Favorite Stat of the Game: 62 points. The most by the Buckeyes in a game against them. The Buckeyes scored 50 in 1961 and 1968. It marked the most points scored against that team in a regulation game and the second-most scored against them ever, behind Illinois’ 65 in a 67-65 Rich Rod victory in triple-overtime in 2010. Cornell had the previous most points in a regulation game scoring 58 in 1891. And it could have easily been more. We had two red zone field goals that were close to being touchdowns and took a knee on the final possession in the red zone. It very easily could have been 77. 62 is now an infamous number. Say that number to a Buckeye and you’ll produce an automatic smile. Say it to a fan from up north and they’ll shake their head unwillingly, or maybe even cry.
The Brooklyn Dagger Award: Chris Olave’s first touchdown catch gave the Buckeyes a lead that they never let go of and only kept adding to. The play that really felt like it was putting nails in the coffin though was the fly sweep pass to Parris Campbell. Like Beanie Wells, Ted Ginn, Antonio Pittman, Darron Lee, and Zeke Elliott before him, when Campbell was blazing toward the endzone with a pack of those funny colored jerseys chasing him, it felt like The Game was just about decided.
Favorite Player of the Game: Dwayne Haskins. Haskins first play a big run he had was him calling his own number and wanting to send a message. Message received, loud and clear. I saw in a post-game locker room speech where Haskins nonchalantly brushed off his epic performance and gave his running backs, receivers, tight ends, and offensive linemen all the credit. Haskins also said afterward that he’s not done yet and that he wants to put on a show on Saturday. With number seven in there, we got a chance against anyone. The best passer in Ohio State history finished the game going 20 for 31 for 396 yards and six touchdowns and no turnovers. He might already be the GOAT in Ohio State history and he’s got chances to erase all doubt in the next two to three games.
Ryan Shazier-Devin Smith Award: Chris Olave. The last time I can remember a true freshman making that much of an impact in The Game was another great receiver named Ted Ginn Jr. Olave joins Ginn, Clarett, and Wells as freshman who massively contributed to beat that team in their first year. Olave finished the day doing the awesome number 17 great honor. He hauled in two catches for 48 yards and two touchdowns and showed off elite speed in blocking a punt that was returned by Sevyn Banks for a touchdown. He makes one feel a little less sad about McLaurin, Dixon, and Campbell all playing their last game in the Shoe.
Dane Sanzenbacher Award: The Slobs. No sacks. Urban said he and Dwayne had to give them all the credit. They gave up zero sacks against the number one defense in the country. 567 total yards because these guys played their best game of the year in the most important game of the year. The fact that this offense didn’t turn the ball over once is also because The Slobs were playing at an elite level. With all of the big plays by the skill guys on such a historic offensive day, we can almost forget where it all started, with the big guys dominating in the trenches. And doing so in a match up in which they were the massive underdogs, they proved the old saying that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog.
Taylor Decker Award: Malik Harrison and the linebackers. Harrison set the tone early and paved a way for the linebackers to have their best game they’ve had since the last time that team up north lost in Ohio Stadium. Harrison lead the way with some great stats. He had seven tackles, two tackles for a loss, and a sack. Even those don’t tell the whole story though, because it seemed like on every tackle Harrison wasn’t letting the guy he was hitting get more than a yard beyond the line of scrimmage. Every tackle was right at the point of attack. This hometown hero brought his best game for The Game. The linebackers finished the game with 27 tackles, playing their best game since the 2016 win against that team up north. Hopefully this a permanent bounce back by this unit that has struggled over the past two seasons.
Fedora Award: Mike Weber. Replacing a legend like Zeke Elliott is no easy task. But for the past three seasons Mike Weber Jr. has done that very well and being a one-two punch with J.K. Dobbins hasn’t slowed him down much. 96 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown against that team up north is pretty good, especially when sharing the rock and in an offense that for the first time in a long time is dominated by the pass. Weber showed some amazing class as well in this game. When that team’s star linebacker Devin Bush went out early in the third quarter with an injury, Mike Weber showed class and sportsmanship like Devin Gardner did and said some encouraging words to the B1G Defensive Player of the Year as he went off the field. I watched plenty of rivalry games this year and didn’t see anything like that in any of them. That’s the respect that this team has for this rivalry (pardon the pun) in a nutshell.
Sweater Vest Award: Chris Olave and Sevyn Banks. Olave Showed elite speed on three plays. All three lead to touchdowns. This guy is going to be something else. A coming out party in The Game. That’s a boom. Olave came charging through and got a piece of the punt and Sevyn Banks caught the deflection on the run and took it into the endzone. Frank Beamer, Jim Tressel, and Urban Meyer were all done proud on that one.
Archie Award: Urban Meyer. Urban Meyer had an absolute banner day as a coach. But he impressed me the most off the field, and that is saying quite a bit after the history he and his team made on it. He tied Earle Bruce with 81 total wins as an Ohio State head coach behind only Coop, Tressel, and Woody. He beat that team for the seventh straight time. His teams have blocked 71 kicks since 2001. Oh, and 62. But the part of The Game that most impressed me with Urban Meyer was after the win. When asked about a touching family moment coach had with his spouse and children and grandson after the game outside the locker room, this tough as nails field general got choked up. After restraining his emotions, he said; “There’s no one who means more to me than her (Shelley) There’s no one that means more to me than her. And, yeah, there’s nothing more important than my three kids and my grandson. And another one on the way. And to see the smiles on their face, that’s priceless and that’s something I’ll never forget.” He then went on to say that while he thanks Buckeye nation, the best part of this one was winning for his family, his players, and his staff. The man isn’t perfect, but he’s as good a man as he is a football coach and he’s a ridiculously good football coach.
Horned Rimmed Glasses Award: Everyone in scarlet and gray inside the walls of Ohio Stadium. I’ve been to over 40 games in the Horseshoe, five of them against that team up north, four against PSU, two overtime games, and countless conference games. None of them were ever even close to being as nuclear as this game was. The energy came from everywhere and constantly fueled and exceeded itself. Everything just added more fuel to the fire. Buckeye Nation came in fired up. Then the band fired us up more. Then Senior Day fired us up more. Then the roar of fighter jets flying over (even if you couldn’t see them) fired us up more. That team going three and out fired us up more. Then the officials calling a bad game fired us up more. Urban getting a penalty for chewing out those bums for not calling the targeting on Haskins fired us up. Every good play the maligned defense made, every first down the offense made just added up to nuclear explosions of energy throughout the greatest stadium in the country.
Bad Coaching Moment of the Game: Defenders still not looking for the ball and Borland being out of position on Chris Evans touchdown to make the score 21-19 were bad, but the defense improved a lot in this game by being better disciplined overall, tackling better, and not have the linebackers lining up as quasi-defensive linemen. So, the questionable coaching of the game for the Buckeyes was when we had the ball inside the ten-yard line twice, brought in Tate Martell for the goal line package but refusing to even attempt a pass with him allowed the opposing defense to tee off on him and Dobbins and Weber. At least throw in the old Tebow jump pass or something. It’s a good wrinkle to throw in, but if you don’t keep them honest with it, they’ll tee off with ease on it. One last point (and I can’t believe I’m being this negative in a 23-point win over that team up north in which we scored 62) and I promise I’ll move on. On the blocked punt Meyer said something telling in the post-game press conference. He said that he called for the block to be tried, and Ohio State has two plays in which they have drawn up to try and block punts. Meyer said he called for the other one, and Schiano sent in the one that was ran, and that worked. I’m not looking the gift horse in the mouth, but it makes me wonder about that kind of thing and if it is happening often and throughout all the facets of the game this season? I think if it is, that regardless of the postseason results, Meyer will roll some heads.
Good Coaching Moment of the Game: Going for it on 4th down in their territory and driving to the 3 or 4 for a field goal with only 41 seconds to go in the half. This was vintage Urban Meyer. Going for the throat on every possible chance is a characteristic that is distinctly Urban, and one we’ve missed a little lately. It came back in a big way and at a big time. Urban also didn’t get conservative with the lead. He let the offense just run its game instead of going into protection mode. It is so tempting to go into protection mode in a big game. Problem is, as Jim Tressel well knows from 2009 against USC if you sit on a lead-egg for too long, eventually it hatches into a loss. Hat off to Meyer for being his aggressive self and having faith in himself and in his guys to be themselves, go out there and win. Another thing to Urban and the offensive staff’s credit this season is that they are 14th in in the country in 3rd down conversion rate and that team up north is eighth. The Bucks are averaging 47% on the season and had 42% on Saturday. It is vital for this team to maintain and build that advantage to not only wear out opposing defenses but help their own defense and they did that here.
Glass Half Empty: That team up north is going to become dangerously desperate at some point. And they are actually a very talented team. Peoples-Jones, Nico Wilson, Gary, Winovich, Ben Mason, Devin Bush, they have some great players and are continuing to attract great players.
-Glass Half Full: Bring it on. Their “revenge tour” not only stopped but died like the Lannister army under the weight of Drogon and the Dothraki. As Chris Fowler said; “Michigan has a serious Ohio State problem and it’s bigger than ever.” He’s right. Ramzy Nasrallah said; “Ohio State reveres and respects it’s rival. Michigan reveres and respects Michigan.” He’s right. I said it last week and then Anthony Schlegel said it to more people early Saturday evening. The War, The Game, it just means more to us. That’s the best reason I can find as to why the greatest rivalry in all of sports has been so one sided this century. Not only how hard our guys played showed this but the reaction of that team’s faithful since the loss has reinforced it to me. A photographer for that team went on a Twitter rant about how Ohio State fans are bad people because of how much we hate that team up north. A Detroit newspaper talked about how if Ohio State makes the playoffs that team’s season could still come up smelling like roses by playing in the Rose Bowl. Another headline I saw discussed that team up north working to get the B1G divisions realigned so they wouldn’t have to play Ohio State every year and maybe they could meet in Indianapolis more often. If we had lost, we undoubtedly have had our own share of crazy reactions, but we wouldn’t have claimed hating their rival made them bad people. It’s their institutional arrogance that makes us hate them. For me, the Rose Bowl would mean nothing. I can’t watch the ’97 Rose Bowl without cursing either Tai Streets, John Cooper, or Shawn Springs. The 2019 Rose Bowl would be no different without 62-39. The last thing I would have done is want to not play them anymore. I may have been angry and crazy enough to call for an epic coaches’ job or said other dumb and emotional things, but I wouldn’t want to never play them again or as often. The biggest problem would be that the next time against them wouldn’t have been able to get here fast enough. Just further evidence that winning The Game means more to Ohio State and the state of Ohio.
2014 Moment: I can’t just pick one. Olave’s two 24-yard touchdown receptions. Campbell’s two touchdown receptions. Dixon’s touchdown catch. Hill’s touchdown catch. Weber running the best option play since Maurice Hall. Take your pick. Any and all of them work, and all of them happened because number seven picked apart the highest-ranking defense in the country. As much as Zeke, J.T., Cardale, Devin, and Thomas ever did.
2002 Moment: Jordan Fuller’s opportunistic pick reminded me of Mike Doss in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, catching a Ken Dorsey pass off a deflection and in enemy territory. Then Brendon White channeled his inner Will Allen in an interception that felt like it clinched about as much as Allen did as time expired in 2002.
1968 Moment: Terry McLaurin fighting for a first down when the score was still 7-6. It’s funny that a nine or ten-yard catch for a first down wound up being the championship moment of a game in which 62 was scored, but here we are. McLaurin had to fight and battle for the last three yards of his catch and dozed through two defenders to do so, right into the Ohio State sideline. All 107,000 plus appreciated that effort, but the Buckeye faithful roared for the effort and for the reaction of head coach Urban Meyer, throwing punches. I’ve talked about all the things that made this crowd go nuclear and none did more so than seeing a great, tough effort, early in The Game.
Overtime:
The officiating:
They missed that targeting by Furbush on Haskins badly. Furbush hit Haskins after he gave himself up on the slide AND helmet to helmet AND with the crown of the helmet. Urban went nuclear over them not calling this and drew a penalty. Let me tell you though, it fired up Buckeye Nation inside the walls of the Horseshoe. They called a bogus personal foul penalty on Malcolm Prigdeon. Prigdeon was just down field blocking on a run by J.K. Dobbins and gave a defender a good shove as the whistle blew and they threw a flag. It wasn’t a malicious shove it was just blocking the guy to get him out of the running lane. Karan Higdon caught a swing pass, had possession, took a half of a step, got nailed by Shaun Wade and fumbled. It was a pretty quick bang-bang play, but it disgusted me that this crew didn’t even review the play. A non-existent facemask on Jonathan Cooper. They even screwed up for that team as they initially ruled a Nico Wilson touchdown catch that was never in doubt and incompletion. To me, it just seemed like these guys were either having a bad day or just bad at their jobs. I hope it’s not the same crew in Indy, but I bet it is.
Second Overtime:
I read “Above the Line” last week leading up to The Game. One point Urban made over and over again in his book was that he’d never seen a game where the team that played the hardest and the toughest lost. That was THE difference in THE Game. Ohio State still a lot of the same problems they’ve had all season, but they played hard and tough and just that kind of effort and mentality, coupled with their natural talent, allowed them to win in historic fashion in the most historic rivalry of all time.
Final Overtime:
November 24, 2018 was maybe my last game in the Horseshoe, the last time I get to be in Ohio Stadium for any Buckeye game, let alone The Game. It is very likely that my family will move to Utah before next football season in order for us all to be closer as my parents grow old. I’m 42-2 at Ohio Stadium including a perfect 5-0 against that team up north. If this was to be my last time in the Shoe on the banks of the Olentangy then what a way to go out, in style and with a bang.
