BUCKEYES 22, WOLFPACK 14 OSU preserves tight victory

Jim Tressel's squad fought off North Carolina State's late rally for a 3-0 start.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
RALEIGH, N.C. -- John Deraney's onside kick skipped off the turf, bounced into a group of players and shot back. For a moment, the 50,000 North Carolina State fans held their breath.
Then Ohio State senior Bobby Carpenter stepped in, fell on the ball and ended the suspense.
"Tressel-ball" wins again.
"We just keep finding ways to win," Carpenter said.
Or, more accurately, the Buckeyes keep finding the same way to win. Good special teams. Good defense. Mistake-free offense.
Add it up, and Saturday's 22-14 road win over North Carolina State looked a lot like every other win in Tressel's tenure.
"It may be our nature," Tressel said. "I don't know if it's the first time we've done that. Our team does what it needs to win the game.
"That's what we did today."
Turnover turnaround
Ohio State, which entered the game ranked 116th out of 117 teams in turnover margin, forced five Wolfpack turnovers and got a record-tying five field goals from senior kicker Mike Nugent.
"I think if you ask any kicker, he'd say he'd rather kick extra points all day," said Nugent, who won last week's game against Marshall with a 55-yard field goal. "But it really helps when the coach knows you're going to get three every time."
The Buckeyes appeared ready to put the game away five minutes remaining. But on third and 11 at North Carolina State's 13, senior running back Lydell Ross fumbled and Wolfpack senior linebacker Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay recovered. Aughtry-Lindsay advanced it 10 yards, fumbled again, and sophomore Stephen Tulloch recovered for the Wolfpack on the 21.
"I think if our offense could have one play back, that would be it," Tressel said. "That was a critical mistake."
Fifteen plays later, Wolfpack wideout Brian Clark caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Jay Davis on fourth and 9 with 1:40 to go.
But Carpenter recovered the onside kick, preventing a second-straight fourth-quarter collapse to the Wolfpack. The Buckeyes blew a 24-7 fourth quarter lead last year, eventually winning 44-38 in triple overtime.
Another year
"That really wasn't in the back of our minds," said linebacker A.J. Hawk, who nearly came up with a game-ending interception just before Clark's TD. "It's a different year and they're a different team."
The game's biggest play may have come just before halftime, when OSU corner Donte Whitner intercepted Davis' pass on third and 10 at the Wolfpack 20 with 56 seconds remaining. Whitner returned the ball to the 3 and Ross scored on the next play.
Instead of a 6-0 lead, Ohio State now led 13-0 and had the momentum going into halftime.
"He just sort of winged it out there and I was able to catch it," Whitner said. "But I wish I could have got it in there. I wanted that touchdown."
Ohio State finished with just 137 yards on offense, compared to 256 for North Carolina State, and was just 2-of-16 on third down. But the Wolfpack committed 14 penalties for 121 yards -- nearly all of them costly.
"We had them stopped and then penalty, penalty, penalty," Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato said.
Limited offense
Ross led Ohio State (3-0) with 25 carries for 51 yards, while quarterback Justin Zwick went 10-of-21 for 73 yards.
"I like to win in any way possible," Zwick said. "For the most part, I think we did a good job."
Added Tressel, "I think Justin's growing with every snap."
Davis, who had the tall task of replacing standout quarterback Phillip Rivers, finished 12-of-24 for 99 yards and three interceptions. T.A. McClendon led the Wolfpack (1-1) with 15 carries for 97 yards.
"They had a great defense -- our quarterback was scratching his helmet," Amato said of Ohio State. "Jay will learn as many valuable lessons today as he did when we won.
"We have to take this and build on it."
scalzo@vindy.com