Game Day, Part I

Ohio State was either looking ahead to next week’s heavyweight fight at USC or the Buckeyes miss injured running back Chris “Beanie” Wells even more than anticipated.

During a hard-fought 26–14 win over in-state rival and mediocre MAC opponent Ohio, coach Jim Tressel’s team trailed 7–6 at halftime and 14–6 midway through the third quarter before going on a 21–0 run to close out the “Battle of Ohio” and earn the OSU football program’s 800th all-time victory.

“I wasn’t exactly sure what the prior 799 wins looked like, but I was proud to get the 800th win for Ohio State,” said Tressel, following the surprisingly close contest. "It is quite a privilege to be on the field when that occurred.

“This game, in a nutshell, looked like what people predicted it might look like — between your opener (43–0 win vs. Youngstown State) and your national stage game (Sept. 13, at USC). So that was a little disappointing. …

“The good news is we are 2–0 and it is September. But we have a lot of work to do.”

Without Beanie banging in between the tackles, less-heralded backups Dan Herron and Maurice Wells combined to rush 21 times for 98 yards and a touchdown. Herron led the way with 12 carries for 50 yards and a one-yard punch-in across the goal line for his first career touchdown. Meanwhile, OSU’s “other Wells” added nine touches for 48 yards.

To put those numbers in perspective, Beanie had 13 carries for 111 yards and a 43-yard touchdown run last week in the season-opener and topped the 100-yard mark in nine of 13 games last season, including 200-yard efforts against Michigan State and at Michigan.

But it was the Buckeyes’ defense and special teams that carried the load against Ohio, while Beanie watched, wearing a walking boot on the sideline.

Sophomore linebacker Jermale Hines knocked Ohio’s starting quarterback, Theo Scott, out of the game after driving him to the ground following a throw. Scott, who had already thrown one interception, immediately grabbed his left shoulder and did not return.

The Bobcats backup quarterback, Boo Jackson, scared the Buckeyes with his dual-threat abilities. But in the end, Ohio State’s defensive speed was too much for Jackson, who ended the game having completed 9-of-25 passes for 86 yards and three interceptions through the air, with seven carries for 55 yards on the ground.

Four OSU players recorded interceptions — linebacker James Laurinaitis, defensive end Lawrence Wilson, safety Anderson Russell and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins — as the Buckeyes notched their first four-INT game since 2001. The swarming stop-unit also forced one fumble, winning the turnover battle against Ohio, 5-to-1.

Ohio State is just the fifth team to earn 800 victories — joining Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas and Nebraska.

Runnin’ Wreck

The Atlantic Coast Conference may be weak this year, but the Georgia Tech rushing attack is strong. After rolling up 349 yards on the ground during a blowout 41–14 win against overmatched Jacksonville State last week, coach Paul Johnson’s team ran over Boston College for 162 rush yards in a 19–16 nail-biter on the road this week.

Running back Jonathan Dwyer had 18 carries for 108 yards and 43-yard go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, quarterback Josh Nesbitt added 15 carries for 50 yards and a one-yard run across the goal line in the first quarter.

Despite the Yellow Jackets turning the ball over three times and losing the time-of-possession battle 33:48-to-26:12, Johnson became the first coach in Georgia Tech history to win his first ACC game. The Ramblin’ Wreck improve to a 5–2 record all-time against Boston College.

Now, Georgia Tech must prepare to take its running game to Blacksburg, Va., for a match-up with Virginia Tech next week. After beating last year’s ACC Atlantic Division champ this week, GT has its sights set on the reigning ACC Coastal Division winner.

“The conference didn’t do us any favors when they gave us two conference division winners on the road in back-to-back games,” said Johnson, who won back-to-back Division I-AA national titles at Georgia Southern and five straight Commander-In-Chief Trophies at Navy before taking over the top spot at Georgia Tech this year.

“It presents an interesting challenge for us.”

Big House Beauty

Last week, Miami (Ohio) lost 34–13 at home against Vanderbilt — the first time an SEC team has traveled to play at Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio.

This week, the RedHawks were more competitive at The Big House in Ann Arbor, Mich., losing 16–6 to the Wolverines at Michigan Stadium.

The Maize-and-Blue win may not have been impressive, but it was a lot more fun for fans to watch than last week’s 25–23 upset loss to Utah.

“I’d rather win ugly than lose pretty,” said Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, following his first win with the Wolverines.

“It might not have been pretty, but we got the win and the team played hard. We made a few good plays in the end and our defense played great. We’ll take it.”

Michigan’s defense did not allow a touchdown, while the team’s offense did not turn the ball over during the 10-point win. Freshman runner Sam McGuffie made his presence felt with 17 carries for 74 yards and three receptions for 32 yards.

A win is a win, but the results were mixed, as fewer fans (106,724) were in attendance at Michigan Stadium this week than at any other game since The Big House was expanded in 1998.