Columbus, OH - Troy Smith threw three touchdown passes, two
to fellow Heisman candidate Ted Ginn Jr., as top-ranked Ohio State beat
Northern Illinois, 35-12, at Ohio Stadium.
Smith ended 18-of-25 for 297 yards and Ginn caught four passes for 123 yards
for the Buckeyes (1-0), who warmed up for next weekend's battle against
defending national champion and third-ranked Texas by blasting their
overmatched Mid-American Conference opponent.
Antonio Pittman added 111 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries for Ohio State,
which has won 28 straight home openers and six straight season openers.
'For the most part, I thought we did a good job the whole way around,' said
Smith. 'Offensively, I think the guys up front did exactly what we game
planned to do, get a hundred-yard rusher, protect the quarterback, and we did
just that. Defensively, I think they did a great job in holding them under 13
points, which was one of our goals, and all around I think we did good.'
Garrett Wolfe led the Huskies' offense, racking up 285 total yards.
Wolfe had 171 yards on 26 carries and 114 yards and a TD on five receptions
for NIU (0-1), which has dropped three straight season openers.
Phil Horvath ended 15-of-26 for 185 yards with a touchdown and an interception
for the Huskies, who finished last season 7-5.
The Buckeyes wasted little time jumping on top of the Huskies, scoring a
touchdown on their first four possessions.
Smith hooked up with Ginn to end the first two drives with TDs. Their first
scoring connection came from five yards out with 6:02 elapsed in the contest,
capping an eight-play, 66-yard drive.
Then, after holding NIU to a three-and-out, Smith hit Ginn with a 58-yard pass
play for a touchdown on the first possession of the ensuing drive.
The Buckeyes' defense again held the Huskies to a three-and-out and the punt
went only 11 yards to the NIU 20-yard line. The OSU offense again took
advantage, needing just three plays to find the end zone. This time, Smith hit
Anthony Gonzalez with a 15-yard TD strike with 3:15 left in the opening
quarter.
NIU had its best offensive play on its next possession, when Horvath hit Wolfe
for a 65-yard gain down to the OSU 12-yard line. However, Larry Grant picked
off Horvath on the next play and returned it to the NIU 43-yard line. Five
plays later, Chris Wells ran in from eight yards out on the first play of
the second quarter, making it a 28-0 game.
Wells finished with 50 yards on 10 carries.
The Huskies finally got on the board with 6:16 left in the first half when
Chris Nendick hit a 35-yard field goal. The boot ended an eight-play drive
that started when OSU's Ryan Pretorius missed a 51-yard field goal.
Aaron Pettrey then missed a 45-yarder on the Buckeyes' ensuing drive, sending
OSU into halftime ahead 28-3.
In the third quarter, Nendick hit a 37-yarder with 8:39 left to make it a
28-6 contest.
Ohio State, though, bridged the third and fourth quarters with a six-play, 38-
yard drive that was ended with a one-yard Antonio Pittman touchdown dive for a
35-6 cushion.
Wolfe finally gave NIU a touchdown, capping a 10-play, 71-yard drive with a
four-yard reception from Horvath with 10:27 left. The two-point conversion
failed.
'I was hoping to give Ohio State a better test than we did,' NIU head coach
Joe Novak said. 'We got in a hole quickly and it was hard to come back. I was
proud of the second half because we competed. We settled down and played
better.'
Game Notes
OSU improved to 54-9-1 when playing as the nation's top ranked team and 7-0
when opening the season as No. 1.
The Buckeyes have won 38 of their last 39
non-conference games at home. The lone loss was to Texas last season.
This
was the first meeting between these two schools.
Gonzalez had 53 yards on
four catches.
Head referee Dave Witbote left the game with an injured right
wrist and did not return. He was inadvertently tripped up by Wolfe on Grant's
interception return in the first quarter and landed hard on his wrist.
NIU
finished just 1-for-13 on third-down conversions, while OSU went 6-for-10.
© 2006 The Sports Network
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