Sports

College football

QB rallies Buckeyes to title

Troy Smith's clutch play leads Ohio State to a 25-21 win over Michigan and a share of the Big Ten crown.

Associated Press
Published November 20, 2005

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Several Ohio State Buckeyes were smiling and sweating in a cramped interview room, sporting Big Ten championship hats and T-shirts.

They can thank Troy Smith.

Smith threw for a career-high 300 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score, leading No. 9 Ohio State to a 25-21 win over No. 17 Michigan on Saturday and a share of the conference title.

Antonio Pittman's 3-yard run with 24 seconds left capped an 88-yard drive that included a series of spectacular plays by Smith.

Smith spun to avoid a sack and made an 11-yard pass early in the drive and eluded another loss with quick feet, buying enough time to complete a 26-yard pass to set up Pittman's winning run.

"There will be a lot of No. 10 jerseys and a lot of kids on Thanksgiving weekend trying to make those moves in a pile of leaves," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.

Smith was 27-of-37, ran for 37 yards and got sacked only once a year after his spectacular performance led the Buckeyes over Michigan. Smith ran for 145 yards and a TD and threw for 241 yards and two scores in that 37-21 win.

"Troy is probably the best we've seen," Wolverines defensive tackle Pat Massey said. "Troy was a difference maker out there."

Ohio State overcame a slew of mistakes just in time to clinch a piece of the Big Ten title for the first time since winning the 2002 national championship.

Penn State won at Michigan State to earn the automatic Bowl Championship Series bid because of its win over the Buckeyes, who still have a strong possibility at getting an at-large BCS bid.

Regardless, Pittman said the Buckeyes will be remembered as champions.

"We'll get our names and our picture on the wall," he said.

The Buckeyes rallied for their sixth straight victory despite two turnovers and a shanked punt that led to scores, a missed extra point and field goal, mishandled punt returns and two pass interference penalties in the end zone.

Michigan was essentially playing mistake-free football when it led 21-12 midway through the fourth quarter before Smith stunned a crowd of 111,591 at Michigan Stadium. On the last two drives, Smith was 9-of-12 for 130 yards and a TD.

"I just think we wanted it more than those guys," said Santonio Holmes, whose 26-yard TD reception pulled Ohio State within 21-19 with 6:40 left.

Michigan then drove to Ohio State's 34 and had Garrett Rivas pooch punt instead of trying a long field goal into the wind.

Smith started the winning drive at the Buckeyes 12 with 4:18 left. Perhaps his biggest play was a 26-yard pass to a leaping Anthony Gonzalez to Michigan's 4 after he was almost sacked.

"Guys came off the edge, and I was just trying to stay alive," Smith said. "I saw Gonzalez pop open down the sideline, and I just tried to get him the ball as fast as I could."

Michigan got to midfield on its last drive, but its comeback hopes ended when receiver Tyler Ecker caught a short pass and tried to gain yards instead of running out of bounds.

As the final seconds ticked off, the Buckeyes ran across the field and celebrated with their fans in the corner of the Big House.

"There is nothing that can make you feel better after losing this game," said Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who dropped to 6-5 in the series and 1-4 against Tressel.

Michigan's loss could end its nine-year streak of playing in January bowls, and linebacker LaMarr Woodley said the defense shoulders the blame.

"When you look back on any of our losses, we gave up big plays down the stretch," he said.

[Last modified November 20, 2005, 00:55:14]

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