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To say Jim Tressel’s tenure as Ohio State head coach got off to a unique start would probably be an understatment.
The opener against Akron was also the rededication game for Ohio Stadium.
What was to be the second game of the season was postponed because of the September 11 terrorist attacks, then the Buckeyes made a rare in-season trip to the West Coast to face UCLA (it did not go well).
The third game of the season was a win at Indiana that qualified for normal, but that set up a visit from a Northwestern team that was both ranked and a defending Big Ten champion, both unusual circumstances.
The first big home game of the Tressel era would be memorable for multiple reasons.
Welcome to the latest edition of the Tressel Tales!
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Game recap: Ohio State 38, Northwestern 20
Ohio State domianted all three phases of the game to beat the 14th-ranked Wildcats on Oct. 6, 2001.
For the fifth night game in Ohio Stadium history and the first against a Big Ten opponent, Mother Nature cooperated with a clear, cool 50-degree atmopshere for the 7:45 kickoff in front of more than 104,000 people.
“It was a beautiful night for a football game,” Tressel said afterward. “We really challenged ourselves to put our best foot forward on national television to show people that Ohio Stadium is one of those top, top places for game-day atmosphere.”
Jonathan Wells made sure the home fans did not have to wait long for a reason to cheer.
The senior tailback broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage, starting a party that would last all night for Ohio State fans.
Northwestern countered with a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to tie the game, but All-American safety Mike Doss got those points back when he recoverd a fumble (caused by Will Smith) and returnd it 30 yards for a touchdown in the final minute of the first quarter.
Aside from putting Ohio State on top, Doss’ touchdown also came right after a bad interception by senior QB Steve Bellisari gave the Wildcats a chance to take the lead.
Wells scored again from a yard out with 26 seconds left in the second quarter, and Lydell Ross found paydirt from nine yards out with 11:04 left in the third quarter to really put the Wildcats and their high-powered offense behind the 8-ball.
Wells scored his third touchdown on a 6-yard run midway through the third quarter, and freshman kicker Mike Nugent made a 44-yard field goal with 1:31 on the clock to finish the 31-0 OSU run.
Northwestern added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but they were inconsequential to the final result.
Noteworthy:
Ohio State improved 3-1 on the season and 5-0 in night games at Ohio Stadium while beating Northwestern for the 22nd time in a row.
The Buckeyes had five sacks and held dual-threat quarterback Zak Kustok to 141 total yards. He was 16 for 26 passing for 122 yards.
Star running back Damien Anderson carried 21 times for 80 yards and lost a fumble. He also was stopped behind the line numerous times and ended up with 15 yards in lost yardage but still moved into the Big Ten’s all-time top 10 for rushing yardage.
Jonathan Wells ran 22 times for 179 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 8.1 yards per carry and also had a 22-yard catch. Sammy Maldonado added 60 yards on 13 carries while Lydell Ross had 33 yards on 11 carries.
It was a timley perforamnce by Wells one week after Ross had a breakout game at Indiana, raising questions about who would be the starter going forward, but he said he wasn’t concerned: “We’re going to go out there with a 1-2 punch every week and you know we’re going to get the job done,” Wells said. “If he’s having a hot game, he’s going to roll. That’s the way we’re going to do it the rest of the year. I’m looking forward to having a great year with him.”
Steve Bellisari threw only 10 passes and completed four, but the completions were timely. That included two to Michael Jenkins the went for 46 and 41 yards.
The Ohio State defense was on the field for 79 plays but held the Wildcats to 3.9 yards per play while the OSU offense averaged 6.3 yards per play.
Doss had 15 tackles, including a sack, to affirm his status as one of the best defensive players in the country. He also had a pass breakup.
Will Smith and Cie Grant added nine tackles apiece while Courtland Bullard and Matt Wilhelm both had two tackles for loss.
Ohio State won the turnover battle 2-1 and held an advantage in time of possession of nearly five minutes.
At halftime, Ohio State retired No. 22 for Les Horvath, the 1944 Heisman Trophy winner.
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Today’s perspective
Looking back now, night games are not unusual at Ohio Stadium (even if they are not as common as some fans would prefere), but I was a freshman in the stands that night, and it’s hard to describe how big that game felt then.
Not only was the kickoff time rare, the Buckeyes were clear underdogs — against Northwestern, no less — so they had good reason to play with a chip on their shoulder and fans could be genuinely surprised they won. When was the last time that happened in the present?
The Buckeyes scored first on what would become a signature play of the Tressel era: “Power” to most of the football world but “Dave” in the language of the Tressel offense. The left side of the line blocked down, the right guard pulled and Wells followed fullback Jamar Martin through the hole before exploding into the open field.
“It’s always important to be able to run the football,” Tressel said. “We ran it a little better than quite honestly I thought we might. But our kids came out ready to play and our defense was flying around. The crowd just electrified our players and each other. It was just a wonderful night.”
Knowing what we know now about Tresselball, one might think the head coach was fine with his quarterback throwing only 10 passes in a double-digit win. Turns out, that was not the case:
“I think you have to pass to win. Our defense gave us great field position, and we were running the ball and all of a sudden you’re up. The most important thing to do is keep the ball and keep the clock going and so forth. We’re going to need to do a lot of things better than we’re doing them now to be a great team. I don’t know what the stats were, but we’re going to need to throw more effectively than we did.”
This is also interesting to me because one thing lost to history is Tressel himself was actually a run-and-shoot quarterback at Baldwin-Wallace for his father.
Lee Tressel subscribed to a different brand of football, something his son referenced earlier this year when his name was place in a permanent spot on the facade at Ohio Stadium.
Next up for Tressel’s Buckeyes
Ohio State would be home again the following week for a nationally televised 3:30 game against Wisconsin with Brent Musburger and Gary Danielson on the call for ABC.
The Badgers would be coming off a stunning 63-32 loss to Indiana in which Wisconsin trailed 32-0 at the end of the first quarter but also looking for their second consecutive win at Ohio Stadium thanks to a 42-17 shellacking in 1999.
Previous editions of the Tressel Tales:
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