Ohio. Football is in the DNA in the Buckeyes state, and kids everywhere will be in back yards playing the game until snow makes that impossible.
OSU quarterback Troy Smith and wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez teamed up to make one of the biggest plays of the day when they hooked up on a 27 yard completion to put the ball at the six-yard line late in the game and set up OSU's winning score. Gonzalez said the play took him back to his backyard playing days.
"It's one of those things, when you're a little kid, you're thinking, 'So-and-so rolls out, got a man open!' you're talking to yourself, you're five years old, who knows. To have it happen like this really was a dream come true, because every little kid thinks about that," said Gonzalez.
OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel thinks that the performance put in by Smith against Michigan will live on in many back yards in the days to come.
"There will be a lot of youngsters watching, and out there in the yard on Thanksgiving weekend making that same move that he made and getting open in a pile of leaves. That's the fun of college football at this time of year," Tressel said.
We'll Take Care of You: After the Buckeyes scored their first touchdown of the fourth quarter, it was up to the OSU defense to get the ball back for the offense. They did so, but while they were on the field holding off the Wolverines, OSU center Nick Mangold was assuring Troy Smith that when the offense got back onto field, they would be successful. Mangold put his arm around Smith on the OSU bench and delivered his message.
"I told him that we were going to be back there protecting them and that he should just sit back there and don't worry about it," said Mangold.
"We had little slip ups, but we're going to protect you, to just stand back there and make those throws. I said it over and over. I wanted to make sure he knew it," Mangold said.
OSU's offensive line allowed just one sack of Smith in the entire game against Michigan.
On the Payroll? OSU wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez made a a crucial catch in the fourth quarter and had a total of four catches for 75 yards overall.
"Outstanding, magnificent, just a great catch. Troy put it in the right place and he went up and made a catch," said fellow wide receiver Santonio Holmes of Gonzalez big play in the fourth quarter.
Gonzalez still considers himself a role player in the OSU offense.
"My role is to, when everybody else is covered, which isn't very often, to kind of try and make a difference somehow, whether it's in the passing game, blocking, whatever. I'm just one of 11 guys trying to do the right thing," said Gonzalez.
According to Jim Tressel, Gonzalez makes contributions off the field as well.
"Anthony studies the game. Every time I turn around he's in there with Troy and all those guys studying. He studies it during the game," said Tressel.
"He came up with a couple of changes for us at half time. I'm going to have to start paying him or something for being on the staff," Tressel said.
Tressel obviously appreciates Gonzalez' attitude.
"He just does whatever he's asked. If you switch his position because we're trying to feature 'Tone or Teddy, he's fine with it and he just goes and does it. When you have unselfish people that are out there trying like crazy, usually good things happen to good people, and that's the case with Gonzo."
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