Sunday, November 23, 2003
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Ohio State's chances of defending its national championship and winning its first outright Big Ten championship in almost 20 years went down the drain Saturday.
The Buckeyes, without a running game, couldn't control Michigan's Chris Perry and John Navarre, suffering a 35-21 defeat before an NCAA-record crowd of 112,118 at Michigan Stadium.
Perry, the senior tailback, rushed for 154 yards on 31 carries and scored two touchdowns, while Navarre, the senior quarterback, was 21-of-32 for 278 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted just once.
Overall, the Wolverines totaled 448 yards, compared to the Buckeyes' 383 yards. However, Ohio State managed just 54 yards rushing on 25 attempts.
With the victory the Wolverines (10-2, 7-1) clinched the Big Ten championship, their first outright title since 1997. Michigan most likely will receiver an invitation to a BCS game, probably the Rose Bowl.
Second place
Ohio State (10-2, 6-2), the defending national champions, lost for just the second time in 26 games, but finished in second place in the conference.
"Michigan did an excellent job today and earned the Big Ten championship," OSU coach Jim Tressel said. "We did not come out and do the things that we needed to do to win the football game."
The main thing the Buckeyes couldn't do was run the football, falling behind 21-0 in the first half and spending the rest of the afternoon playing catch up.
"Michigan has done an excellent job of being balanced offensively," Tressel said. "What they do is excellent and what they do it with is even better.
"Getting behind as we did changed what we wanted to do today," Tressel said. "We missed some tackles and we missed a tackle or two on guys who can really go with the football."
Krenzel passes for two scores
OSU senior quarterback Craig Krenzel passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-33, but he was sacked three times and also suffered a slight shoulder separation late in the third quarter. Krenzel didn't return until midway in the final quarter.
Senior backup Scott McMullen came in to replace Krenzel and was 8-of-13 for 108 yards and one interception and one sack.
"It was just a slight shoulder separation, my left one, and the doctors cleared me to go back in," Krenzel said. "I wanted to be out there on the field."
For the first 25 minutes, the Buckeyes' offense was non-existent, especially the running game.
The Buckeyes didn't get their first rushing first down until 11 minutes, 15 seconds remained in the second period. They didn't cross midfield until 10:19 remained in the half.
Early deficit
By that time, the Buckeyes trailed 14-0. First, Michigan drove 89 yards on 18 plays and used up seven minutes to score on a 3-yard run by Steve Breaston, who ran out of the quarterback slot.
The Wolverines scored more quickly on the second TD as they needed just three plays to go 74 yards in 47 seconds. Navarre hit Braylon Edwards with a 64-yard scoring pass in which the Buckeyes missed three shots at him down the field.
The Wolverines went up 21-0 on an 80-yard, 9-play drive capped with Navarre and Edwards hooking up for a 23-yard touchdown.
Edwards finished with seven catches for 130 yards and the two scores.
The Buckeyes scored right before halftime, driving 81 yards on 12 plays as Krenzel completed 7-of-8 passes on the drive, the final one from 8 yards out to Santonio Holmes.
"That score was crucial for us," Tressel said. "We needed something to pick us up for the second half.
It almost worked.
Rally
After Michigan scored on its first possession in the third quarter to go ahead 28-7 on a 30-yard run by Perry, the Buckeyes began to rally.
First, punter B.J. Sanders put the Wolverines in a hole at their own 7. The OSU defense didn't allow an inch in three downs and the Buckeyes got the ball back at the Michigan 43.
Five plays later, Krenzel hit Holmes again from 13 yards away to get to within 14 points.
After the Buckeyes defense stopped Michigan, the offense, this time behind McMullen took over and drove 93 yards in 10 plays. The big play was a 40 yard pass from McMullen to Holmes to the 2-yard line.
Tailback Lydell Ross took it over from there and the Buckeyes were within seven.
On the next series, Ohio State's Chris Gamble intercepted Navarre at the OSU 37 yard line, but the Buckeyes went three and out. Michigan took the ball and rolled right down the field to score on Perry's 15-yard run to kill all hopes of a Buckeyes rally.
mollica@vindy.com