Football
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook - Part III
By John Porentas
This football story brought to you by:
The Star Gives Props: OSU quarterback Troy Smith was the hero of the Michigan game, but certainly was not the only Buckeye to have an outstanding game against the Wolverines. Smith got a lot of attention after the game, but made sure that his teammates also got a mention.
"I want to give all the props and respect and everything to the guys up front. The guys on the offensive line to me are everything. Without those guys, this couldn't have happened today," said Smith.
Smith also singled out wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
"'Tone is a guy, as a receiver, is pretty much open all the time. He could be covered by three people and he's still going to say he was open," said Smith.
"To me, that's the mentality of a receiver. You have to have that, as a receiver you have to want the ball all the time. It doesn't matter where the ball is going to be thrown, you have to have an understanding that 'I have to go get the ball,' and Santonio does that. He's a great receiver and a great playmaker."
Historical Perspective: Where does this win over Michigan rank historically? In the overall scheme of things, who knows, but as far as recent history goes, the Buckeyes say its numero uno.
"This is the biggest game I've played in so far. I've played in some huge games at Ohio State, and this is takes the cake, this is huge," said offensive lineman Rob Sims.
That's a remarkable statement from a player who started in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl. We asked him if he really thought this game overshadowed the Fiesta.
"I would have to say so," said Sims.
"To come from behind like that. Nobody wanted to quit. We felt all week like we were going to come and win and just kept fighting. This win is tremendous right here. Everybody kept fighting," said Sims.
Nick Mangold, who also played in the Fiesta Bowl in 2002, agreed.
"I would have to say right now, national championship aside, this one," said Mangold.
"Definitely, because of how much we work we put in as seniors and how much our underclassmen wanted to put into this, it was a great victory."
What a Difference: OSU lost the game in Ann Arbor in 2003, which made it a pretty lousy day for the Buckeyes on the field. Compounding that misery for OSU safety Nate Salley was the fact that he was relatively beat up after that game and facing a four hour bus ride back to Columbus. This year, however, things were different.
"My eye was all swollen, my lip was busted up, my shoulder was all messed up," said Salley describing his physical condition following the 2003 game.
"This year is the opposite feeling," Salley said.
"I'm feeling great, I'm all healthy, my body feels good.
"It was still a physical game but to come out victorious that makes you feel even better."
Dogs Couldn't Last: The Michigan game was a fun one to watch, but there was some serious hitting going on on the field. Wide receiver Santonio Holmes said there was no quarter given and no quarter asked on either side of the ball.
"I wouldn't say it was a dog-fight, it was a war," said Holmes.
"Dog-fights start and they they quit, they end. That war lasted to the last seconds of that game," Holmes said.
Linebacker James Laurinaitis agreed, and said it didn't take long for him to realize just how intense the game is.
"The first play you realize that this is it, this is a war," he said.
"Like Eddie George said in the locker room before the game, he said 'This is a war. You have to lock and be loaded. This is not a game,'" Laurinaitis said.
Holmes scored OSU's first touchdown of the fourth quarter to set up the dramatic final drive of the game, but was flagged on the play for diving into the endzone. Holmes said he didn't understand the call.
"I was diving to avoid that tackle. I was just inches short of the goal line I just tried to get in as fast as possible."
Just Look at my Head: The Buckeyes emerged in the post game interviews wearing Big Ten championship hats, a fact that seemed to please them no end. According to Anthony Gonzalez, the championship caliber of the team carried them to the win over the Wolverines in the final quarter.
"This is a championship team as you can see by the hat," said Gonzalez.
"Championship teams don't really panic. There was never any doubt in my mind.
"I was telling Brian Robiske on the bench 'I know we're going to score here, but I'm not sure if they're going to have time get down the field or not. That was the only thing I was worried about honestly. With five minutes left, that was the only thing I was thinking about, I hope we don't score too soon," Gonzalez said.
"This is a championship team, and that's what championship teams do. They don't quit, they don't back down, and that's what we did today. It's so incredible to be a part of this group," Gonzalez added.
Photo by Jim DavidsonMike Kudla also liked his new hat.
"I love this one! It fits pretty right," said Kudla.
We asked Kudla if there was any chance his hat would ever be for sale on Ebay.
"I don't think so. Not anytime soon," said Kudla with a laugh.
Big Drive, Big Play: OSU's final drive of 88 yards was a series of clutch plays, but none was bigger than the 27 yard pass from Troy Smith to Anthony Gonzalez that put the Buckeyes in business at the four-yard line. On the play, Gonzalez was forced out of bounds while running his route, but the catch was allowed since college rules a player forced out to return to the field and make a play. Gonzalez said he made sure that the official knew what had happened immediately after the play.
"I made sure that I told the ref that he pushed me out," Gonzalez said.
"The first thing I did after I caught was I ran over to the ref, I saw his hat was off, and I said "He pushed, He pushed me . He said 'You're O.K., you're O. K., don't worry about it."
Gonzalez made a leaping catch on the play, a fact that surprised even him.
"I honestly don't know how high up I was. I know I don't jump very high. So if I was up pretty high, that was an aberration I guess. I'm not usually up very high," said Gonzalez.
"That's the best catch that I've seen him make," said safety Donte Whitner.
"Gonzo is a speedy guy and he usually doesn't go up in the air to get the football.
"When he went up in the air and got that football I knew something nice was going on out on that field.
"If he went up in the air and got that football and held onto it and took a couple of shots, you know he's giving his best."
Gonzalez said the OSU offense never doubted they would score on that final drive.
"We were definitely not nervous (in huddle)," said Gonzalez.
"A quiet confidence would be a term I would use. Nobody was yelling, nobody was screaming. It was just kind of a relaxed 'Hey, we're about to win the football game.'"
The Buckeyes have now won four-out-of-five against the Wolverines. Do they have their number now?
"I don't know if we have their number, but this year we did, and last year we did, and those were the only ones that I was a part of," said Gonzalez.
Thank You Tyler: The game ended on a completion from Michigan quarterback Chad Henne to tight end Tyler Ecker. Ecker caught the ball near the sideline, but with the clock winding down, elected not to go out of bounds to stop the clock. Instead, Ecker tried to head upfield and was tackled by OSU's Tyler Everett short of the first down. The clock then ran out on the Wolverines.
"I'm thinking 'What is this guy doing? Why does he think he's going to go 60 yards and they have no time outs?' I was like 'Yeah!' My hat is off to him for staying in bounds," said a smiling Donte Whitner.
"I'm glad he stayed in bounds, that they coach them to stay in bounds at the end of the game. My hat goes off to him for staying in bounds," said Whitner, tongue firmly in cheek.
Whitner was not in the tackle because he was doing what he was coached to do, not letting anything get behind him.
"I was deep and couldn't come up on it," Whitner said.
"If I had come up and they had completed one deep the whole state of Ohio would have hated me," Whitner said.
Whitner is no doubt right about that.
Whitner said OSU's defensive game play was a simple one. Stop the run, and make the Wolverines work the ball down the field with their passing game.
"Our whole plan going into the game was to make Henne beat us," said Whitner.
"There's no Braylon Edwards back there they can just throw the ball up to. We had to make him beat us, make them drive the length of the field, so we stopped the run. He made a couple of good plays but we won the football game."
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