Buckeyes fall again in glare of National spotlight

Photo By Terry Gilliam

Posted 09-12-09

Ohio State was on the precipice of redemption, leading favored USC in the waning moments of a fevered contest, when reality hit like a two by four to the face.

A defense that had played inspired for most of the game’s 60 minutes was a second late too many times on the third-ranked Trojans final drive. USC converted a pair of third-and-longs on a drive that covered 86 yards in 14 plays and ground out six minutes and 10 seconds, with tailback Stafon Johnson scooting into the end zone from three yards out to put the Trojans ahead, and a two-point conversion was successful, making it 18-15 USC before a record Ohio Stadium throng of 106,033.

“Our defense played extremely hard and made some plays,” OSU coach Jim Tressel said. “They just kept playing. Our defense made it hard for them to drive. It was toe-to-toe. You feel for them because we had to put  more points on the board. USC just did what it needed to do at the end of the game, and they go home with the spoils.”

The game lacked the big plays of last season’s 35-3 USC annihilation of the visiting Buckeyes, and was instead full of fits and starts.

Heralded USC freshman quarterback Matt Barkley wasn’t anything special statistically, finishing 15-of-31 for 195 yards and no touchdowns. But he made two big completions on the final drive, throwing lasers over the middle to open receivers and keeping the drive alive. USC finished with 313 yards and limited the Buckeyes to just 265, including only 88 rushing.

USC got on the board first thanks to a miscue by OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The Trojans (2-0) picked off Pryor’s second pass of the game, returning it to the Ohio State three yard line, and scored on Johnson’s first touchdown of the game to go up 7-0. To it’s credit, Ohio State did not wilt, tying the game on a two-yard burst by Dan Herron midway through the first quarter. The teams exchanged field goals in the second quarter and went to intermission tied at 10.

Tressel was confident in his squad as the second thirty minutes dawned.

“You could tell they were ready to go out and have thirty more minutes of battle,” Tressel said. “We left some points on the field and didn’t capitalize on some mistakes, but we felt good about our chances. USC just made a few more plays than we did.”

OSU (1-1) went up 12-10 when USC punter Billy O’Malley couldn’t field a high snap and it went out of the end zone. Aaron Pettrey added a 22 yard field goal with just under five minutes  to play, setting the stage for USC’s late game heroics.
 
“I thought Matt handled himself very well on that final drive,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “He didn’t panic, he got us into the right sets and made a couple of throws there that really veteran guys make. I think he did great considering the environment and circumstances of the game. We did a great job of finishing. We finished runs, we finished blocks and we finished the game. I think we showed the world what kind of team we have.”

Pryor finished the night 11-of-25 for 177 yards, but was unable to do a lot of damage with his legs.

“They were definitely going to bring people off the edge and keep us from getting Terrelle outside,“ Tressel said. “I think they were making an effort to keep him from taking off. Terrelle did some good things and he did some things that he’ll need to do better. He can grow from things like this.”

The loss was Ohio State’s seventh in a row to USC, dating back to the 1974 Rose Bowl, and the Buckeyes have now dropped three straight games to teams ranked among the nation’s top five.

“We’ve been fortunate to play in a lot of big games recently,” Tressel said. “The outcome hasn’t been what we’ve hoped for, but I think it’s a measure of your program when you face teams like USC. It shows you what you have and what you need to do better.”
 

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