Football
Buckeyes Knock Out, Knock Around Wildcats
By John PorentasAt halftime of Ohio State's (4-0, 1-0) 58-7 win over Northwestern (2-2, 0-1) thoughts started running through the brain like "What do you say about a game like this?"
"If it was a horse, they'd shoot it," came to mind, but the one that made the most sense was "If it was a fight, they'd stop it." This was the equivalent of a lightning-fast knockout that ended the contest before the ringside patrons got settled in their seats. Even Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald thought so.
"We needed to avoid that first-round knockout on the road in a hostile environment and we didn't do that. I give them (OSU) credit, and we've got a long way to go," said Fitzgerald.
The Buckeyes scored touchdowns the first three times they got the football, then scored the third time the Wildcats had it. OSU's first two possessions each lasted three plays and each resulted in a touchdown pass from Todd Boeckman to Brian Robiskie, the first one from 42 yards out, the second from 28. It took OSU five plays to go 36 yards on their third possession, this time Maurice Wells went the final three yards to put OSU up 21-0 with barely half a quarter played. The wheels totally came off for the Wildcats when OSU defensive end Vernon Gholston picked up a fumble on Northwestern's third possession and rumbled 25 yards for a touchdown. Gholston's touchdown came with 5:26 left to play in the first quarter. It was a haymaker punch that Northwestern could never really get up from the canvass from and the Buckeyes coasted the rest of the way.
"This is my first-ever scored touchdown," said Gholston of his defensive score.
"It was only 20-some yards so I didn't really get a chance to show my speed and that I could break away," Gholston joked.
"We had a little defensive line stunt on. The safety came off the edge and I saw the strip and my eyes got big. It was just like a pot of gold sitting right there. I just wanted to get to it as quick as I could before those other guys did. Once I got it I just sprinted to the endzone."
OSU's offense embarrassed the Northwestern defense. On the other side of the ball it was even worse. The OSU defense didn't just embarrass the Northwestern offense, it knocked the stuffing out of it. There were so many big hits in the first half that it was tough to keep track of them. The OSU defense and special teams literally unloaded on the visitors and left Wildcats writhing on the synthetic turf in Ohio Stadium throughout the game. The biggest hit of the game came from freshman linebacker Brian Rolle who annihilated a would-be tackler with a block on a punt return that brought the Northwestern trainers running to the field to check on their player after the whistle blew. He got up...eventually. He'll probably figure out where he is sometime around midweek. The play fired up the OSU bench who let Rolle know just how much they appreciated his mayhem.
"Everybody was going crazy," Rolle said of his greeting when he returned to the OSU bench.
"I couldn't really say anything because I was getting slapped up side of the head (by his teammates). It was overwhelming. It was fun for me. That's probably the biggest hit I've ever had in my life. I felt real good about it," said Rolle.
The Buckeyes added 17 points in the second quarter to go with the 28 they put on the board in the first. Robiskie caught his third pass and scored his third touchdown on a 19 yard pass from Boeckman and Chris Wells added another TD on a 36 yard run to make the score 42-0 in the second quarter. Wells sprinted through the Northwestern defensive line behind a key block from fullback Tyler "Tank" Waley who waxed the Wildcat middle linebacker as the lead blocker on the play. Wells ran up the middle of the field virtually untouched for the score. Ryan Pretorius added a 40 yard field goal to close out the first half scoring and make it 45-0 at the half.
Northwestern never got its offense untracked against the OSU defense and ended the day with zero yards rushing and 120 yards of total offense. Their lone score came on a 99 yard kickoff return by Stephan Simmons. Simmons broke at least three tackles before getting into the endzone including a clean shot at him by freshman defensive back Eugene Clifford and a last-ditch effort by kicker Ryan Pretorius.
"Guys thought after somebody touched him he was down," said Rolle of the play that resulted in Northwestern's touchdown.
"You've got to finish the play until the whistle's blown. That's something that we didn't do."
It was the lone highlight of the day for the Wildcats. Any thoughts they had of a miracle rally evaporated on OSU's next possession when Boeckman took the Buckeyes 65 yards in six plays for a touchdown drive that culminated in another big play in the passing game. Boeckman hit flanker Ray Small with a 48 yard bomb to make the score OSU 52, Northwestern 7. Tailback Maurice Wells added a touchdown in the third quarter on a one-yard run to make the score 58-7. The PAT failed when the snap on the try went awry.
Chris Wells rushed for over 100 yards for the third straight game, going for even 100 in three quarters of play before calling it a day. Wells sat on the bench the entire fourth quarter after having his ankle rolled up on on the first play of the third quarter resulting in a slight sprain. Wells said after the game that the injury should not keep him out of action next week against Minnesota.
"It's sprained. It's fine," said Wells.
"I don't think Beanie is going to miss any time," said offensive coordinator Jim Bollman.
"You never know for sure, but it doesn't sound like that," said Bollman.
The loss of Wells would be tough on the Buckeyes in light of the loss of freshman running back Brandon Saine last week to a slight knee injury. Maurice Wells figures to carry much of the ball carrying burden until Beanie is healthy and Saine returns.
"Mo is doing a solid job and we get Brandon (Saine) back here before too long," commented Bollman.
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