ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman could be doubly proud of that unit as a whole and his offensive line in particular in producing Saturday’s 21-10 victory over Michigan.

“It has been nice to finish the season running the ball the way we have,” the Ashtabula County Football Hall of Famer said. “I thought Michigan did a really good job of containing us in the first half. They really did a good job of stopping our two-back things.

“I was real happy the way we ran the ball, however, in the second half. It was a tough ball game and as we expected all the time.”

The Buckeyes offense had not had a miscue in three straight ball games, but Terrelle Pryor threw an interception early in the third quarter that the Wolverines eventually turned into seven points. Pryor for the season had attempted the fewest passes in the Big Ten.

For the day, the sophomore was 9 for 17 and 67 yards. DeVier Posey was the leading receiver with five catches for 38 yards and team-high longest reception of just 13 yards.

The difference once again for the Buckeyes was the steadiness of the offensive-line play and the running attack that netted its eighth 200-yard rushing game. The health of Dan Herron (19 carries, 96 yards), Brandon Saine (12 attempts, 84 yards) and Pryor (74 yards) eclipsed 251 yards on 53 carries. The lone touchdown run of fleet-footed speedster Saine for a 29-yard dash in the second quarter gave OSU a 14-3 lead.

“I think he (Pryor) has taken a lot into consideration with downs and distances kind of stuff and has been really consistent and has done a good job lately and maturing,” Bollman said. “Needless to say he did a real good job in the second half. We have a lot of confidence in him.

“We said that at halftime they were stopping a lot of our two-back things. We hit a couple of things just before half and came back out in the second half and ran some of the same things out of different formations. (Michigan) was set up to stop our option to the field.”

Bollman addressed the offensive line’s improvement.

“This game isn’t like Nintendo,” the Harbor High School graduate said. “Guys have gotten better or guys get worse. So, one of the things we try to do is continually get better during the season the best we can be.

“We had a poor game way back against Purdue (only Big Ten loss, 26-18) and we changed some tactics and went back to some basics and kept working on them. Today some of the two-back stuff wasn’t working and we went back to some iso things (with the tailbacks and Pryor).”

Bollman also praised the growth of the OSU running backs.

“Our running backs did a great job and have been running really hard for the last month,” he said. “When we were reading their defense and they were lined up to stop the option to the field we were able to run some dives and did an OK job of blocking and they did a great of running. It is always good in this game if you can get a little bit of juice running the ball. I was happy for those guys and for us (coaches) that we could do that.

“We have tried to be objective and when you run the ball for over 200 yards like we have for the last past of the season, it is nice to have a healthy line and all those running backs too. Boom (Herron) has been in and out of there and when Saine is with him they are both multi-talented guys. Nice to have them there.

He also praised the team’s focus on its task.

“The guys did a real good job with this being the third big one (game) in a row like this,” Bollman said. “It is a challenge to do that and they did a good job (preparing).”

Senior offensive lineman Jim Cordle also chimed in on the play of the O-line.

“Michigan is a lot of zone read and we lined up and got in the I and run some power plays,” he said. “I guess it is a lot of formations, so as far as the defense goes it is a changeup. Our backs were running hard and Terrelle was running hard when he was running. So it was a team effort and a coaching effort. They saw what was working and didn’t go away from it.”

Cordle also praised OSU fans for their contributions.

“There was so much red in the stadium and that itself was unbelievable,” he said. “It shows how great our fans are. There was way more Ohio State fans (as in the past games).”

Even their colleagues in the defensive trenches relished the contributions of their offensive counterparts.

“The offensive line did a great job,” senior defensive tackle Doug Worthington said. “When I learned about the tradition and the rivalry knew our team had been successful against them. To look on that for five years, to be a team that has never lost to them it is a huge tremendous honor. I would like to give credit to the seniors before us and this senior class.”

There will be a little time to relish Saturday’s win.

“We focused on this game and this next couple of weeks we can make sure we can get healthy from any injuries and look at the TV to see what the Pac-10 is doing (and our upcoming Rose Bowl opponent) back at the dorm,” Worthington said.



On the other hand

Michigan was ranked No. 21 nationally in rushing offense (195.8 rpg) and had accumulated 27 rushing touchdowns entering the game. The OSU defense took care of that.

By not allowing a 100-yard rusher, OSU has now allowed only seven 100-yard rushers since the start of the 2005 season (64 games). That mark is the best among FBS schools during that span. OSU is second in the nation for having not allowed a 100-yard rusher over the past 21 games as Alabama is first going 28 games going into Saturday’s play.

UM had lost 12 fumbles on offense. The recovery of a fumble by Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier by Cameron Heyward in the end zone was an unlucky 13th that gave OSU early 7-0 lead with 11:47 left.

“I think we handled adversity well,” Heyward said. “We had the mentality of bend don’t break. I thought it was a big play to start off (the game). I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

“Thad (Gibson) forced the pressure and (Forcier) dropped the ball .Once you get a big play you play with a little bit more confidence. It got us rolling a bit. We didn’t know what to expect at first as a group. It was critical in a game like this. You don’t always get the turnovers you want. I didn’t touch him but Thad (did). I was bobbling the ball a little bit but was able to keep it under me. You always think about scoring the ball.”

Heyward said he believes Forcier is a great talent, but was overmatched Saturday.

“I think it just benefited our team as we kept going from it,” he said. “There is bright future for (Forcier) but I am just glad we got the win. When we had to make big plays we stepped up. He was poised and kept his composure but we got after him a lot.”

Forcier was picked off four times, too, as senior Kurt Coleman had two interceptions (five on the year, ninth in his career) and Devon Torrence and Gibson each got one. The Silver Bullets defense was highly ranked in the country in five different categories, including fourth in rushing defense and 16th in pass defense coming into the contest. UM was 84th in rushing defense and 82nd in pass defense.

“Guys prepared hard and they moved the ball at times,” defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said. “Our guys kept hanging in there and battling. We called on the front in the second half and said, ‘We need to get some man-pressure because we need to do a little better job covering.’

“They just kept battling, even when there was some movement and some activity and we had some big interceptions. They’re in the red zone and knocking on the door, but for our guys the next play is always the most important. They never really got caught up in what happened if they had a bad play or anything like that.”

Heacock remaked on Torrence’s interception.

“I don’t know if you could say that it was definitely the swing play. but it seemed like it to me,” he said. “We really needed it right there because they were moving the ball a little bit. It was big.”

“We were in Cover 2,” Torrence said. “I don’t know if I am allowed to tell that but we were in Cover 2. He (Forcier) didn’t see me. I just came out there from nowhere and snatched the ball. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

“I was just supposed to sit if my receiver did anything. A lot of people probably would have run the other way, but I was just disciplined on that play and he just threw it backside thinking he had one. I had a similar play happen during (preseason) camp with Terrelle. We were in the same coverage and Terrelle started scrambling and he just dumped it over there. He really didn’t see what was going on and I made a play on the football.”

It is a play Torrence will always cherish.

“I just wanted to hold onto the football and this can all go down in history,” he said. “It was a great play. It was fun just being out there. It gave us some assurance (of a victory). They have a really good offense and they‘re going to be trouble in the future, so we have to make sure we always prepare for these guys.

“We work hard in the secondary. Kurt and Anderson (Russell), our two safeties, are both seniors and me and Chimdi (Chekwa) are both juniors. This is my first year playing, but I’ve been practicing hard since I came here. We just really take that to heart whenever we go out on the field.”

Gibson was more emphatic on the play of the defense and beating the archrival.

“We knew coming in that Michigan was going to give it everything they had until there were zeroes on the clock,” he said. “With that being said, we had to keep it going when we got back on the field. Pin our ears back and keep going.

We knew going into this game that is the biggest rivalry games in college football. We knew what was at stake and played hard and kept fighting. We have a great coaching staff, so we knew what they were going to do. They’re a great team, but for the most part we were prepared on every play. Hats off to our defensive coaches for getting us prepared and ready to play.

The OSU defense came in averaging 5.8 three-and-outs per game and recorded seven more against UM. On the year, it has totaled 69 through 12 games. UM came in averaging a Big Ten best 31. 2 ppg, but OSU held it to just 10 points.



Special moments

The victory was the sixth straight in the series for the Buckeyes. That tied UM for the record set way back in 1922-27.

“We have been blessed with great kids,” head coach Jim Tressel said. “We fought hard and they really love being part of this game. When you love being part of it, you have chance to perform well.

“We have had some wild games in this series, not like it has been easy. I do know that (winning this game) that it was the first time since the decade of 1900 that a team won eight games in the decade. That’s a pretty cool thing.”

But winning each year is still special.

“It was a hard-fought game like all of these great rivalry games are,” Tressel said. “Our kids stepped up and did a great job preparing and doing what they were called upon to do in the course of the game.

“They threw the football well. But turnovers and the rushing game will always be the key to this game. Defensively, we just kept coming.”

Tressel applauded his troops for their ability to surmount the challenges of the past three weeks to earn their first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1996.

“As we looked at the November schedule, it was not going to be an easy thing,” he said. “Our guys don’t back down from anything. When you’re undefeated in November, good things are going to happen over the holidays.

“It sometimes hurts your confidence when you turn the ball over and miss field goals (which UM did in the game). The thing is as I watch Michigan is they have a short memory. They’re competitive kids. Sometimes I hate getting out like that to 7-0 when you’re supposedly favored and suddenly you get a gift touchdown. The missed field goal, I am sure, affected their confidence. They were never going to stop. I have watched Rich’s teams forever. They don’t stop playing.”

He and the rest of the Buckeyes are looking forward to some time to savor their achievement.

“One of the reasons you like the Michigan game is because you finally get to exhale and our kids get to go home and not be immediately thinking about who your next opponent will be,” Tressel said. “We told them to exhale for a few days and finish strong this week at school and take some well earned Thanksgiving time and then we’ll be back at it (Jan. 1, 2010).”



Hall is a freelance writer from Andover.